Towards faster techno-economic evaluation of network scenarios via a modular network equipment database

Abstract

Techno-economic analysis is used to evaluate technological solutions in different business environments via a simulation based approach. Four steps can be observed in techno-economic analysis: scope definition, modeling of costs and revenues, evaluation of the different solutions and refinement of the analysis. During the scoping step, the boundaries of the analysis are determined, the problem is divided into sub problems and a list of input values is collected. The collection of complete and precise inputs is of the greatest importance as faulty data leads to unreliable results (garbage in garbage out). Today, due to the lack of a structured way of sharing input values, inputs need to be collected on a case-by-case basis. Although a valid approach, it remains a time intensive process prone to errors. This paper therefore proposes a modular network equipment database containing a set of generic equipment such as an IP/MPLS router, a DWDM node, a fiber link and a twisted pair cable. Each of these is represented as a modular block model and described by a set of attributes and a set of drivers which are used to chain one network equipment's block model to one or more others. A complex network can as such be modeled as a chain of equipment block models which are determined by a set of drivers. As a consequence, the collection of inputs can be fast tracked, the problem of missing inputs can be partially resolved and cross-case comparison becomes possible. To make things more concrete, we illustrate this approach via the evaluation of a network scenario in which a network service provider expands its network with an extra core location.