A system response time model for local area networks

Abstract

There are several issues that confront LAN management with respect to allocating servers and files in a LAN. These are: how many servers should be used for a given number of user computers? Should files be replicated on the servers to provide better performance or should the available servers store different files in order to maximize the number and variety of programs on the LAN? What should be the acceptable access times for users, singly and simultaneously, to access an application program, with a given number of servers and user computers? These issues are analyzed as a problem in optimization to determine the optimal server/user computer ratios and degree of file replication for given access times. Analytical and empirical results are reported.<>