Abstract:

Advances such as cloud computing and streaming multimedia are steadily increasing the demand on network resources, and telecommunications providers must ensure that their networks are managed effectively in order to ensure that users of the network remain satisfied with their quality of service. The pedagogical value of problem-based and inquiry-based learning activities has led to increased use of this approach in teletraffic engineering course. While scenarios or case studies were initially presented to learners as text-based material, the development of modern software technology provides the opportunity to deliver scenarios as educational modules, providing learners with a more accessible and engaging learning experience.

Teletraffic engineering in educational platform and applications focuses on network management (and traffic engineering) for the new generation networks and distributed computing technologies, as well as present emerging technology trends and advanced platforms. This educational platform for academics, students and researchers, puts together some of the critical aspects of distributed systems, their characteristics and probability of blocking.

Teletraffic simulation for educational purposes, utilizes complex models to study complicated telecommunication problems. Those models include data modelling for objects, behavior models for interaction, and other algorithms such as randomization, variations, blocking etc. As no unique model fits every scenario, researchers from transportation community have been investigating new customable simulation models continuously. This paper, thereby, presents a prototype of a research and education oriented simulation platform, which helps researchers and students reduce their workload by providing a compact data structure, a friendly interface, and essential automation procedures, with teletraffic simulation.

Three simulation teletraffic modules, HeavyQueues, ComplexQueues and HandoverSchemes, power the platform in data modeling, simulation flow, and user interfaces, respectively. Its nature of dynamic structure let users easily work a complicated simulation program by extending the default essential data and simulation models and plugging in the partitioned simulation flow. The first module is HeavyQueues, with queuing systems of Markov and semi-Markov chains, which are very often used for describing the processes in communication systems. In such models under investigation are all inter-arrival times and service times and their distribution. The quantity of interest is, for example, an overflow probability in every one of the modules. ComplexQueues- the second module is more complicated part of simulation tool, one little example is to explore the overflow probability of the total population in a (Jackson) network. HandoverSchemes is the last module, where the different generations of mobile networks: 2nd, 3rd and 4th, are under investigation.

If needed, classical simulation models are readily available in a repository. Along with useful automation procedures such as network generation from application, a comprehensive demonstration for running a typical teletraffic simulation on the platform is shown programmatically.

Keywords:

Educational platform, teletraffic models, heavy traffic, complex queues, handover schemes, probability of blocking.