Software network analyzer for computer network performance measurement planning over heterogeneous services in higher educational institutes

In 21st century, convergences of technologies and services in heterogeneous environment have contributed multi-traffic. This scenario will affect computer network on learning system in higher educational Institutes. Implementation of various services can produce different types of content and quality. Higher educational institutes should have a good computer network infrastructure to support usage of various services. The ability of computer network should consist of i) higher bandwidth; ii) proper network design; and iii) higher performance of communication devices/servers. Thus, presently there is no software to plan and help network administrator in determine ability of network services during introduce a new service. Current approach using by network administrators are planning computer network performance via prediction and measure ability of real network performance using hardware/software network analyzer. This approach can influence several problems such as prediction without software always inaccurate and most of the software/hardware network analyzer in real network is limited by network interfaces. Therefore, to encounter these problems, network administrators need software that can plan and measure additional network resources. Thus, this study presents a novel approach for measurement and planning network performance management in heterogeneous environment. The main objectives of this research is to i) identify which approach and problem occurs in Malaysia higher educational institutes; ii) create simulation model that able to plan and measure network performance for various services; iii) software network analyzer development based on simulation model design; and iv) conduct an evaluation of simulation model and software development with real network. These objectives can achieve as follows: i) conduct a survey; ii) select appropriate mathematical formula to create simulation model; iii) select appropriate modeling application for software development; and iv) conduct verification and validation technique for simulation modeling and evaluation of software network analyzer . The results from survey show that most of the network administrators are using hardware/software network analyzer to measure network performance during operational phase. The minimum size of bandwidth capacity has contributed higher network utilization usage. It can generate network congestion and network service failure in higher educational institutes. We create suitable models to evaluate the network performance using Little Law and Queuing theory that can represent similar to hardware/software network analyzer. In order to get accuracy results on the performance of simulation model, we measure (verify and validate) data from lab experiment and real network environment. Development of software network analyzer is based on simulation model architecture. This software will undergo evaluation process using qualitative technique. As a result, this software prototyping can provide a good approximation of real functionality observed in the real network environment. In addition the software is capable of approximating the performance within a minimum error rate. This software network analyzer can significantly enhance to analyze and propose solution on computer network performance. Future work is to develop software network analyzer for planning, suggestion and analyzing computer network performance on wireless transmission (WLAN, WWAN and WiMax) and Ipv6 protocol. We investigate how preparation and planning phases can be applied to heterogeneous environment in order to better utilize network resources. Our software network analyzer prototyping development is based on Fluke Optiview Network Analyzer. Before we develop any software prototype, it should define the following criteria: i) establish prototype objectives; ii) define prototype functionality; iii) develop prototype; and iv) evaluate prototype. Software network analyzer prototype consists of two phases: analyzing computer network performance under optimum condition and without optimum condition. Software network analyzer prototype was developed to measure and predict network activities based on offline condition. We use qualitative technique to measure our software network analyzer prototype to identify this software is able to plan, propose and analyze computer network performance. Evaluation of software network analyzer prototype is based on focus groups in University of Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). Six evaluators are experienced in education and industrial sector will select to complete the survey and interview task. Three evaluators will select who are experienced in industrial sector only, while, another three evaluators experienced in academic and industrial sector. All evaluators have experienced more than 6 to 13 years in network management field. All evaluators need to complete the following task such as: acceptance test, performance test, loading test, network responsive test and repetition test. A common strategy is to design, test, evaluate and then modify the design based on analysis of the prototype.Facultad de Informátic

Structural Equation Modeling and simultaneous clustering through the Partial Least Squares algorithm

The identification of different homogeneous groups of observations and their appropriate analysis in PLS-SEM has become a critical issue in many appli- cation fields. Usually, both SEM and PLS-SEM assume the homogeneity of all units on which the model is estimated, and approaches of segmentation present in literature, consist in estimating separate models for each segments of statistical units, which have been obtained either by assigning the units to segments a priori defined. However, these approaches are not fully accept- able because no causal structure among the variables is postulated. In other words, a modeling approach should be used, where the obtained clusters are homogeneous with respect to the structural causal relationships. In this paper, a new methodology for simultaneous non-hierarchical clus- tering and PLS-SEM is proposed. This methodology is motivated by the fact that the sequential approach of applying first SEM or PLS-SEM and second the clustering algorithm such as K-means on the latent scores of the SEM/PLS-SEM may fail to find the correct clustering structure existing in the data. A simulation study and an application on real data are included to evaluate the performance of the proposed methodology

A Case Study for Business Integration as a Service

This paper presents Business Integration as a Service (BIaaS) to allow two services to work together in the Cloud to achieve a streamline process. We illustrate this integration using two services; Return on Investment (ROI) Measurement as a Service (RMaaS) and Risk Analysis as a Service (RAaaS) in the case study at the University of Southampton. The case study demonstrates the cost-savings and the risk analysis achieved, so two services can work as a single service. Advanced techniques are used to demonstrate statistical services and 3D Visualisation services under the remit of RMaaS and Monte Carlo Simulation as a Service behind the design of RAaaS. Computational results are presented with their implications discussed. Different types of risks associated with Cloud adoption can be calculated easily, rapidly and accurately with the use of BIaaS. This case study confirms the benefits of BIaaS adoption, including cost reduction and improvements in efficiency and risk analysis. Implementation of BIaaS in other organisations is also discussed. Important data arising from the integration of RMaaS and RAaaS are useful for management and stakeholders of University of Southampton

The pros and cons of using SDL for creation of distributed services

In a competitive market for the creation of complex distributed services, time to market, development cost, maintenance and flexibility are key issues. Optimizing the development process is very much a matter of optimizing the technologies used during service creation. This paper reports on the experience gained in the Service Creation projects SCREEN and TOSCA on use of the language SDL for efficient service creation

Link level modelling techniques for analysing the configuration of link adaptation algorithms in mobile radio networks

The operation of Link Adaptation algorithms is based on channel quality estimates. It is therefore important to analyse the performance of such algorithms with link level models that properly capture the channel conditions and dynamics. Previous research [1] concluded that the use of simple link level models does not give an accurate prediction of the estimated performance of Link Adaptation algorithms. Following this previous work, this paper shows that the link level model considered for the study of Link Adaptation algorithms can also influence the decisions regarding the optimum configuration of the algorithm

A decision support system for demand and capacity modelling of an accident and emergency department

© 2019 Operational Research Society.Accident and emergency (A&E) departments in England have been struggling against severe capacity constraints. In addition, A&E demands have been increasing year on year. In this study, our aim was to develop a decision support system combining discrete event simulation and comparative forecasting techniques for the better management of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in England. We used the national hospital episodes statistics data-set including period April, 2009 – January, 2013. Two demand conditions are considered: the expected demand condition is based on A&E demands estimated by comparing forecasting methods, and the unexpected demand is based on the closure of a nearby A&E department due to budgeting constraints. We developed a discrete event simulation model to measure a number of key performance metrics. This paper presents a crucial study which will enable service managers and directors of hospitals to foresee their activities in future and form a strategic plan well in advance.Peer reviewe