Re: Traffic engineering tools

[Andrew Partan <asp () partan com>]

> I continue to tell that there are simpler and more robust solutions to
> the same problems.  And that it is much easier is not to create problems
> in the first place than to think up clever patches later.

Well, having built a couple of networks now, I've seen that in
spite of the best efforts of people to anticipate traffic and get
bandwidth installed before it is needed, things such as the real
world and politics intervene and you can end up in situations where
you just don't have enough bandwidth.

Sometimes, if you are lucky, you are only out of bandwidth along
the shortest path but you have some bandwidth along some other
path.  Then you either don't use it (and have piles of people
peaved) or you try turning any knob you can to move some of the
traffic along some other path.

A much better solution is to install more bandwidth, but when you
can't get it when you need it, you use other methods - such as
traffic engineering.
        --asp () partan com (Andrew Partan)