Publication Date
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Frank Ciarallo (Advisor), Jennie Gallimore (Committee Member), Raymond Hill (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr)
Abstract
As businesses consolidate and modernize their operations, the impact on their network and computing infrastructure is a major consideration. In this thesis, discrete event simulation is used to show how implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can impact network performance and ultimately affect end-users. More specifically, the model simulates the flow of data packets across a network, through a Service Delivery Point (SDP), which is comprised of routers, switches, and firewalls that connect a Local Area Network to a Wide Area Network.
The model was used to run to determine the affect of more network traffic and additional SDP bandwidth capacity on end-user response time, which is the time for a transaction to be processed and returned to the user. Analysis of model output concluded that a 10%, 20%, and 30% increase in network traffic results in a 98%, 209%, and 352% increase in end-user response time, relative to the current workload. Further experimentation with the model concluded that a 42.5% increase in SDP bandwidth capacity reduced the average response time by 75%. By estimating end-user response time, proper SDP capacity can be planned prior to ERP deployment, to ensure timely completion of end-user transactions that inevitably affects bottom line cost.
Page Count
93
Department or Program
Department of Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2008
Copyright
Copyright 2008, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
