Collect network information

Developing a physical and logical diagram of the network will help organize the information clearly. Detailed documentation should include:

Hardware data of the infrastructure's physical structure
Software data including the existence and configuration of protocols used on the network
Logical organization of the network
Name and address resolution methods
The existence and configuration of services used
Location of the network sites and the available bandwidth

The physical network diagram should present the following information about your existing network:

Details of physical communication links, such as cable length, grade, and approximation of the physical paths of the wiring, analog, and ISDN lines
Servers with name, IP address (if static), server role, and domain membership. A server can operate in many roles.
Location of devices such as hubs, switches and routers that are on the network
WAN communication links and the available bandwidth between sites (this could be an approximation or the actual measured capacity)

The logical network diagram should show the network architecture, including the following information:

Domain architecture including the existing domain hierarchy, names, and addressing scheme.
Server roles including primary and backup

IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways and LAN parameters (e.g. Full/Half Duplex, 10/100 Speed, MAC Layer) will also be needed for implementation. Refer to Database Administration - IP7 User's Guide manual of the current EAGLE documentation for affected parameters and detailed information.

Before an association is established, the exact RTT is impossible to measure accurately because only the transmitter’s SCTP will be able to measure the exact amount of elapsed time from each transmit until the acknowledgment. A good estimate can be gained using a number of ping requests at different times of the day or from a network analyzer. Remember, however, that ping uses ICMP echo packets that are often given a lower QoS in IP networks.

To gather the information required to determine configuration parameters of the M2PA and M3UA association(s) between an EAGLE node and each Signaling End Point (SEP), a spreadsheet per EAGLE node can be very helpful. Every node connected by a SIGTRAN link should appear as a row in the spreadsheet, with the headings listed in the table along the top row.

Table 4-1 M2PA and M3UA configuration parameter data

Heading Text	Explanation
Node Name	The unique network name for the node
Node ID	The unique network ID for the node
Site Name	The unique network name for the site in which the node resides
Node Type	STP, MSC, HLR, SMSC, IN, MSS, MGC, etc.
Connected SGW(s)	The EAGLE node connection to which this data refer
Total # SGWs	Total number of STPs to which this node connects
SIGTRAN Protocol	M2PA, M3UA or SUA
RTT to STP	Measured or estimated RTT between the two nodes
Jitter %	The percentage variation in RTT
Dim %	The normal designed maximum utilization of a link (20%, 40%, etc.)
Avg. MSU Size	The expected average MSU size between this node and the EAGLE
% SCCP Class 1	The percentage of SCCP Class 1 traffic expected to be sent to this node
Peak MSU/s	The planned number of MSU/s expected to be sent to this node from all EAGLEs in worst-case conditions
Max Assoc	The maximum number of associations that this node supports to this EAGLE