Editing Traffic intensity

{{Short description|Measure of the average occupancy of a server or resource during a specified period of time}}{{no footnotes|date=January 2013}}

In [[telecommunications network]]s, '''traffic intensity''' is a measure of the average occupancy of a server or resource during a specified period of [[time]], normally a [[busy hour]]. It is measured in [[Teletraffic|traffic]] units ([[Erlang unit|erlang]]s) and defined as the ratio of the time during which a facility is cumulatively occupied to the time this facility is available for occupancy.  

In a digital network, the traffic intensity is:
:<math> \frac{a L}{R}</math>
where
:''a'' is the average arrival rate of [[Network packet|packets]] (e.g. in packets per second)
:''L'' is the average packet length (e.g. in bits), and
:''R'' is the transmission rate (e.g. bits per second)

A traffic intensity greater than one erlang means that the rate at which bits arrive exceeds the rate bits can be transmitted and [[queuing delay]] will grow without bound (if the traffic intensity stays the same). If the traffic intensity is less than one erlang, then the router can handle more average traffic. 

Telecommunication operators are vitally interested in traffic intensity, as it dictates the amount of equipment they must supply.

==See also==
*[[Teletraffic engineering]]
*[[IEC 80000-13]]

==References==
*{{FS1037C MS188}}

[[Category:Teletraffic]]

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