Expand Configuration and Management Manual (G06.24+)

Tuning
Expand Configuration and Management Manual—523347-008
20-34
Example 2: Reducing Passthrough Traffic
A more efficient routing scheme could be attained by installing a new path between
\OAHU and \HERE. By directly connecting \OAHU and \HERE, applications on
intermediate nodes would gain better response time, overall transaction overhead
would be reduced, circuit reliability would be greatly improved, the number of
retransmissions due to Layer 4 timeouts and line failures would be reduced, and
network management overhead would be eased.
The type of analysis and subsequent tuning shown in this example is not always
possible because few networks can be fully connected or meshed to eliminate
passthrough traffic. However, routinely studying simple summaries such as this one
and accurately calculating the true overhead produced by a multiple-hop circuit often
reveals that the cost of additional communications lines is more than offset by benefits
such as those cited above. This is particularly true in the United States, where the cost
of long communications links is decreasing.