Specifications

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Laying Out the Network

The first step in setting up a network is establishing the basic connections between nodes,

sometimes known as the network topology. As an example consider the following map of

an imaginary state, where six paging terminals are to be connected together using TNPP:

Figure 41: Example State-wide TNPP System

The five paging companies within the state have decided to form a network and offer

statewide paging as “Page All of Catatonia”. From the map, it is fairly obvious on how the

paging terminals would be connected together as nodes in the network.

Next, the nodes need to be given their unique primary node address values. A method

often used is based on the area codes the various terminals lie within. The terminals within

the same area code are counted off as site 1, site 2, and so on. The area code is used as the

first three characters of an address value, and a terminal’s count digit is used as the last.

This works for up to fifteen terminals within an area code, while reserving “area code + 0”

as a special address. Going back to our example, this gives us:

Figure 42: Assigning Area Code Based ID Numbers to System Transmitters

The next step is to determine the service areas needed. This is an important step, especially

if there are more than a few nodes in the network or much likelihood that the network will

grow to more than three or four nodes.

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