Patent ID: 8009575

Claim:
Computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for facilitating a method of ensuring adequate data-processing capacity in a communications network, the method comprising: identifying a plurality of communications trunks to evaluate; determining whether a first communications trunk having roll-over capacity is a direct end-office trunk, and when it is, carrying out a first process to forecast a need to add processing capacity, wherein the first process includes: (1) determining a maximum tolerable utilization for the first communications trunk, wherein the maximum tolerable utilization includes traffic that is acceptable to overflow from the first communications trunk, and wherein the first process accommodates a determined maximum tolerable utilization in excess of 100%, (2) determining an actual peak utilization for the first communications trunk based on an amount of utilization during a period of peak activity, (3) comparing the actual peak utilization with the maximum tolerable utilization, and (4) if the actual peak utilization exceeds the maximum tolerable utilization, then continuing to forecast the need to add processing capacity, but (5) if not, then stopping the forecast; carrying out a second process for a second communications trunk having no roll-over capacity to forecast a need to add processing capacity, projecting a date for each of the first process and the second process when current processing capacity will be exhausted based on an accuracy of prior projections; and providing a notification to an appropriate entity of the projected first process date and the projected second process date.