Patent ID: 8037163

Claim:
A method for analyzing an availability of at least part of a communications network, the network including a set of network components, the method comprising: processor executing an availability assessment tool stored as a set of instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium; the assessment tool identifying at least a first and second scenario for the network, wherein the first scenario comprises the set of network components arranged in a first communication configuration to support a first path through the network and wherein the second scenario comprises the set of network components arranged in a second communication configuration to support a second path through the network, the second path being an alternate path to the first path; the assessment tool determining an availability of the network in the first scenario; the assessment tool determining an availability of the network in the second scenario; the assessment tool determining a probability with which the first scenario will occur; the assessment tool determining a probability with which the second scenario will occur; the assessment tool determining an availability probability for the first scenario based on the probability of the first scenario and the availability of the network in the first scenario; the assessment tool determining an availability probability for the second scenario based on the probability of the second scenario and the availability of the network in the second scenario; the assessment tool summing the availability probability for the first scenario with the availability probability for the second scenario to determine an indication of an overall network availability; and the assessment tool providing the indication of the overall network availability.