Patent ID: 7492711

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a grade of service (GoS) factor and a quality of service (QoS) factor, wherein the GoS factor specifies a maximum call blocking probability for a link and the QoS factor specifies a maximum packet loss probability for said link; determining, for each of one or more candidate link sizes of said link, a plurality of state probabilities based on the GoS factor and a plurality of marginal packet loss probabilities based on the QoS factor, wherein said determining is performed based on user behavior and traffic characteristics; determining, based on user behavior and traffic characteristics, a link size of said link; wherein determining said link size of said link comprises selecting one of the one or more candidate link sizes of said link using the plurality of state probabilities and the plurality of marginal packet loss probabilities; and storing said link size of said link in memory; wherein determining said link size of said link is based on a product of: a state probability in the plurality of state probabilities, wherein the state probability is a probability that a specified number of users are using said link when a specified maximum call blocking probability requirement is satisfied relative to said link; and a marginal packet loss probability in the plurality of marginal packet loss probabilities, wherein the marginal packet loss probability is a probability that a packet is lost when said packet is sent through said link that: has a specified amount of bandwidth; and is being used by said specified number of users.