Patent Document ID: 20050240466
Application ID: 10832885
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for avoiding demand forecast errors in a network topology model having a plurality of nodes, by monitoring and controlling the capacity of a node for a selected port type, the method comprising: (a) providing information of the capacity at a node for a selected port type, (b) providing information of the initial demand forecast for the port type at the node for a forecast period, wherein the forecast period is a function of the time required to change the capacity at the node, (c) setting a threshold value to generate alerts, wherein the threshold value is a function of the forecast period, and (d) monitoring the node for a change in the demand forecast, wherein if a change is detected then (i) updating the demand forecast, and (ii) computing the difference between the updated demand forecast and the capacity, wherein if the difference is greater than the threshold value, then generating an alert, whereby the alert can be used to avoid demand forecast errors, wherein the method can be used to continuously monitor and control a network topology model.