3.12 Requirements Mapping


3.12 Requirements Mapping

Another part of the requirements analysis process is mapping requirements. In Chapter 2, we discussed the importance of determining the locations of important devices and applications. As part of the analysis process, we will bring that location information together into a map of where devices are (or are likely to be) and where applications apply (or are likely to apply).

Requirements are mapped to a geographic description of the environment. This may be a building or campus but can also be abstracted to metropolitan-area or wide-area views. In fact, there can be multiple views of the environment, each focusing on a particular geographic area. For example, one map may be a wide-area view, showing the cities where the devices and applications apply. Each city may then have its own map, showing the campuses and/or buildings (Figure 3.26).

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Figure 3.26: Multiple requirements maps.

Figure 3.27 shows an example of a requirements map. On this map of a campus, the locations of devices (servers and specialized devices) and applications are placed. From this map, we can begin to correlate which parts of the campus will be using which applications and devices and can estimate where traffic flows might occur, within an application, between applications, and between devices.

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Figure 3.27: Campus requirements map.

Note that on this map, groups of generic computing devices are also shown. Showing individual desktop or laptop devices is not practical and is not likely to provide important information. Showing groups, however, gives an indication of how many devices (and users) are in a particular location. This will be useful in the flow analysis process.

The degenerate case of a requirements map is one in which all applications apply everywhere, and there are no servers or specialized devices to show. In this case there is little, if any, information that can be determined by such a map.




Network Analysis, Architecture and Design
Network Analysis, Architecture and Design, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking)
ISBN: 1558608877
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 161

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