1. An apparatus for managing a plurality of wires, comprising:
a back support; and
a plurality of semi-enclosed arms attached to the back support, wherein each of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms is operable to allow one or more of the plurality of wires to pass through a cavity created by the semi-enclosed arm.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one arm of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms comprises:
an upper arm;
an upper lip extending off of the upper arm;
a lower arm; and
a lower lip extending off of the lower arm.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the lower arm is longer than the upper arm.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the lower lip is longer than the upper lip.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of semi-enclosed arms are arranged so that the enclosed area of each semi-enclosed arm is parallel to the enclosed area of one or more adjacent semi-enclosed arms.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a lower portion and an upper portion of distally positioned semi-enclosed arms are longer than a lower portion and an upper portion respectively of the one or more semi-enclosed arms that are positioned in between the distally positioned semi-enclosed arms.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a lower portion and an upper portion of each of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms are longer than a lower portion and an upper portion respectively of a proximally adjacent semi-enclosed arm.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
an arm at each end of the back support, wherein each arm can be attached to a device surface and can permit the apparatus of claim 1 to be rotated about an axis running between each point of attachment between each arm and the device surface.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a plate running substantially across the apparatus of claim 1 on a plane parallel to the plane formed between the upper and lower planes of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms, wherein the plane is located between the upper and lower planes of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the back support comprises an open area enclosed by rigid tubing.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the back support further comprises means for attaching the apparatus of claim 10 to a device.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of semi-enclosed arms are positioned parallel to each other and each of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms comprises at least two surfaces that are operable to support the plurality of wires.
13. An apparatus for retaining a plurality of wires, comprising:
a hollow member having at least one opening, wherein the hollow member and at least one opening are dimensioned so as to be placed onto one of the semi-enclosed arms of the apparatus of claim 1; and
a flange attached to the hollow member.
14. An apparatus for managing a plurality of wires, comprising:
a back support;
a plurality of semi-enclosed arms, wherein each of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms is operable to allow one or more of the plurality of wires to pass through a cavity created by the semi-enclosed arm; and
one or more hollow members comprising at least one opening and a flexible flange, wherein each hollow member is attached to a semi-enclosed arm.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms comprises:
an upper arm;
an upper lip extending off of the upper arm;
a lower arm; and
a lower lip extending off of the lower arm.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the hollow member is placed on the lower lip of one or more of the plurality of semi-enclosed arms.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the flexible flange is dimensioned so as to substantially cover a gap between the tip of the upper lip and the tip of the lower lip.
18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the back support comprises an open area enclosed by rigid tubing.
19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of semi-enclosed arms are attached to the back support and are arranged so that the enclosed area of each semi-enclosed arm is parallel to the enclosed area of one or more adjacent semi-enclosed arms.
20. An apparatus for retaining a plurality of wires, comprising:
a hollow member having at least one opening, wherein the hollow member and at least one opening are dimensioned so as to be placed onto a semi-enclosed arm; and
a flange attached to the hollow member.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for designing a network in which nodes originate and terminate traffic to keep delay related to node-to-node delay-sensitive communication below a specified threshold, the method comprising:
obtaining an initial network topology including links and traffic routing based on a volume of traffic;
allocating a maximum delay to each link in the network topology in proportion to a square root of an imputed cost for each of the links;
sizing a bandwidth required for each of the links based on a current traffic routing and at least one of a maximum delay allocated to the link;
determining link lengths; and
rerouting traffic according to shortest paths with respect to the determined link lengths.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein sizing the bandwidth requirement is further based on a total link utilization.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating a maximum delay to each of the links further provides that established delay limits on node-to-node communication are satisfied.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating all of the steps until a network design ceases to change.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the delay allocation, link length and routing are determined separately for each of a plurality of traffic classes, and wherein link bandwidths are sufficiently sized for all of the plurality of traffic classes.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the additional step of systematically examining the network topology to determine if at least one of eliminating or adding any given link would reduce a cost of the network.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the additional step of systematically examining the network topology to determine if at least one of eliminating or adding any given link would reduce the cost of the network.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the sizing step further comprises determining the sizing of the bandwidth by assigning virtual channels to each of the plurality of traffic classes, with the bandwidth of each virtual channel being sized separately and wherein a total bandwidth on the link is based on a sum of the bandwidths of the virtual channels as well as on a maximum utilization factor for the links.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the link lengths based on a marginal cost of the link with respect to total traffic that is routed on the link by taking a product of a marginal cost of the bandwidth with respect to current link bandwidth required and a marginal link bandwidth required with respect to traffic routed on the link.
10. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the link lengths based on a marginal cost of the link with respect to total traffic that is routed on the link by taking a product of a marginal cost of the bandwidth with respect to current link bandwidth required and a marginal link bandwidth required with respect to traffic routed on the link.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining step uses a same set of link lengths for every class of traffic based on a weighted sum of the link lengths determined separately for each traffic class.
12. An apparatus far designing a network comprising:
a database; and
a module connected with the database that:
obtains an initial network topology including links and traffic routing based on a volume of traffic;
allocates a maximum delay to each link in the network topology in proportion to a square root of an imputed cost for each link;
sizes a bandwidth required for each link based on a current traffic routing and at least one of a maximum delay allocated to the link;
determines link lengths; and
reroutes traffic according to shortest paths with respect to the link lengths.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the module sizes the bandwidth requirement further based on a total link utilization.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the module further allocates the maximum delay to each link so that established delay limits on node-to-node communication are satisfied.
15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the delay allocation, link length and routing are determined separately for each of a plurality of traffic classes, and wherein link bandwidths are sufficiently sized for all of the plurality of traffic classes.
16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the module further determines the size of the bandwidth by assigning virtual channels to each of a plurality of traffic classes, with a bandwidth of each of the virtual channels being sized separately and wherein a total bandwidth on the link is based on a sum of the bandwidths of the virtual channels as well as on a maximum utilization factor for the links.
17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the module further determines the link lengths based on a marginal cost of the link with respect to total traffic that is routed on the link by taking a product of a marginal cost of the bandwidth with respect to current link bandwidth required and a marginal link bandwidth required with respect to traffic routed on the link.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the module further determines the link lengths based on a marginal cost of the link with respect to total traffic that is routed on the link by taking a product of a marginal cost of the bandwidth with respect to current link bandwidth required and a marginal link bandwidth required with respect to traffic routed on the link.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the module further determines a same set of link lengths for every one of the traffic classes based on a weighted sum of the link lengths determined separately for each of the traffic classes.