An object-oriented simulation model for communication network traffic at a general mail facility

This paper discusses an object-oriented simulation project conducted for the United States Postal System (USPS) to test the reliability of an Ethernet LAN to support communication among various equipment contained at a General Mail Facility. The study was authorized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to verify that the communication requirements derived from the implementation of their developed Postal Equipment Management System would not saturate the communication network. The simulated network handles over 400 transactions per second, and the USPS specified that eight hours of operation (one shift) must be simulated. The simulation was programmed in C++, and the completed study demonstrated that an Ethernet LAN can reliably support the communication requirements