Computer networks are gaining increasing importance as they penetrate business and everyday life. Technological evolution results in increased computational power and transmission capacity. These phenomena open the way to the development and exploitation of new applications (. video conferencing) which require demanding services from the network. As a result, computer networks are in continuous evolution and the protocols regulating their operation must be assessed for their suitability to new technologies and ability to support the new applications. . | Telecommunications Optimization Heuristic and Adaptive Techniques. Edited by David W. Corne Martin J. Oates George D. Smith Copyright 2000 John Wiley Sons Ltd ISBNs 0-471-98855-3 Hardback 0-470-84163X Electronic 11 GA-Based Verification of Network Protocols Performance M. Baldi F. Corno M. Rebaudengo Matteo Sonza Reorda and Giovanni Squillero Introduction Computer networks are gaining increasing importance as they penetrate business and everyday life. Technological evolution results in increased computational power and transmission capacity. These phenomena open the way to the development and exploitation of new applications . video conferencing which require demanding services from the network. As a result computer networks are in continuous evolution and the protocols regulating their operation must be assessed for their suitability to new technologies and ability to support the new applications. This assessment is particularly important since new technologies and applications often differ from the ones the protocol has been designed for. The effectiveness of a network solution depends on both the specifications of the protocols and their software and hardware implementations. Given leading hardware and software technologies the protocol specification thus plays a crucial role in the overall network performance. Some aspects are of utmost importance the correctness of the protocol . the warranty of showing the intended behavior in any specific situation its performance . the utilization of the available bandwidth it is able to achieve over the physical medium and its robustness . the property of being able to work correctly under abnormal conditions. The analysis of these different aspects of communication protocols is usually done according to the following techniques Telecommunications Optimization Heuristic and Adaptive Techniques edited by . Corne . Oates and . Smith 2000 John Wiley Sons Ltd 186 Telecommunications Optimization .
