A system and method are disclosed for using tolerances obtained from a user together
with historical information about a communication network to analyze the network's
performance and to calculate and recommend a specific change to the committed information
rate (CIR) over a given frame relay permanent virtual circuit (PVC). The historical
information, which is collected by a network management system connected to at
least two communication devices in a communication network, relates to various
performance parameters, which may include the total data transmitted, received
and dropped above and within the original CIR, and the burstiness of the data.
The historical information is automatically analyzed in view of the user's designated
tolerances to determine the network's data transmission performance, and a forward-looking
recommendation of an optimum CIR is made, based on the analysis. The results of
the analysis and the recommended change to the CIR are displayed to the user in
a graphical format.