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Formula Overview

All formulas used in this workbook, presented in calculation order with variable definitions and enterprise adaptation notes.

Complete formula set

Step 1  U_eff  = (H × 1.0) + (AI × 3.5) + (IoT × 0.2) + (Pod × 7.0)

Step 2  AIW    = Σ(stream_Mbps) × Burst_factor

Step 3  CS     = 1–5   →  BW overhead %:
                 CS1=+8%  CS2=+18%  CS3=+28%  CS4=+40%  CS5=+60%

Step 4  LL     = 1–5   →  RTT budget (ms):
                 LL1=500  LL2=200  LL3=80  LL4=31  LL5=20

Step 5  B_min  = (U_eff × AIW × Peak_factor) / Link_utilisation_target
        B_rec  = B_min × 1.5
        Model_sync_BW (Mbps) = GB × Updates/day × 8000 / 86400
        B_total = B_rec + Model_sync_BW

Step 6  IS     = (U_eff × AIW × CS × LL) / (B × A)

Step 7  PUO    = IS / U_eff

Step 8  Route  = f(LL, CS, Data_residency, Cost)

Step 9  B_req  = (U_eff × AIW × CS × LL) / (3.0 × A)   [target IS = 3]
        B_gap  = B_req − B_current

Variable definitions

Primary formula variables

Variable Full name Units Range Source
H Human operators Count Any Headcount
AI AI software agents / bots Count Any Platform inventory
IoT IoT devices and edge sensors Count Any Network scan
Pod GPU inference pods Count Any Infrastructure inventory
U_eff Effective load units Dimensionless Any Calculated (Step 1)
AIW Avg AI workload per load unit Mbps 0.5–40 Calculated (Step 2)
CS Cybersecurity risk factor Dimensionless 1–5 Scored (Step 3)
LL Low-latency factor Dimensionless 1–5 Assessed (Step 4)
B Provisioned bandwidth Mbps Any Procured / planned
A Adjustment factor Dimensionless 0.5–1.0 Infrastructure type
IS Impact Score Dimensionless Any Calculated (Step 6)
PUO Per-User Output Dimensionless Any Calculated (Step 7)

Derived and supporting variables

Variable Formula Typical value
Peak_factor AI burst multiplier 1.5–2.5
Link_utilisation_target Max safe link load 65–70%
Model_sync_BW GB × updates × 8000 / 86400 Varies
B_gap B_required − B_current Must be ≤ 0 for readiness

Entity multipliers

Entity type Multiplier Rationale
Human operator × 1.0 Baseline. Think/pause cycles limit sustained load.
AI software agent / bot × 3.5 24/7, no idle time, 3–4 parallel API calls continuously.
IoT / edge sensor × 0.2 Low per-device but high volume aggregates dangerously.
GPU inference pod × 7.0 Serves all users simultaneously, model weights, inter-pod comms.

IS verdict thresholds

IS range Status Action
IS ≤ 1.0 Optimal Monitor quarterly. AI can grow into headroom.
1.0 < IS ≤ 3.0 Monitor Enforce 6-class QoS. Alert at IS > 3.
3.0 < IS ≤ 10.0 Upgrade required Bandwidth upgrade or edge AI within 90 days.
IS > 10.0 Deployment blocker No AI go-live. Redesign first.

PUO verdict thresholds

PUO range Status Action
PUO < 0.3 Over-provisioned Review if B can reduce at next renewal.
0.3–1.0 Balanced Maintain. Monitor trend quarterly.
1.0–2.0 Stressed Add bandwidth or reduce AIW via model quantisation.
PUO > 2.0 Overloaded Immediate action: edge AI or bandwidth upgrade.

A factor reference

Infrastructure type A value
Dark fiber / dedicated leased line 0.95–1.00
Dedicated MPLS with SLA 0.90–0.95
SD-WAN dual-path managed 0.82–0.90
Shared MPLS / business broadband 0.70–0.82
SD-WAN over shared internet 0.65–0.75
Legacy single-ISP internet only 0.50–0.65

Enterprise adaptations

These variables are adapted from the base IS model to fit enterprise realities.

Why U_eff replaces raw headcount

Raw headcount treats every entity as a human with equal network demand. In an AI enterprise, this is dangerously wrong. A GPU inference pod consumes 7 times the sustained bandwidth of a human operator. An AI bot runs continuously with no idle time. The multiplier system converts all entity types to equivalent load units before any calculation.

Why AIW is a composite stream value

Enterprise AI is always multi-modal. A Webex CC agent using AI assist simultaneously generates: a speech-to-text stream (0.3 Mbps), an LLM inference stream (1.5 Mbps), a screen analytics stream (3 Mbps), and a RAG query stream (1.8 Mbps). These run concurrently, not alternately. AIW is the sum of all active streams multiplied by the burst factor, not the largest stream alone.

Why CS translates to bandwidth overhead

CS is not just a risk rating. Every CS point above 1 represents real network overhead from encryption inspection, DLP scanning, micro-segmentation headers, and audit logging. CS = 4 (DPDP-regulated PII workloads) adds 40% overhead to every byte traversing the network. If your provisioned bandwidth is 10 Gbps and CS = 4, your effective AI capacity is 7.14 Gbps, not 10 Gbps.

Why LL determines topology, not just SLA

LL is not a performance target — it is an architecture forcing function. LL = 4 (31ms budget) is physically impossible over a cloud WAN path from India to any non-Indian cloud region. A Mumbai-to-Singapore round trip alone is 45ms. LL = 4 mandates on-campus AI inference. LL = 5 (20ms) mandates on-premises GPU with zero WAN traversal. No QoS policy or bandwidth upgrade can overcome physics.