Network Performance Metrics

Network Performance Metrics What are we trying to estimate?

Four metrics are used to describe a packets transmission through a network Bandwidth, Delay, Jitter, and Loss Using a pipe analogy, then for each packet:
Bandwidth is the perceived width of the pipe Delay is the perceived length of the pipe Jitter is the perceived variation in the length of the pipe Loss is the perceived leakiness if the pipe
Bandwidth

The path as perceived by a packet!

Delay
2001, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Network Performance Measures

Throughput - how many user data / packets / bytes go through the network within unit time. Example: bits/sec. successfully transmitted ,Tput = 10 Mbps] Goodput- rate in bits per second of useful traffic received. Goodput excludes duplicate packets and packets dropped along the path. Goodput is measured at the receiver Utilization of a communications link - the fraction of time by which the link is actually busy (not idle) Typically, service providers are interested in high utilizations to justify investments
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Network Performance Measures Blocking Probability gives the probability that a service request is not served due to busy resources. For example, when you want to place a telephone call, you sometimes get no dial tone or a busy tone from the beginning on

Packet Switching
Possible congestion

A B

statistical multiplexing

queue of packets waiting for output link

No reservations

no guarantees
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Delay in Packet-Switched Networks

Time to transfer the bits onto the wire Bit travel time

transmission

A B
nodal processing

propagation

queueing

Check for errors Determine forwarding link

Time spent waiting for transmission

Link Packet Delay Link packet delay = PROC + QD + TRANS + PROP.

1. The processing delay [PROC] between the time the packet is correctly received at the head node of the incoming link and the time the packet is assigned to an outgoing link queue for transmission. 2. The queuing delay [QD] between the time the packet is assigned to a queue for transmission and the time it starts being transmitted. During this time, the packet waits while other packets in the transmission queue are transmitted.
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Link Packet Delay Link packet delay = PROC + QD + TRANS + PROP.

3. The transmission delay [TRANS] between the times that the first and last bits of the packet are transmitted. 4. The propagation delay [PROP] between the time the last bit is transmitted at the head node of the link queue and the time the last bit is received at the next router. This is proportional to the physical distance between transmitter and receiver.
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Delay in Packet-Switched Networks

1,500-byte packet on 100 Mbps = 120 s < 10 s on a small campus ~ 25-30 ms coast-to-coast

transmission

A B
nodal processing

propagation

queueing

Variable

Widely variable

Delay in Packet-Switched Networks

transmission

A B
nodal processing

propagation

queueing

Transmission delay (TD): R = link speed (bps) L = packet length (bits) TD = L/R

Propagation delay (PD): d = length of physical link s = propagation speed in medium (~2x108 m/sec) PD = d/s
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Queueing Delay: Traffic Intensity Traffic intensity: La/R

R = transmission speed (bps) L = packet length (bits/packet) a = average packet arrival rate (packets/second)
La/R ~ 0: La/R 1: La/R > 1: Average queuing delay small Delays become large Work arrives faster than it can be serviced

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QoS Framework
The Internet provided in the past only best effort service with no predictable performance Real time and multimedia applications have traffic characteristics and performance requirements different from data-oriented applications QoS identifies a set of network performance characteristics required by multimedia applications (delay, jitter, BER, packet loss, etc.)

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QoS Specification
User
perceptual QoS

Application level
application QoS

System level (OS and network)

device QoS system QoS network QoS

Multimedia devices

Network subsystem

At each level QoS must be specified for the level below Users are the ultimate decision makers on what they perceive Simulation is important for QoS design
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QoS Requirements for Applications

ERP and MissionCritical
Varies Moderate to High Low to Moderate Varies

Voice
Bandwidth Loss Sensitivity Low to Moderate Low

FTP
Moderate to High High

Delay Sensitive

High

Low

Jitter Sensitive

High

Low

Traffic should be grouped into classes that have similar QoS requirements
2001, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Delay Jitter
Delay jitter denotes delay variation. Roughly speaking, the jitter characterizes the deviation from a strictly isochronously service. Interactive multimedia applications require bounded jitter and delay

Video conferencing (avoid flickering of the image, distorted sound) Digitize/compress/decompress time Variation in delay of network transport system Operating system scheduling latencies

Factors causing jitter

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Delay Jitter and Packet Loss Example

1. Video frames can be played as they are received smooth playout Frames 2 arrives late (r2). User see frozen image of frame 1 until frame 2 arrived. Frame 2 is played briefly to preserve timing for frame 3 Frames 2 is lost. User see frozen image of frame 1 and then the video stream jumps to the next frame

2.

3.

Jitter(i) = (ri si ) (ri 1 si 1 ), i >1

Example from Mark Claypool, Jonathan Tahner The Effects of Jitter on the Perceptual Quality of Video

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