Traffic performance evaluation of an optical packet switch with multicast operation

We recently proposed a multicast-enabled optical packet switch architecture utilizing multicast modules. In this paper, we evaluate the traffic performance of our earlier proposed packet switch under a hybrid traffic model through simulations. The multicast packets are given higher priority than unicast packets so that only a small number of multicast modules are needed. The results show that the switch can achieve an acceptable packet loss probability in conjunction with a packet scheduling technique.     

Fair Bandwidth Allocation Using Effective Multicast Traffic Share in TDM-PONs

In this paper, the effects of optical traffic-sharing on the performance of multicast video delivery in terms of the efficiency of bandwidth allocation and the fairness of link-sharing are discussed for the downstream direction of a time-division-multiplexed passive optical network (TDM-PON). We analyze the practical issues associated with multicast packet switching and transmission control in a TDM-PON and also propose a fair bandwidth allocation mechanism, called share-based proportional bandwidth allocation (S-PBA), to effectively support multicast services. In order to provide an optical network unit with a fair amount of link bandwidth and high throughput independent of traffic type, S-PBA arbitrates the amount of unicast timeslot by using effective multicast traffic share, which is determined based on multicast traffic load distribution and traffic-sharing density. Analytic and simulation results clearly validate the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism. This work is applicable to multicast video delivery or multicast traffic transmission in general, such as voice traffic, or a combination of both in the case of video conferencing, for example.     

Multicast capacity of optical ring network with hotspot traffic: The bi-directional WDM packet ring

Packet-switching WDM ring networks with a hotspot transporting unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic are important components of high-speed metropolitan area networks. For an arbitrary multicast fanout traffic model with uniform, hotspot destination, and hotspot source packet traffic, we analyze the maximum achievable long-run average packet throughput, which we refer to as multicast capacity, of bi-directional shortest path routed WDM rings. We identify three segments that can experience the maximum utilization, and thus, limit the multicast capacity. We characterize the segment utilization probabilities through bounds and approximations, which we verify through simulations. We discover that shortest path routing can lead to utilization probabilities above one half for moderate to large portions of hotspot source multi- and broadcast traffic, and consequently multicast capacities of less than two simultaneous packet transmissions. We outline a one-copy routing strategy that guarantees a multicast capacity of at least two simultaneous packet transmissions for arbitrary hotspot source traffic.     

基于OTN组播的超高清视频传送方案研究

4K超高清视频直播对网络分组丢失和时延抖动有较高的要求,OTN组播是基于OTN管道和ODU交叉复制的高品质传送方案,与超高清视频直播业务特征相匹配.本文首先引入直播视频传送指标和评测方法,提出了OTN组播传送方案,并结合网络进行试点验证,通过实测数据对OTN组播的关键传送指标和体验指标进行研究,最后,对方案的部署成本进...     

Joint scheduling and power control supporting multicasting in wireless ad hoc networks

This paper addresses the problem of power control in a multihop wireless network supporting multicast traffic. We face the problem of forwarding packet traffic to multicast group members while meeting constraints on the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the intended receivers. First, we present a distributed algorithm which, given the set of multicast senders and their corresponding receivers, provides an optimal solution when it exists, which minimizes the total transmit power. When no optimal solution can be found for the given set of multicast senders and receivers, we introduce a distributed, joint scheduling and power control algorithm which eliminates the weak connections and tries to maximize the number of successful multicast transmissions. The algorithm allows the other senders to solve the power control problem and minimize the total transmit power. We show that our distributed algorithm converges to the optimal solution when it exists, and performs close to centralized, heuristic algorithms that have been proposed to address the joint scheduling and power control problem.     

MULTICAST ROUTING SCHEMES IN ATM

In this study, we investigate the problem of accommodating multicast traffic in ATM networks, with emphasis on the virtual path (VP) environment. We propose a network structure called “virtual copy network” that is suitable for multicast communication and connection setup scheme, taking into account the VP environment. With our technique, we can expect statistical multiplexing gain in accommodating multiple multicast traffic streams over a VP. Also, we propose two multicast routing algorithms (the CNR-LH algorithm and the improved CNR-LH algorithm) for an ATM network environment. In these algorithms, in addition to determining an adequate route, the exact corresponding VPs on the route are also obtained. We examine the efficiency of the algorithms by demonstrating their basic characteristics using computer simulations.     

Multicast-based inference of network-internal delay distributions

Packet delay greatly influences the overall performance of network applications. It is therefore important to identify causes and locations of delay performance degradation within a network. Existing techniques, largely based on end-to-end delay measurements of unicast traffic, are well suited to monitor and characterize the behavior of particular end-to-end paths. Within these approaches, however, it is not clear how to apportion the variable component of end-to-end delay as queueing delay at each link along a path. Moreover, there are issues of scalability for large networks. In this paper, we show how end-to-end measurements of multicast traffic can be used to infer the packet delay distribution and utilization on each link of a logical multicast tree. The idea, recently introduced in Caceres et al. (1999), is to exploit the inherent correlation between multicast observations to infer performance of paths between branch points in a tree spanning a multicast source and its receivers. The method does not depend on cooperation from intervening network elements; because of the bandwidth efficiency of multicast traffic, it is suitable for large-scale measurements of both end-to-end and internal network dynamics. We establish desirable statistical properties of the estimator, namely consistency and asymptotic normality. We evaluate the estimator through simulation and observe that it is robust with respect to moderate violations of the underlying model.     

Early recognition of internet traffic based on signature inspection

The accurate and efficient classification of Internet traffic is the first and key step to accurate traffic management, network security and traffic analysis. The classic ways to identify flows is either inaccu-rate or inefficient, which are not suitable to be applied to real-time online classification. In this paper, we originally presented an early recognition method named Early Recognition Based on Deep Packet Inspec-tion (ERBDPI) based on deep packet inspection, after analyzing the distribution of payload signature be-tween packets of a flow in detail. The basic concept of ERBDPI is classifying flows based on the payload signature of their first some packets, so that we can identify traffic at the beginning of a flow connection. We compared the performance of ERBDPI with that of traditional sampling methods both synthetically and using real-world traffic traces. The result shows that ERBDPI can get a higher classification accuracy with a lower packet sampling rate, which makes it suitable to be applied to accurate real-time classification in high-speed links.     

Multidestination communication over tunable-receiver single-hop WDMnetworks

We address the issue of providing efficient mechanisms for multidestination communication over one class of lightwave wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) architectures, namely, single-hop networks with tunability provided only at the receiving side. We distinguish a number of multicast traffic types, we present a number of alternative broadcast/multicast time-division multiple-access (TDMA) schedules for each type, and we develop heuristics to obtain schedules that result in low average packet delay. One of our major contributions is the development of a suite of adaptive multicast protocols which are simple to implement, and have good performance under changing multicast traffic conditions     

Understanding and Exploiting the Trade-Offs between Broadcasting and Multicasting in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

We find that current group communications protocols are far from "one size fits all", they are typically geared toward and optimized for particular scenarios. Multicasting, in general, works well if the density of group members is sparse and in low mobility; broadcasting, in contrast, works well with a high density of group members and in high mobility. Due to the dynamics of the network, one strategy may be preferable to the other at different times and in different localized regions. In this paper, we first quantify the trade-offs between broadcasting and multicasting and evaluate the suitability of a strategy in various scenarios of deployment. Based on the lessons learned, we design a protocol that adapts in response to the dynamics of the network. We named our protocol Fireworks. Fireworks is a hybrid two-tier multicast/broadcast protocol that provides efficient and lightweight multicast dissemination and self-adapts in response to variations in the density and distribution of group members to provide efficient performance. Fireworks creates pockets of broadcast distribution in areas with many members, while it creates and maintains a multicast backbone to interconnect these dense pockets. Fireworks offers packet delivery statistics comparable to that of a pure multicast scheme but with significantly lower overheads. We also show that Fireworks has a lower level of degrading influence on the performance of coexisting unicast sessions than either traditional multicast or broadcast methods     

Detection accuracy of network anomalies using sampled flow statistics

We investigated the detection accuracy of network anomalies when using flow statistics obtained through packet sampling. Through a case study based on measurement data, we showed that network anomalies generating a large number of small flows, such as network scans or SYN flooding, become difficult to detect during packet sampling. We then developed an analytical model that enables us to quantitatively evaluate the effect of packet sampling and traffic conditions, such as anomalous traffic volume, on detection accuracy. We also investigated how the detection accuracy worsens when the packet sampling rate decreases. In addition, we show that, even with a low sampling rate, spatially partitioning monitored traffic into groups makes it possible to increase detection accuracy. We also developed a method of determining an appropriate number of partitioned groups, and we show its effectiveness. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Custom Networks-on-Chip Architectures With Multicast Routing

In this paper, we consider the problem of synthesizing custom networks-on-chip (NoC) architectures that are optimized for a given application. We consider both unicast and multicast traffic flows in the input specification. Multicast traffic flows are used in a variety of applications, and their direct support with only replication of packets at optimal bifurcation points rather than full end-to-end replication can significantly reduce network contention and resource requirements. Our problem formulation is based on the decomposition of the problem into the inter-related steps of finding good flow partitions, deriving a good physical network topology for each group in the partition, and providing an optimized network implementation for the derived topologies. Our solutions may be comprised of multiple custom networks, each interconnecting a subset of communicating modules. We propose several algorithms that can systematically examine different flow partitions, and we propose Rectilinear–Steiner-Tree (RST)-based algorithms for generating efficient network topologies. Our design flow integrates floorplanning, and our solutions consider deadlock-free routing. Experimental results on a variety of NoC benchmarks showed that our synthesis results can on average achieve a 4.82 times reduction in power consumption over different mesh implementations on unicast benchmarks and a 1.92 times reduction in power consumption on multicast benchmarks. Significant improvements in performance were also achieved, with an average of 2.92 times reduction in hop count on unicast benchmarks and 1.82 times reduction in hop count on multicast benchmarks. To further gauge the effectiveness of our heuristic algorithms, we also implemented an exact algorithm that enumerates all distinct set partitions. For the benchmarks where exact results could be obtained, our algorithms on average can achieve results within 3% of exact results, but with much shorter execution times.      

A high-throughput energy-efficient passive optical datacenter network

Datacenter applications impose heavy demands on bandwidth and also generate a variety of communication patterns (unicast, multicast, incast, and broadcast). Supporting such traffic demands leads to networks built with exorbitant facility costs and formidable power consumption if conventional design is followed. In this paper, we propose a novel high-throughput datacenter network that leverages passive optical technologies to efficiently support communications with mixed traffic patterns. Our network enables a dynamic traffic allocation that caters to diverse communication patterns at low power consumption. Specifically, our proposed network consists of two optical planes, each optimized for specific traffic patterns. We compare the proposed network with its optical and electronic counterparts and highlight its potential benefits in terms of facility costs and power consumption reductions. To avoid frame collisions, a high-efficiency distributed protocol is designed to dynamically distribute traffic between the two optical planes. Moreover, we formulate the scheduling process as a mixed integer programming problem and design three greedy heuristic algorithms. Finally, simulation results show that our proposed scheme outperforms the previous POXN architecture in terms of throughput and mean packet delay.     

A Geometric Approach to Improving Active Packet Loss Measurement

Measurement and estimation of packet loss characteristics are challenging due to the relatively rare occurrence and typically short duration of packet loss episodes. While active probe tools are commonly used to measure packet loss on end-to-end paths, there has been little analysis of the accuracy of these tools or their impact on the network. The objective of our study is to understand how to measure packet loss episodes accurately with end-to-end probes. We begin by testing the capability of standard Poisson-modulated end-to-end measurements of loss in a controlled laboratory environment using IP routers and commodity end hosts. Our tests show that loss characteristics reported from such Poisson-modulated probe tools can be quite inaccurate over a range of traffic conditions. Motivated by these observations, we introduce a new algorithm for packet loss measurement that is designed to overcome the deficiencies in standard Poisson-based tools. Specifically, our method entails probe experiments that follow a geometric distribution to 1) enable an explicit trade-off between accuracy and impact on the network, and 2) enable more accurate measurements than standard Poisson probing at the same rate. We evaluate the capabilities of our methodology experimentally by developing and implementing a prototype tool, called BADABING. The experiments demonstrate the trade-offs between impact on the network and measurement accuracy. We show that BADABING reports loss characteristics far more accurately than traditional loss measurement tools.     

Light trees: optical multicasting for improved performance inwavelength routed networks

We introduce the concept of a light-tree in a wavelength-routed optical network. A light-tree is a point-to-multipoint generalization of a lightpath. A lightpath is a point-to-point all-optical wavelength channel connecting a transmitter at a source node to a receiver at a destination node. Lightpath communication can significantly reduce the number of hops (or lightpaths) a packet has to traverse; and this reduction can, in turn, significantly improve the network's throughput. We extend the lightpath concept by incorporating an optical multicasting capability at the routing nodes in order to increase the logical connectivity of the network and further decrease its hop distance. We refer to such a point-to-multipoint extension as a light-tree. Light-trees can not only provide improved performance for unicast traffic, but they naturally can better support multicast traffic and broadcast traffic. In this study, we shall concentrate on the application and advantages of light-trees to unicast and broadcast traffic. We formulate the light-tree-based virtual topology design problem as an optimization problem with one of two possible objective functions: for a given traffic matrix, (i) minimize the network-wide average packet hop distance, or (ii) minimize the total number of transceivers in the network. We demonstrate that an optimum light-tree-based virtual topology has clear advantages over an optimum lightpath-based virtual topology with respect to the above two objectives     

The arrayed-waveguide grating-based single-hop WDM network: an architecture for efficient multicasting

Research on multicasting in single-hop wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) networks has so far focused on networks based on the passive star coupler (PSC), a broadcast device. It has been shown that multicasting performance is improved by partitioning multicast transmissions into multiple multicast copies. However, the channel bottleneck of the PSC, which does not allow for spatial wavelength reuse, restricts the multicast performance. We investigate multicasting in a single-hop WDM network that is based on an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG), a wavelength routing device that allows for spatial wavelength reuse. In our network, optical multicasting is enabled by wavelength-insensitive splitters that are attached to the AWG output ports. Multicasts are partitioned among the splitters and each multicast copy is routed to a different splitter by sending it on a different wavelength. We demonstrate that the spatial wavelength reuse in our network significantly improves the throughput-delay performance for multicast traffic. By means of analysis and simulations, we also demonstrate that, for a typical mix of unicast and multicast traffic, the throughput-delay performance is dramatically increased by transmitting multicast packets concurrently with control information in the reservation medium access control protocol of our AWG-based network.     

Rate-Diversity and Resource-Aware Broadcast and Multicast in Multi-rate Wireless Mesh Networks

This paper focuses on the problem of increasing the traffic capacity (volume of admissible traffic) of broadcast and multicast flows in a wireless mesh network (WMN). We study and suggest routing strategies where the process of constructing the forwarding tree considers three distinct features: (a) the ability of individual mesh nodes to perform link-layer broadcasts at multiple rates, (b) the wireless broadcast advantage, whereby a single broadcast transmission covers multiple neighboring receivers and (c) the residual transmission capacity at a WMN node, subject to intereference-based constraints from existing traffic flows in its neighborhood. Our metric of interest is the total number of broadcast and multicast flows that can be admitted into the network, without resulting in unacceptable degradation in metrics such as packet loss and dissemination latency. Our discrete event simulations show that the broadcast tree construction heuristic which takes both transmission rate and residual bandwidth into account out-performs those that do not. Building on our work on resource-aware broadcast tree construction, we propose a resource-aware multicast tree construction algorithm which exploits the multiple link-layer rates, the wireless broadcast advantage and the amount of resources available. Simulation results show that this algorithm performs better than heuristics based on pruning a broadcast tree or shortest path trees.     

Estimating flow distributions from sampled flow statistics

Passive traffic measurement increasingly employs sampling at the packet level. Many high-end routers form flow statistics from a sampled substream of packets. Sampling controls the consumption of resources by the measurement operations. However, knowledge of the statistics of flows in the unsampled stream remains useful, for understanding both characteristics of source traffic, and consumption of resources in the network. This paper provides methods that use flow statistics formed from sampled packet stream to infer the frequencies of the number of packets per flow in the unsampled stream. A key task is to infer the properties of flows of original traffic that evaded sampling altogether. We achieve this through statistical inference, and by exploiting protocol level detail reported in flow records. We investigate the impact on our results of different versions of packet sampling.     

On max-min fair congestion control for multicast ABR service in ATM

In the ATM Forum activities, considerable efforts have focused on the congestion control of point-to-point available bit rate (ABR) service. We present a novel approach that extends existing point-to-point (unicast) congestion control protocols to a point-to-multipoint (multicast) environment. In particular, we establish a unified framework to derive a multicast congestion control protocol for an ABR service from a given rate-based unicast protocol. We generalize a known necessary and sufficient condition on the max-min fairness of unicast rate allocation for a multicast service. Using this condition, we show that the resulting multicast protocol derived using our framework preserves the fairness characteristics of the underlying unicast protocol. The practical significance of our approach is illustrated by extending a standard congestion control mechanism for an ABR service to a multicast environment. The performance of the resulting multicast protocol is examined using benchmark network configurations suggested by the traffic management subworking group at the ATM Forum, and simulation results are presented to substantiate our claims