Spring 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting

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Spring 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting

• E2Epi Measurement Update
• Guy Almes
• Matt Zekauskas

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Outline

• Abilene plans
• Measurement portal
• Tools under development
• Data collection and use

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Abilene Plans

• Machines in every router node
• Data collection in conjunction with E2Epi
• Network observatory space

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Abilene Measurement Functions

• High-perf. Bandwidth Test Endpoint
• Initially gigE connectivity (direct to router)
• Periodic scheduled tests (results on web)
• Authorized on-demand tests for E2Epi
• Latency tests
• Reasonable (sub-msec) clock synchronization
• Periodic testing
• Verify low-latency and no test traffic dropped
• Verify connectivity to participants

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Abilene Measurement Functions

• Statistics gathering
• Traditional (utilization, errors) and Additional
  (error and QoS detail) SNMP statistics
• Routing, both IGP and BGP
• Better statistics engineering
• Collect near router to assure no loss of stats
  during network transients
• Include flow statistics collected only centrally
  today
• A local cache long term storage is elsewhere
• For research in addition to operations /
  performance

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Abilene Measurement Functions

• On-demand measurements
• Some generally available (beacon)
• Some available with authorization
• A place for the NOC to solve problems

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Hardware Realization

• Four PCs, one for each functional area
• High-bandwidth
• Direct GigE connection to router
• Jumbo frames available
• Latency
• 100bT full-duplex switched connection to router
• Statistics gathering
• 100bT full-duplex switched connection to router
• Non-bandwidth intensive on-demand
• (GigE switched connection to router)

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Network Observatory

• The statistics-gathering machine will help gather
  what many researchers are interested in.
• For special projects that need to be collocated
  with the routers, we reserve space and power in
  measurement racks.

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Potential Examples

• Packet header studies with suitable privacy
  protection
• Zebra bgp/igp studies (with experimental
  software)
• Test overlay networks
• However, this list is not restrictive we
  anticipate studies that we have not imagined.
  (Creative PhD thesis topics, anyone?)

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Network Observatory

• Approximately ¼ of one rack reserved
• At least enough power for two of the high-end PCs
  we are using ourselves (DC, some non-protected AC
  available, potential for Inverters).
• Switched 100bT available GigE ports on the
  routers can be made available if necessary.

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A Measurement Portal

• Development ongoing as part of the Quilt
  Measurement Project
• Example, GPN http//noc.greatplains.net/measureme
  nt/
• SNMP utilization
• Ping data, hops, traceroute
• Iperf server, pchar server
• Router proxy
• TCP tester (options, buffer size, ) From ORNL,
  Net100, Web100
• http//www.thequilt.net/measurement/
• (Contact Rick Summerhill, rrsum_at_greatplains.net)

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Tools

• Highlights, NOT an exhaustive list
• Internet2 Detective
• Novice, initially Microsoft OS
• Pioneer (the cakebox)
• Help shake out H.323 problems before conferences
• H.323 Beacon
• From the Ohio ITEC
• Use real H.323 streams to debug paths

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Tools Internet2 Detective

• An easy-to-use tool for any network user
• Provides information about
• Internet2 Backbone connectivity
• Bandwidth (using NLANR Iperf)
• Multicast capability
• IPv6 connectivity (coming soon)
• Production release target July 2002
• Future development and support to be based on
  interest from the Internet2 community
• Downloads and information available (soon) at
  http//detective.internet2.edu/

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PioneerAn Application-Level Tool

• http//pelle.internet2.edu/pioneer/
• Synthesis of existing infrastructure (surveyor)
  and new infrastructure (a luggable black-box
  node, the cakebox)
• Uses low-rate iperf tests under the hood
• Focus video conferencing tests
• Goal use this to tell if video likely to work
• See also
• VideNet Scout (http//scout.video.unc.edu/)
• Beacon being developed at the Ohio ITEC

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H.323 Beacon

• Central H.323 server
• From outlet you want to use,
• Test program on a laptop
• H.323 device
• Using real H.323 streams, evaluate loss and
  jitter, point out potential problems
• Look for announcements toward the end of the
  summer

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The ORNL TCP Tester

• Check for bulk data transfer readiness
• Developed at ORNL in the Net100 project, using
  Web100 code on server
• Central server
• Java applet on client
• Note problems with buffer sizes, TCP options
• One operational server on the GPN measurement
  portal (http//noc.greatplains.net/measurement)

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Measurement Data for E2Epi

• An outline to give you an idea and the chance to
  provide feedback not fully baked yet!
• (at least) three parts
• Solid interface (schema) for data
• Mechanism to collect and store
• Mechanism to retrieve

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Interface / Schema

• See the results of the January workshop
• Other groups are working on this issue
• Net100 (www.net100.org )
• GGF DaMed Working Group http//www-didc.lbl.gov/d
  amed/
• GGF Network Measuremeng WGhttp//www-didc.lbl.gov
  /NMWG/
• Internet2 Measurement WG to examine from an E2Epi
  point of view

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Putting It All Together

• All of these measurements are useful to solve
  end-to-end performance problems.
• Imagine three levels of instrumentation
• The previously described Abilene servers
• Servers installed by gigaPoPs and Campuses, at
  very well connected points in their network
• Software that can run on users machines or
  portable testing machines

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Putting It All Together

• Tests are made routinely among the Abilene
  machines
• Tests are made occasionally from Abilene machines
  to the well-connected gigaPoP machines and Campus
  machines.
• To evaluate performance, look at results of
  routine tests in addition to tests that start
  at the users, or the portable machine.

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