Increasing resilience of ATM networks using traffic monitoring and automated anomaly analysis

Systematic network monitoring can be the cornerstone for the dependable operation of safety-critical distributed systems. In this paper, we present our vision for informed anomaly detection through network monitoring and resilience measurements to increase the operators' visibility of ATM communication networks. We raise the question of how to determine the optimal level of automation in this safety-critical context, and we present a novel passive network monitoring system that can reveal network utilisation trends and traffic patterns in diverse timescales. Using network measurements, we derive resilience metrics and visualisations to enhance the operators' knowledge of the network and traffic behaviour, and allow for network planning and provisioning based on informed what-if analysis

Internet Accounting

This article provides an introduction to Internet accounting and discusses the status of related work within the IETF and IRTF, as well as certain research projects. Internet accounting is different from accounting in POTS. To understand Internet accounting, it is important to answer questions like "what is being paid for" and "who is being paid". With respect to the question "what is being paid for" a distinction can be made between transport accounting and content accounting. Transport accounting is interesting since techniques like DiffServ enable the provision of different quality of service classes; each class will be charged differently to avoid all users selecting the same top-level class. The interest in content accounting finds its roots in the fast growth of commercial offerings over the Internet; examples of such offerings include remote video and software distribution. The question "who is being paid" has two possible answers: the network provider or the owner of the content. The case in which the network provider issues the bill is called provider-based accounting. Since this case will become more and more important, this article introduces a new architecture for provider-based accounting

The RIPE NCC internet measurement data repository

This paper describes datasets that will shortly be made available to the research community through an Internet measurement data repository operated by the RIPE NCC. The datasets include measurements collected by RIPE NCC projects, packet trace sets recovered from the defunct NLANR website and datasets collected and currently hosted by other research institutions. This work aims to raise awareness of these datasets amongst researchers and to promote discussion about possible changes to the data collection processes to ensure that the measurements are relevant and useful to the community

A Generic Network and System Management Framework

Networks and distributed systems have formed the basis of an ongoing communications revolution that has led to the genesis of a wide variety of services. The constantly increasing size and complexity of these systems does not come without problems. In some organisations, the deployment of Information Technology has reached a state where the benefits from downsizing and rightsizing by adding new services are undermined by the effort required to keep the system running. Management of networks and distributed systems in general has a straightforward goal: to provide a productive environment in which work can be performed effectively. The work required for management should be a small fraction of the total effort. Most IT systems are still managed in an ad hoc style without any carefully elaborated plan. In such an environment the success of management decisions depends totally on the qualification and knowledge of the administrator. The thesis provides an analysis of the state of the art in the area of Network and System Management and identifies the key requirements that must be addressed for the provisioning of Integrated Management Services. These include the integration of the different management related aspects (i.e. integration of heterogeneous Network, System and Service Management). The thesis then proposes a new framework, INSMware, for the provision of Management Services. It provides a fundamental basis for the realisation of a new approach to Network and System Management. It is argued that Management Systems can be derived from a set of pre-fabricated and reusable Building Blocks that break up the required functionality into a number of separate entities rather than being developed from scratch. It proposes a high-level logical model in order to accommodate the range of requirements and environments applicable to Integrated Network and System Management that can be used as a reference model. A development methodology is introduced that reflects principles of the proposed approach, and provides guidelines to structure the analysis, design and implementation phases of a management system. The INSMware approach can further be combined with the componentware paradigm for the implementation of the management system. Based on these principles, a prototype for the management of SNMP systems has been implemented using industry standard middleware technologies. It is argued that development of a management system based on Componentware principles can offer a number of benefits. INSMware Components may be re-used and system solutions will become more modular and thereby easier to construct and maintain

A framework and toolkit for the collection and analysis of QoS statistics for voice traffic in Next Generation Networks

The multi-service, multi-architecture nature of NGNs is so complex that the management of services, in addition to networks, emerges as a research challenge. Despite QoS limitations, VoIP (as opposed to VoATM), dominates the Internet and enterprise markets, and is evolving to handle the carrier space. This paper presents a strategy that abstracts QoS away from both VoATM and VoIP in order to manage voice QoS in an NGN environment.Telkom, Siemens, THRI

A framework and toolkit for the collection and analysis of QoS statistics for voice traffic in Next Generation Networks

The multi-service, multi-architecture nature of NGNs is so complex that the management of services, in addition to networks, emerges as a research challenge. Despite QoS limitations, VoIP (as opposed to VoATM), dominates the Internet and enterprise markets, and is evolving to handle the carrier space. This paper presents a strategy that abstracts QoS away from both VoATM and VoIP in order to manage voice QoS in an NGN environment.Telkom, Siemens, THRIPDepartment of HE and Training approved lis