TCP flow aware adaptive path switching in diffserv enabled MPLS networks

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We propose an adaptive flow-level multi-path routing-based traffic engineering solution for an IP backbone network carrying TCP/IP traffic. Incoming TCP flows are switched between two explicitly routed paths, namely the primary and secondary paths (PP and SP), for resilience and potential goodput improvement at the TCP layer. In the proposed architecture, PPs receive a preferential treatment over SPs using differentiated services mechanisms. The reason for this choice is not for service differentiation but for coping with the detrimental knock-on effect stemming from the use of longer SP that is well known for conventional network load balancing algorithms. Moreover, both paths are congestion-controlled using Explicit Congestion Notification marking at the core and Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease rate adjustment at the ingress nodes. The delay difference between PP and SP is estimated using two per-egress rate-controlling buffers maintained at the ingress nodes for each path, and this delay difference is used to determine the path over which a new TCP flow will be routed. We perform extensive simulations using ns-2 in order to demonstrate the viability of the proposed distributed adaptive multi-path routing method in terms of per-flow TCP goodput. The proposed solution consistently outperforms the single-path routing policy and provides substantial per-flow goodput gains under poor PP conditions. Moreover, highest goodput improvements under the proposed scheme are achieved by flows that receive the lowest goodputs with single-path routing, while the performance of the flows with high goodputs with single-path routing does not deteriorate with the proposed path switching technique. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

TCP flow aware adaptive path switching in diffserv enabled MPLS networks

We propose an adaptive flow-level multi-path routing-based traffic engineering solution for an IP backbone network carrying TCP/IP traffic. Incoming TCP flows are switched between two explicitly routed paths, namely the primary and secondary paths (PP and SP), for resilience and potential goodput improvement at the TCP layer. In the proposed architecture, PPs receive a preferential treatment over SPs using differentiated services mechanisms. The reason for this choice is not for service differentiation but for coping with the detrimental knock-on effect stemming from the use of longer SP that is well known for conventional network load balancing algorithms. Moreover, both paths are congestion-controlled using Explicit Congestion Notification marking at the core and Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease rate adjustment at the ingress nodes. The delay difference between PP and SP is estimated using two per-egress rate-controlling buffers maintained at the ingress nodes for each path, and this delay difference is used to determine the path over which a new TCP flow will be routed. We perform extensive simulations using ns-2 in order to demonstrate the viability of the proposed distributed adaptive multi-path routing method in terms of per-flow TCP goodput. The proposed solution consistently outperforms the single-path routing policy and provides substantial per-flow goodput gains under poor PP conditions. Moreover, highest goodput improvements under the proposed scheme are achieved by flows that receive the lowest goodputs with single-path routing, while the performance of the flows with high goodputs with single-path routing does not deteriorate with the proposed path switching technique. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Survey on the Contributions of Software-Defined Networking to Traffic Engineering

Since the appearance of OpenFlow back in 2008, software-defined networking (SDN) has gained momentum. Although there are some discrepancies between the standards developing organizations working with SDN about what SDN is and how it is defined, they all outline traffic engineering (TE) as a key application. One of the most common objectives of TE is the congestion minimization, where techniques such as traffic splitting among multiple paths or advanced reservation systems are used. In such a scenario, this manuscript surveys the role of a comprehensive list of SDN protocols in TE solutions, in order to assess how these protocols can benefit TE. The SDN protocols have been categorized using the SDN architecture proposed by the open networking foundation, which differentiates among data-controller plane interfaces, application-controller plane interfaces, and management interfaces, in order to state how the interface type in which they operate influences TE. In addition, the impact of the SDN protocols on TE has been evaluated by comparing them with the path computation element (PCE)-based architecture. The PCE-based architecture has been selected to measure the impact of SDN on TE because it is the most novel TE architecture until the date, and because it already defines a set of metrics to measure the performance of TE solutions. We conclude that using the three types of interfaces simultaneously will result in more powerful and enhanced TE solutions, since they benefit TE in complementary ways.European Commission through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (GN4) under Grant 691567 Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the Secure Deployment of Services Over SDN and NFV-based Networks Project S&NSEC under Grant TEC2013-47960-C4-3-

Advanced features of MPLS technology

Tato práce se zabývá technologií Multiprotocol Label Switching a to zejména moderními metodami, které je možné použít v rámci této technolologie. Jako příklad lze uvést využití podpory kvality služeb při směrování. V práci jsou navrhnuty a simulovány různé topologie a scénáře, které ověřují možnosti využití MPLS v podpoře kvality služeb.This work is considered to evaluate the needs of MPLS implementation in current IP networks with respect to Quality of Service guarantees. It shows many aspects and evaluations of the influence of different traffic classes. The best solutions are evaluated with simulations and can be implemented with respect to Quality of Service guarantees.

QoS Design Consideration for Enterprise and Provider’s Network at Ingress and Egress Router for VoIP protocols

Compliance with the Service Level Agreement (SLA) metric is a major challenge in a Multiprotocol Label Switching Virtual Private Network (MPLS VPN) because mandatory models must be maintained on both sides of the MPLS VPN in order to achieve end-to-end service levels. The end-to-end service of an MPLS VPN can be degraded owing to various issues such as distributed denial of service (DDoS), and Random Early Detection (RED) that prevents congestion and differentiates between legitimate and illegitimate user traffic. In this study, we propose a centralized solution that uses a SLA Violation Detector (SLAVD) and intrusion detection to prevent SLA violation

Design, implementation and evaluation of a QoS-aware transport protocol

In the context of a reconfigurable transport protocol framework, we propose a QoS-aware Transport Protocol (QSTP), specifically designed to operate over QoS-enabled networks with bandwidth guarantee. QSTP combines QoS-aware TFRC congestion control mechanism, which takes into account the network-level bandwidth reservations, with a Selective ACKnowledgment (SACK) mechanism in order to provide a QoS-aware transport service that fill the gap between QoS enabled network services and QoS constraint applications. We have developed a prototype of this protocol in the user-space and conducted a large range of measurements to evaluate this proposal under various network conditions. Our results show that QSTP allows applications to reach their negotiated QoS over bandwidth guaranteed networks, such as DiffServ/AF network, where TCP fails. This protocol appears to be the first reliable protocol especially designed for QoS network architectures with bandwidth guarantee

The internet: A global telecommunications solution?

The provision and support of new distributed multimedia services are of prime concern for telecommunications operators and suppliers. Clearly, the potential of the latest Internet protocols to contribute communications components is of considerable interest to them. In this article we first review some of the new types of application and their requirements, and identify the need to support applications that have strict QoS requirements, the so-called critical applications. We review two proposals for enhancing the Internet service architecture. In addition to the integrated services work of the IETF, we look at the more recent proposals for differentiated services in the Internet. We then individually review recent protocol developments proposed to improve the Internet, and to support real-time and multimedia communications. These are IPv6 (the new version of the Internet Protocol), Resource reSerVation Protocol, and Multiprotocol Label Switching, respectively. In each case, we attempt to provide critical reviews in order to assess their suitability for this purpose. Finally, we indicate what the basis of the future infrastructure might be in order to support the full variety of application requirements

Traffic Engineering And Supporting QoS

ABSTRACT Traffic Engineering describes techniques for optimising network performance by measuring, modelling, characterizing and controlling Internet traffic for specific performance goals [11]. This is a comprehensive definition. Traffic engineering performance goals typically fall into one of two categories. The first one is traffic related performance objectives such as minimizing packet loss, lowering end-to-end delay, or supporting a contracted Service Level Agreement (SLA). The second category is efficiency related objectives, such as balancing the distribution of traffic across available bandwidth resources. Traffic related performance goals are set in order to meet contracted service levels and offer competitive services to customers. Efficiency related goals, are required by the service provider to minimize the cost of delivering services, especially the cost of utilizing expensive network resources. The objective of this thesis is to present a description of Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) architecture and its functionality to achieve a tool for performing traffic engineering and QoS support. We simulate traffic engineering with MPLS on a simple network and measure its performance. We analyse measurements related to queuing delay, throughput and other traffic related issues. We then move on fine-tuning the MPLS-TE network to also take into consideration QoS support when aggregating flows through a single label- switching path. We combine differentiated services with MPLS architecture in order to support QoS requirements. The simulation tool used in this thesis is called OPNET Modeler version 8.11

Simulation and analysis of network traffic for efficient and reliable information transfer

With the growing commercial importance of the Internet and the development of new real-time, connection-oriented services like IP-telephony and electronic commerce resilience is becoming a key issue in the design of TP-based networks. Two emerging technologies, which can accomplish the task of efficient information transfer, are Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Differentiated Services. A main benefit of MPLS is the ability to introduce traffic-engineering concepts due to its connection-oriented characteristic. With MPLS it is possible to assign different paths for packets through the network. Differentiated services divides traffic into different classes and treat them differently, especially when there is a shortage of network resources. In this thesis, a framework was proposed to integrate the above two technologies and its performance in providing load balancing and improving QoS was evaluated. Simulation and analysis of this framework demonstrated that the combination of MPLS and Differentiated services is a powerful tool for QoS provisioning in IP networks