On measured behavior of the ARPA network

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate the results of recent measurements of the ARPA network. We first discuss the tools available for performing these measurements. We then describe the results of a particular experiment, which consisted of data collection over a continuous seven day period. The measured quantities included input traffic, line traffic, and message delays. This data is discussed in terms of network behavior and compared to analytic models. Lastly, we consider some implications and tradeoffs derived from these measurements which provide insight regarding the performance of computer networks.