An algorithm for available bandwidth measurement

Abstract

In this paper, we present an algorithm for available bandwidth measurement of a path between two hosts as well as some preliminary simulation results. The measurement algorithm is based on active probing with two techniques we have developed: variable speed probing and zoom-in/zoomout. Compared with previous work, the algorithm has the advantage of low overhead and fast convergence because it relies on the detection of traffic trends (with variable speed probing) rather than any specific properties of probing samples. The measurement can self-adapt to any bandwidth ranges (with zoomout) and respond to accuracy requirements (with zoom-in). Therefore, no knowledge about the bottleneck bandwidth of the measured path is required. We are currently experimenting with self-similar traffic over a real network environment to gain more experience and to further validate and improve the measurement techniques.