A New Approach To Available Bandwidth Measurements For Wireless Networks

A New Approach to Available
Bandwidth Measurements for Wireless

Networks
Prepared by: Date: Document:

InfoVista Sweden AB 2/1/201311/9/2015 NT13-16812, v2.0
© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017)

TEMS is a trademark of InfoVista. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
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The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in methodology, design and
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Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................. 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................. 1
1.2 Aspects of Present-day Mobile Networks That Must
Inform ABM Design .................................................................... 1 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
spelling and grammar
1.3 Requirements on ABM for 4G Mobile Networks ..................... 2
Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
2 ABM with TEMS Products ....................................... 3 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
(United Kingdom), Check spelling and grammar
2.1 Overview of ABM Solution for 4G Mobile Networks ............... 3
Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
2.2 Measurement Procedure ............................................................ 4 (United Kingdom), Check spelling and grammar
2.3 Adapting ABM to Network Configuration and UE Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
Capabilities .................................................................................. 6 (United Kingdom), Check spelling and grammar
2.4 Comparison with Traditional ABM: Ramping Up the Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
Data Rate...................................................................................... 7
2.5 Comparison with Using FTP for ABM ...................................... 8 spelling and grammar
2.6 TWAMP Measurement Protocol ................................................ 9 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
3 Examples................................................................ 10 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English

4 Future Work ........................................................... 11 (United Kingdom), Check spelling and grammar
5 Conclusions ........................................................... 11 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
6 References ............................................................. 11 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English

1 Introduction ............................................................. 1 spelling and grammar
1.1 Background ................................................................................. 1 spelling and grammar
1.2 Aspects of Present-day Mobile Networks That Must Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
Inform ABM Design .................................................................... 1 spelling and grammar
1.3 Requirements on ABM for 4G Mobile Networks ..................... 2 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
2 ABM with TEMS Products ....................................... 3 (United Kingdom), Check spelling and grammar
2.1 Overview of ABM Solution for 4G Mobile Networks ............... 3 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English
2.2 Measurement Procedure ............................................................ 3
2.3 Adapting ABM to Network Configuration and UE spelling and grammar
Capabilities .................................................................................. 5 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
2.4 Comparison with Traditional ABM: Ramping Up the spelling and grammar
Data Rate...................................................................................... 7 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
2.5 Comparison with Using FTP for ABM ...................................... 8
2.6 TWAMP Measurement Protocol ................................................ 9 spelling and grammar
© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017) Document:

NT13-16812, v2.0
3 Examples.................................................................. 9 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
4 Future Work ........................................................... 10 spelling and grammar
5 Conclusions ........................................................... 10
6 References ............................................................. 10 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, Check
© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017) Document:

NT13-16812, v2.0
1 Introduction
This technical paper describes InfoVista’s Blixt™ technology for available
bandwidth measurement (ABM). Blixt enables mobile operators to
dramatically reduce the cost and time required to test network quality and
deploy new capacity.
Blixt is intended for LTE networks, and the description given here is
focused on that technology.
1.1 Background
Mobile networks are in the process of becoming the world’s leading
medium for data traffic. As ever faster data rates are offered by mobile
network technologies, the use of real-time applications such as media
streaming in such networks is becoming increasingly commonplace.
Now, as is well known, mobile network performance depends crucially on
the radio environment, which is subject to very rapid fluctuations. For
example, Rayleigh fading conditions change on a millisecond basis, as do
scheduling and cross-traffic (such as data from other users). Nonetheless,
mobile network operators are expected to be able to maintain uniform
bandwidth availability to all customers who are paying for a given service
level (or class, or experience). Accomplishing this requires metrics and
measurement tools designed specifically for the wireless environment.
As such measurements are performed in live commercial networks with
paying subscribers, it is important to prevent the measurements from
affecting the subscribers’ quality of experience. InfoVista’s patent-pending
approach to Available Bandwidth Measurements (ABM), trademarked as
Blixt™, solves this problem by keeping the level of test and measurement
intrusiveness to an absolute minimum. ABM identifies the throughput that
can be delivered over the measured wireless link at a given place and at a
given point in time.
1.2 Aspects of Present-day Mobile Networks That

Must Inform ABM Design
Previous work on ABM has focused mostly on fixed IP networks, resulting
in algorithms such as pathChip, TOPP, and SLoPS. These algorithms are
designed for routers and bit-pipes whose performance is fairly constant
over time, varying only with the amount of cross-traffic.
To date, ABM has been applied only sparingly to wireless communication,
and the methods traditionally used to measure available bandwidth in
wireless networks have been comparatively simple and have involved the
downloading and uploading of files via FTP. While by no means ideal –
having only limited mechanisms for adapting to changes in the radio
environment, for one thing – these methods have been sufficient for
technologies such as WCDMA Release 99 and older.
© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

NT13-16812, v2.0 1(12)
However, the latest generations of mobile telecommunications systems,
such as LTE and HSPA, have a number of features that render traditional
ABM methods inadequate. The most salient of these features are as
follows:
 In LTE and HSPA, the radio channel is a shared resource between all
users in a cell. An FTP file transfer to one user in a cell (for example,
the testing device) will significantly affect other users in that cell, as will
any other traditional drive test activity.
 It is also possible for multiple operators (carriers) to share the same
radio access network. This puts requirements on parallel testing, as
subscribers of different network operators might, for example, share the
radio network but use separate core networks.
 High data rates. To pick a typical state-of-the-art configuration, uUsing,
for example, a Category 3 user equipment (“UE”) in an optimal,
unloaded LTE network with 20 MHz system bandwidth, it is theoretically
possible to attain transfer rates of up to 100 Mbit/s. Just filling up such a
large channel with data in order to measure the channel’s true
bandwidth can be a challenge; every part of the system, all the way
from the server to the FTP client, must be carefully tuned to manage
such transfer rates. UE-based performance testing applications,
especially, will have problems handling all the data and filling the bit-
pipe due to the UE’s limited CPU performance, which in turn is
constrained chiefly by the performance of the UE battery.
 Rich configuration possibilities. An LTE network can employ a large
array of different MIMO configurations, and the scheduler used in this
technology has very powerful and flexible mechanisms for maximum
utilization of the radio path (both uplink and downlink). Traditional ABM
techniques do not adapt to such rapid variations in the link capacity.
1.3 Requirements on ABM for 4G Mobile Networks

Taken together, the points in section 1.2 above offer enough good reasons
to devise a new method for measuring the available bandwidth: a method
specifically designed for state-of-the-art wireless technologies. The
essential requirements on such an ABM method can be stated as follows:
1. Network load. To be able to probe the limits of bandwidth availability,

the method must be capable of loading the bit-pipe up to the maximum.
At the same time, however, it must have low intrusiveness – meaning
that it must keep down the time-averaged network load as far as
possible to minimize interference with regular network users.
2. Fast adaptation in time domain. The method must take into account
the properties of a radio link with Rayleigh fading conditions varying on
a millisecond time scale.

NT13-16812, v2.0 2(12)
3. Adaptation to network and user equipment configuration. The
method must take into account different MIMO configurations, channel
bandwidths, and UE capability categories1.
4. Adaptation to scheduling. The method must take into account the
network scheduler’s mechanisms for maximizing the utilization of the
radio path. The network scheduler adapts the resource allocation to
traffic patterns, quality of service settings, and load.
2 ABM with TEMS Products

2.1 Overview of ABM Solution for 4G Mobile
Networks
We begin with a summary of how InfoVista addresses the requirements on
ABM posed in the previous chapter. It is worth underlining at the outset that
since we are pioneering work in the area, our current solution deals chiefly
with fundamentals, and our use of ABM will be refined in future releases of
TEMS products.
 Data is sent in short, intense bursts (“chirps”) with pauses in between.
The peak load is high enough to reach the network’s theoretical
maximum, while the average load is kept low. This scheme allows us to
sound out the available bandwidth while still making minimum use of
network resources, thus avoiding a negative impact on regular network
users.
 Using short bursts meets the requirement of a high temporal resolution.
That is to say: at least once in a while, we can expect optimal radio
conditions to prevail throughout a data burst (provided that the network
configuration and the device’s position permit this in the first place).
 The algorithm adapts to network configuration parameters: the amount
of data sent is adjusted according to the network’s maximum throughput
while keeping the level of intrusiveness to a minimum at all times.
 The packet train transmissions are designed to make full use of the
maximum bandwidth, without the throughput rate being limited by slow-
start or low-load scheduling mechanisms.
 The whole design is based on a device communicating with a server,
where the server reflects the packets back to the device, including
timestamps and other information included in the packets. The device
can then easily be configured to test the performance of different parts
of the network by accessing different servers. For more details of the
protocol and device-to-server communication setup, see section 2.6.
1
UE capabilities are not taken into account in current TEMS product ABM implementations.

NT13-16812, v2.0 3(12)
2.2 Measurement Procedure
Data bursts are sent at 0.5one- second intervals. In between these bursts,
nothing is sent.
Each data burst consists of a number of packets sent back-to-back,
collectively referred to as a packet train.
One packet train time
Figure 1 ABM data bursts (symbolic representation).
2.2.1 Example: LTE

Suppose we want to measure available bandwidth in an LTE network with
20 MHz bandwidth using a Category 3 device, whose maximum achievable
downlink throughput in optimal radio conditions is 100 Mbit/s on the
physical layer.
In order to fully load the bit-pipe and be able to attain this maximum
throughput rate, we need to transmit 100 kbit in each Transmission Time
Interval (TTI), since the TTI length in LTE is 1 ms. For the sake of obtaining
a reliable measurement, as further discussed in section 2.2.3, we want to
make use of several consecutive TTIs. To be precise, in this case we will
send 58 packets each of size 1,500 bytes on the application layer, resulting
in about 750,000 bits in total on the physical layer (58 × 1500 × 8 = 696,000
bits plus a protocol overhead of about 7%).
Assuming the network’s full capacity is available to our ABM-testing UE, the
measurement will be finished in just above 8 ms, meaning that the level of
intrusiveness (the fraction of time occupied with taking the ABM) is as low
as 0.75% if the available bandwidth is measured once per second
([1 × 750,000] / 100,000,000 = 0.75%).
The uplink in this configuration has a maximum throughput close to half of
the downlink, or 50 Mbit/s. Consequently, when doing ABM on the uplink,
using the same packet train, the level of intrusiveness will be about twice as
high, but still as low as 3% (see the note on asymmetric load in chapter 4).

NT13-16812, v2.0 4(12)
2.2.2 Side Benefits: Packet Loss and Delay
As an added bonus of InfoVista’s approach to measuring ABM, packet loss
rate and delay measurements are obtained “for free” from the packet
timestamps and sequence numbering. Making use of the information in the
packets, it is also possible to separate the uplink (UE to server) from the
downlink (server to UE), so that both uplink and downlink packet loss and
trip times can be calculated. By removing the queue delay in the server, we
can calculate the effective round-trip time as well.
2.2.3 Accuracy Considerations

The accuracy of the ABM method is determined by the number of packets
in the packet train and the packet size, as well as by the instantaneous data
rate, which is chosen to correspond to the maximum bandwidth according
to current System Information parameters, UE capabilities, and other
settings (see section 2.3 below).
To safeguard measurement accuracy, it is necessary to send not just a
single packet but a sequence of packets that are contiguous in time. The
reason for this is that if only one packet were sent, it would most likely not
fill up one TTI, or it would be scheduled across two TTIs, meaning that the
full available bandwidth would not be utilized in any TTI. On the other hand,
with multiple packets sent back-to-back and scheduled in consecutive TTIs,
it is ensured that the ABM service has the network’s full available capacity
allotted to it at least for some TTIs in the middle of the burst.
Assuming that one TTI can accommodate 100,000 bits, the maximum size
of one IP packet is 1,500 bytes (= 12,000 bits). So in this case it takes at
least 8.3 packets (100,000 / 12,000) to fill one TTI. It is important to
transmit at least a few times this number of packets to ensure that a
reasonable number of TTIs are filled with ABM traffic. However, note the
trade-off here: the level of intrusiveness of the measuring activity rises in
direct proportion to the number of packets sent.
bandwidth
Available bandwidth
time
One TTI
Figure 2 Distribution of one ABM data burst across TTIs. The bandwidth allocated to
other users is not represented in this figure; furthermore, optimal radio
conditions are assumed. The point illustrated here is that at the beginning
and end of the burst, the ABM transmission is not competing for the whole
of a TTI.

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2.3 Adapting ABM to Network Configuration and UE
Capabilities
The amount of data sent in performing ABM must be adapted to the
fundamental network capacity (radio access technology). Further
improvements can be made to optimize the level of intrusiveness; see
chapter 4.
Below are some use cases with their associated ABM setups, designed to
achieve a good trade-off between level of intrusiveness and measurement
accuracy as discussed in section 2.2.3.
# Packets Level of Intrusiveness ABM

Technology in Packet (Typical) (%) Maximum
Train DL UL Error (%)
LTE, 20 MHz 58 0.75 1.5 4.5

bandwidth, 2 TBs,
Category 3 UE
LTE, 10 MHz 58 1.0 2.0 1.7

bandwidth, 2 TBs
LTE, 10 MHz 58 2.05 2.05 1.7

bandwidth, 1 TB
LTE, 5 MHz 58 4.1 4.1 1.8

bandwidth, 1 TB
HSPA, 64-QAM, dual 30 1.8 6.7 5

carrier or MIMO with
2 TBs
HSPA, non-MIMO 30 5.5 26 6.2

16-QAM, 15 codes
WCDMA Rel. 99 15 10 60* 0.6
EGPRS 15 8.7 68* 8.7
GPRS 10 17 68* 7
EV-DO 20 2 33* 4.7
CDMA (1x) 20 16.5 16.5* 3.6
Wi-Fi 30 1.4 1.4 2.1
* The level of intrusiveness is inevitably much higher in these cases (and would be high
even if just a single packet were sent) because the data transfer is so slow.
The ABM packet train properties (packet size and interval) are selected to Formatted: Space Before: 18 pt
suit the particular radio bearer configuration. Consequently, different ABM
setups will typically be used for different networks/operators. Likewise, as a
testing session proceeds, the ABM setup will frequently vary over time as
the UE moves between cells, or to another carrier, or switches to a different

NT13-16812, v2.0 6(12)
radio access technology (for example, between a 3G WCDMA and a 4G
In future TEMS solutions, the plan is to use an even more flexible
implementation which continuously adjusts to the level of cross-traffic and
to the radio environment, further increasing the measurement accuracy
while maintaining the same level of intrusiveness, or in some cases even
reducing it. See chapter 4 for more on this topic.
2.4 Comparison with Traditional ABM: Ramping Up

the Data Rate
Below we describe one feature of traditional ABM methods that we avoid
using in our ABM implementation.
Traditional ABM methods used in fixed-line networks often start out by
probing the bit-pipe between the server and the client at a low data rate,
then ramp up the data rate until the “bottleneck” (the maximum bandwidth
or data transfer rate) of the bit-pipe is reached. The load is kept at that
threshold level for a short time so that the connection is just about
overloaded and the available bandwidth is sampled. Finally, the load is
released until the next measurement is made (which may be, for example,
once every second). When this procedure is iterated and its output filtered,
a reliable estimate of the available bandwidth is obtained.

NT13-16812, v2.0 7(12)
Figure 3 Ramp-up of ABM data rate. The "knee" in the graph is where the inter-
packet separation starts to exceed the interval at which the packets were
sent; that is, the point where the network can no longer provide the
bandwidth requested.
By contrast, in TEMS’s implementation, there is no ramping up of the

amount of data until the “knee” is encountered. Rather, the bit pipe is
loaded to its maximum – just as in an FTP session – but for a much shorter
time, down to a few milliseconds. In other words, in terms of the diagram
above, we always stay to the right of the “knee”.
2.5 Comparison with Using FTP for ABM

Traditionally, ABM in mobile networks has been conducted by running FTP
sessions. Throughput is then typically averaged over one-second intervals
and reported once every second at the application layer. There is no way to
obtain higher-resolution performance metrics from the application layer;
that is, without drilling down into RF data.
Now it is highly unlikely that a one-second throughput average will ever
reflect the full available bandwidth, since that would require perfect radio
conditions to have prevailed throughout the one-second interval. As the
radio environment typically undergoes substantial change on a millisecond
time scale, such a scenario is highly improbable.
ABM as implemented by TEMS, by contrast, samples much shorter time
intervals (down to 8 ms for LTE, as described in section 2.3) and is
therefore able to hit the maximum bandwidth, or somewhere very close to
it. For this reason, ABM as implemented by TEMS can be expected to give
a more accurate (though also more varying) estimate of the available
bandwidth than an FTP-based method.

NT13-16812, v2.0 8(12)
available
bandwidth
Figure 5 Comparison of approaches to ABM. The black line curve indicates the true Formatted: Figure1, Space After: 0 pt
available bandwidth as a function of time. The red bars represent TEMS ABM data
bursts. Near-maximum bandwidth is attained for the second first ABM data burst. The
blue area represents ABM performed by means of an FTP data transfer (1 s segment).
The average throughput over one second is substantially below the maximum
throughput reached. 1 second time
There is, in
bandwidth asfact, an additional
a function and
of time. The redgrave shortcoming
bars represent TEMStoABM
using FTP
data withNear-
bursts.
maximum
currently bandwidth is attained
available UEs: forproven
it has the second first ABMduring
impossible data burst.
LTE The blue area
network
ABM performed by means of an FTP data transfer (1 s segment). The average
testing to reach bit rates higher than about 60 Mbit/s (one-second average)
throughput over one second is substantially below the maximum throughput reached.
even in perfect radio conditions and with no other users present. The
bottleneck here is the UE processor, whose performance is hampered by
the tasks imposed on it by the UE operating system (running applications,
background processes, etc.). Since the packet trains used in TEMS’s ABM
approach minimize the load on the UE processor, measuring and reporting
on the network’s full bandwidth is now possible.
2.6 TWAMP Measurement Protocol

TEMS’s ABM technique relies on a time-stamping protocol commonly
known as Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol or TWAMP. Other time-
stamping protocols could have been used; our reason for selecting TWAMP
was that it is a standard protocol in the field which has a simple
implementation and is easily extendable. See IETF RFC 5357 for more
details.
3 Examples
The picture below shows a live test with two devices, one running TEMS
ABM (red line for downlink, green for uplink) and the other one running FTP
download (blue line). Both devices are in the same cell, using HSPA with
unknown. As can be seen, the available bandwidth correlates very well
between the two devices.

NT13-16812, v2.0 9(12)
Remember that TEMS ABM and FTP download measurements are
comparable only in static conditions (same RF, resource allocation and
cross-traffic). In real-life conditions, ABM has a number of clear
advantages; most importantly, it is much less intrusive and therefore much
less likely to affect subscriber quality of experience.

NT13-16812, v2.0 10(12)
4 Future Work
A number of areas can be identified where TEMS ABM method will
undergo further refinement:
 To further reduce the impact on the shared radio resources, the ABM
procedure should be made adaptive to the rapidly varying radio
environment. For example, the algorithm might adapt to the channel
rank controlling MIMO usage, or to other channel state information
measured by the UE and reported to the network.
 For HSPA, just as for LTE, the ABM procedure should adjust to the
compared to the downlink in certain systems and setups.
 ABM should adapt to the asymmetrical performance of the uplink
compared to the downlink in certain systems and setups.
5 Conclusions
The current implementation of the TEMS ABM method clearly
demonstrates its advantages over existing methods such as FTP
download. InfoVista’s approach to ABM has proven to be a good and
flexible solution for current, as well as future, products in the wireless
network test and measurement area.
6 References
IETF RFC 5357: http://tools.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5357.txt

NT13-16812, v2.0 11(12)

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A New Approach to Available

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© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017)

3 Examples................................................................ 10 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English

6 References ............................................................. 11 Formatted: Default Paragraph Font, Font: Bold, English

© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017) Document:

© InfoVista Sweden AB (2017) Document:

1.2 Aspects of Present-day Mobile Networks That

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

1.3 Requirements on ABM for 4G Mobile Networks

1. Network load. To be able to probe the limits of bandwidth availability,

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

2 ABM with TEMS Products

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

One packet train time

Figure 1 ABM data bursts (symbolic representation).

2.2.1 Example: LTE

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

2.2.3 Accuracy Considerations

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

# Packets Level of Intrusiveness ABM

LTE, 20 MHz 58 0.75 1.5 4.5

LTE, 10 MHz 58 1.0 2.0 1.7

LTE, 10 MHz 58 2.05 2.05 1.7

LTE, 5 MHz 58 4.1 4.1 1.8

HSPA, 64-QAM, dual 30 1.8 6.7 5

HSPA, non-MIMO 30 5.5 26 6.2

WCDMA Rel. 99 15 10 60* 0.6

EGPRS 15 8.7 68* 8.7

EV-DO 20 2 33* 4.7

CDMA (1x) 20 16.5 16.5* 3.6

Wi-Fi 30 1.4 1.4 2.1

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

2.4 Comparison with Traditional ABM: Ramping Up

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

By contrast, in TEMS’s implementation, there is no ramping up of the

2.5 Comparison with Using FTP for ABM

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

2.6 TWAMP Measurement Protocol

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

© InfoVista Sweden AB) Document:

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