ECE 4450:427/527 - Computer Networks

Spring 2015
Dr. Nghi Tran
Department of Electrical & Computer
Engineering
Lecture 4: Network Performance Metrics

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Some Discussions
Up to now, we have discussed on the
functional aspects of network
Certainly, when considering a network,
we also need to evaluate how it performs:
Important to understand various factors
that impact network performance
Today, our focus will be on Network
Performance Metrics
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Network
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Network
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Bandwidth/Throughput
In Electrical Engineering, what is Bandwidth?
In networking
Bandwidth is an amount of data transmitted per unit of time; per link, or end-to-end
1Mbps = 106 bits per sec

It is sometimes useful to think of bandwidth in terms

of how long it takes to transmit each bit of data: On
10-Mbs network, it takes 0.1 microsecond to transmit
each bit

Bits transmitted at a particular bandwidth can be regarded as

having some width (a) 1Mbs- each bit is 1 microsecond
wide (b) 2Mbs- 0.5
Dr. Nghi
Tran (ECE-University
of more
Smaller
the width
will be transmission
per unit
time. 5
ECE 4450:427/527
Computer
Networks
Akron)

Bandwidth/Throughput
What is throughput then?
Maximum data rate available?
Number of bits per second we actually
can transmit?
Throughput: The measured performance
of a system
Example: For a link with bandwidth
10Mbs, due to some impairments, we
can only achieve a throughput of 2Mbs.
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Units of Networking
Definition of
Mega
Kilo

What

are:
MB
Mbps
KB
kbps

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Network
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Delay/Latency
Time for sending data from one host to another (in
sec, msec, or sec)
Per link or end-to-end
Usually consists of
Tt: Transmission delay
Tp: Propagation delay
Tq: Queuing delay

Round Trip Time (RTT) : time to send a message a host

to another and back
Important for flow control mechanisms

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

Delay Calculation
Tt : Transmission Delay:
Tp : Propagation Delay: time needed for signal to travel
the medium,
Tq: Queuing Delay: time waiting in routers buffer

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

10

Example
Transfer 1,5 MB file, assuming RTT of 80 ms, a packet
size of 1-KB and an initial handshake of 2xRTT
Bandwidth is 10 Mbps and data packets can be sent
A
continuously B
request

RTT

reply
confirm
Ack

Tt
Tp
. . .

t
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

11

Example
Transfer 1,5 MB file, assuming RTT of 80 ms, a packet
size of 1-KB and an initial handshake of 2xRTT
After sending each packet must wait one RTT
A

B
request

RTT

reply
confirm
Ack

Tt
RTT
. . .

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

12

Example
Suppose a 128-kbps point-to-point link is set up
between the Earth and a rover on Mars. The
distance from the Earth to Mars (when they are
closest together) is approximately 55 Gm, and
data travels over the link at the speed of light
310^8 m/s.
What is the minimum RTT for the link?
A camera on the rover takes pictures of its
surroundings and sends these to Earth. How
quickly after a picture is taken can it reach
Mission Control on Earth? Assume that each
image is 5MB in size.
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

13

Example
Transfer 1,5 MB file, assuming RTT of 80 ms, a
packet size of 1-KB and an initial handshake of
2xRTT
Only
20 packetsB can be send per RTT, but infinitely
A
fast request

RTT

reply
confirm
Ack

RTT
. . .

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

14

Example
Transfer 1,5 MB file, assuming RTT of 80 ms, a packet
size of 1-KB and an initial handshake of 2xRTT
1st RTT one packet, 2nd RTT two packets, Infinite
transmission rate
A
B
request
RTT

reply
confirm
Ack

RTT
. . .

t
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

15

Delay x Bandwidth
We think the channel between a pair of processes
as a hollow pipe
Latency (delay) length of the pipe and bandwidth
the width of the pipe
Delay of 50 ms and bandwidth of 45 Mbps
50 x 10-3 seconds x 45 x 106 bits/second
2.25 x 106 bits = 280 KB data: Amount of data
channel can hold.

Network as a pipe
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

16

Delay x Bandwidth
How many bits the sender must transmit
before the first bit arrives at the receiver
if the sender keeps the pipe full
Takes another one-way latency to
receive a response from the receiver:
Usually, delay means RTT scenario
If the sender does not fill the pipesend
a whole delay bandwidth products
worth of data before it stops to wait for a
signalthe sender will not fully utilize
the network
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

17

Delay x Bandwidth
Relative importance of bandwidth and
latency depends on application
For large file transfer, bandwidth is critical
For small messages (HTTP, etc.), latency is
critical
Variance in latency (jitter) can also affect some
applications (e.g., audio/video conferencing)

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

18

Examples
Link Type

Bandwidth

Distance

RTT

Delay x BW

Dial-up

56 kbps

10 km

87 s

5 bits

Wireless
LAN

54 Mbps

50 m

0.33 s

18 bits

Satellite link

45 Mbps

35,000 km

230 ms

10 Mb

Crosscountry
fiber

10 Gbps

4,000 km

40 ms

400 Mb

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

19

Exercises
Calculate the delay x bandwidth using one-way delay,
measured from first bit sent to last bit received:
100-Mbps Ethernet with a delay of 10 micro second
100-Mbps Ethernet with a single store-and-forward
switch in the path and a packet size of 12,000 bits,
10 micro second per link propagation delay. It is also
assumed the switch begins retransmitting
immediately after it has finished receiving packet.

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

20

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Networks
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

21

High-Speed Networks
Bandwidth available on todays
networks are dramatically increasing
In the following, we shall discuss:
What does this mean by high-speed
A better way to understand the
relationship between throughput
and latency
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

22

High-Speed Networks
Of course, higher bandwidth usually
means higher speed
But high speed does not mean latency
can be improved at the same rate as
bandwidth:
Why? Look at The transcontinental link
Speed of light: You cannot change the
laws of physics

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

23

Significance of High-Speed
We now consider an example to
appreciate the significance of highspeed for a fixed latency
Considering to transfer 1-MB file over
1Mbs link
1Gbs link
The same RTT of 100ms
How many RTTs we need?
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

24

Significance of High-Speed

1-MB file looks like a stream of data over a 1-Mbs

network, while it looks like a small package (1/12) on 1Gbs lin
The point: 1-MB file to 1-Gbps link looks like a 1-KB packet
to 1-Mbps link
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

25

Effective End-to-End Throughput

We can have some fairer measurement
when comparing networks: Effective
end-to-end throughput
Throughput=TransferSize/TransferTime
TransferTime=RTT+1/Bandwidth x
TransferSize

Example: 1MB file across 1Gbps line

with 100ms RTT, Throughput is ?
Clearly, with high bandwidth, we need
to
Transfer a larger file
RTT also dominates
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of ECE 4450:427/527
Computer Networks
26
Akron)

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Networks
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

27

Some Discussions
Up to now, we have discussed the performance in terms of
what a link/channel can support:
It is related to capacity of the channel
Users want as much bandwidth as the network can
provide
Give me an example?
There are, however, different scenarios:
Applications are able to state an upper limit on how
much bandwidth they need
Simple example?
The ability of network providing more bandwidth is of no
interest

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

28

Calculating Application Bandwidth

We consider a video stream application
with one quarter size of standard TV
screen, e.g., resolution of 352x240 pixels
Usually, how many bits needed to
represent each pixel?
Then how many bits in each frame?
With 30 frames/second, what is the
needed throughput?

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

29

Further Discussions
The calculated bandwidth: An average
In reality, video is transmitted in a different way: Usually,
compressed version is transmitted
Do you know how we can compress and transmit video?
Therefore, the instantaneous rate for each frame is
different
Bandwidth needs may vary
Considering an average is usually not good enough
(average over what?)
Another technique is specify upper limit (only whats
needed)
Establish a burst an application is likely to transmit
Example: Video on demand
We shall get in to detail of bursty traffic later
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

30

Outline
Bandwidth/Throughput
Latency or Delay
High-speed Networks
Application Performance Needs
Network Jitter

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

31

What is Network Jitter?

For Bandwidth: An applications bandwidth
needs can be something other than all it can
get
Applications delay requirement: More complex
than simply as little as possible
Some cases, it does not matter so much
whether the latency is 100 ms or 500 ms
What is of more interest: How much latency
varies from packet to packet: The variation
in latency is called JITTER

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

32

Network-Induced Jitter

The spacing between when packets arrive at the

destination: Inter-packet gap Usually variable
It means delay experienced by sequence of
packets: variable: We say network has
introduced jitter in to the packet stream
Where does variation come from? Physical link?

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

33

Network-Induced Jitter
Video-on-demand application: If jitter is known,
application can decide how much buffering is needed
Example: jitter is 50ms per frame and 10s video at 30fps
must be transmitted. How many frames needed to be
bufferred?

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

34

Recap
We defined CONNECTIVITY in a Network:
Packet switching with statistical multiplexing
Application
We looked at NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
Layering
Transport
Protocols
Internet Architecture
Network
Protocol Encapsulation
Link
Physical
Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of
Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

35

Recap
We considered Network Performance Metrics
Bandwidth and Delay
Bandwidth x Delay
Bandwidth requirement varies from packet to packet
Delay can also varies from packet to packet

Now we move further to a very important part

Layer: Layering and Protocols
Our main focus: Internet
Approach: Bottom-up

Dr. Nghi Tran (ECE-University of

Akron)

ECE 4450:427/527

Computer Networks

36