The GPN Measurement Project

1
The GPN Measurement Project

• Implementing a Measurement Fabric Across the
  Regional Infrastructure
• Rick Summerhill
• The Great Plains Network
• GPN/MIDnet Joint Meeting
• EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, SD
• April 18, 2002

2
Disclaimer

• Am not an expert in network measurements
• However, do run a gigapop and understand the
  problems that exist
• Users
• Network Administrators

3
Typical Problem

• User to user throughput problems are typical
• May cross a hierarchy of infrastructures
• Campus department
• Campus network
• State network
• Regional network (gigapop)
• Backbone
• Back down the hierarchy on the other side
• Possibly different hierarchy on that side

4
Problem, continued

• Problem eventually hits a gigapop engineer and we
  start debugging, in the usual manner.
• Check connectivity - from both ends, including
  latency.
• ping
• Check path - from both ends. Are we going through
  I2?
• traceroute
• Check usage stats - at a variety of locations in
  hierarchy.
• Usage stats
• From campus to gigapop (or other portions of the
  hierarchy)
• From gigapopto gigapop
• From other gigapop to other campus

5
Problem, continued

• Debugging, Continued
• Check users machine for local problems - window
  sizes
• Web100 client test
• Could be local network problem - speed, duplex
• Check throughput from gigapop to user - from both
  ends
• UDP checks - loss, jitter, bandwidth
• TCP checks - bandwidth
• Iperf is a tool that does this
• Check throughput from other gigapop to user - get
  other gigapop involved
• NOTE Engineer involved in the entire process.

6
Problem, continued

• How do you find everything?
• People at gigapops, or on campuses
• We need a better way to do all this
• Shouldnt there be some kind of measurement
  fabric parallel to the network?
• We need to get a handle on this idea
• Many folks are working on this now
• Not at all easy

7
Goals

• Make it as simple as possible for users/netadmins
  to debug problems at the gigapop level
• Archive data to provide a historical view what
  happens at the gigapop
• Gigapop to campus (state network)?
• Gigapop to gigapop
• Support measurement projects for researchers at
  the gigapop layer, whenever possible
• Work on the idea of a measurement fabric
• User interface?
• Netadmin interface?

8
Interface on Web Site

• From http//www.thequilt.net, list of gigapop
  pages, for example
• From GPN or other individual pages,
• Usage stats
• Tools ping, traceroute, iperf, pchar
• Web100 Bandwidth Tester
• Multicast Beacon
• Looking Glass (Router Views) Server
• History of many of the above measurements
• We would like to add other tools, measurements
• From central Quilt site
• Route view server similar to the Oregon Views
  Server

9
Interface, continued

• Local policy is important
• Example Usage statistics within gigapops
• GPN is an example of an open network
• Security is extremely important
• Example iperf or pchar to/from servers who can
  do this?
• Authentication for netadmins? Quilt wide?
  Individual gigapops? Etc. Shiboleth
• Limit servers from too much activity
• Limit servers from frequent activity

10
Gigapop Architecture

• Gigapop provides measurements to connected sites
  and other gigapops

11
Methods

• Probably will write and handout java applets and
  servlets. Basically, wrappers that run well
  known tools.
• Currently all in PHP/Javascript format
• Can download from
• ftp//www.thequilt.net/pub/quilt
• ftp//ftp.greatplains.net/pub/greatplains

12
Sample Web Pages

• Look at http//www.thequilt.net/measurement/ and
  http//noc.greatplains.net/measurement/
• Two sample gigapops included for now GPN and
  Northern Lights
• GPN project is lead for the Quilt project
• Lets try some experiments