A Study of Measurement-Based Traffic Models for Network Diagnostics

In this paper measurement and analysis of network flows are taken into account as a methodology for characterization and diagnosis of network behaviour. The accuracy of flow models will be discussed, reviewing the basic underlying assumptions and proposing a modeling approach based on multi-domain analysis, where flow measurements can be complemented by a limited amount of protocol data gathered from packet headers. By the analysis of experimental data, we argue that in several situations, traffic may be more appropriately modeled by the superposition of multiple flows with different characteristics, which result in better measurements and improved diagnostic possibilities.