End-to-end active measurement architecture in IP Networks (SATURNE)

Performance measurement is an important issue in IP Networks for both ISPs and final users. Active measurement represents an efficient mean of evaluation and an alternative to the important infrastructure investment needed for passive measurement. Nowadays, the increasing complexity of routing mechanisms and the evolution of transport protocols leads to unawareness on the effective routes in the network; the symmetry of the paths followed by the packets can no longer be assumed. For this reason, the one-way metrics experience a remarkable development, introducing new requirements, like the synchronization of the points of measurement. This article presents the metrology platform Saturne measuring the one-way delay (OWD) and packet loss rate metrics, as defined at the IETF, between two points in an active end-to-end way. In addition to the common functionalities, Saturne takes the classes of service into account and offers a mean to evaluate the quality of service obtained by the packets across the network. As shown by the experiments presented, Saturne has been used to validate the quality of service policy implemented in the French experimental high-speed network VTHD.