In-line Service Measurements: Exploiting IPv6 Extension Headers

The ability to measure, monitor and control the service quality experienced by network traffic is becoming increasingly important as multiple traffic types are aggregated onto IP networks. This paper introduces a novel measurement technique for assessing performance metrics (e.g. one-way packet loss, delay, delay variation, and ‘goodput’) of IPv6 network flows. By exploiting native IPv6 extension headers, measurement triggers and measurement data are carried in the same packets as the payload data itself, providing a high level of probability that the behaviour of the real user traffic flows is being observed. A prototype implementation of this technique has been constructed and used to measure numerous properties of different application flows, over both wireline and wireless IPv6 environments. End-to-end, oneway delay and delay variation of real-time video streams have been measured, as well as the goodput of services operating on top of reliable transport. This measurement technique can be the basis for low-overhead, scalable, transparent and reliable measurement of individual and aggregate network flows that can be dynamically deployed where and when required in a multi-service IP environment.