RFC 4445 A Proposed Media

Status of This Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. This RFC is not a candidate for any level of Internet Standard. There are IETF standards which are highly applicable to the space defined by this document as its applicability, in particular, RFCs 3393 and 3611, and there is ongoing IETF work in these areas as well. The IETF also notes that the decision to publish this RFC is not based on IETF review for such things as security, congestion control, MIB fitness, or inappropriate interaction with deployed protocols. The RFC Editor has chosen to publish this document at its discretion. Readers of this document should exercise caution in evaluating its value for implementation and deployment. See RFC 3932 for more information. Abstract This memo defines a Media Delivery Index (MDI) measurement that can be used as a diagnostic tool or a quality indicator for monitoring a network intended to deliver applications such as streaming media, MPEG video, Voice over IP, or other information sensitive to arrival time and packet loss. It provides an indication of traffic jitter, a measure of deviation from nominal flow rates, and a data loss at-a-glance measure for a particular flow. For instance, the MDI may be used as a reference in characterizing and comparing networks carrying UDP streaming media. The MDI measurement defined in this memo is intended for Information only.