Java-Based Bandwidth Measurement Tool for xDSL Networks

In xDSL networks, accurate bandwidth measurement is useful for network management and traffic engineering, such as isolating line faults and verifying guaranteed QoS specifications, where ISP and xDSL providers may be involved. This paper presents a novel design and implementation of Java based tools for accurately measuring network bandwidth in xDSL networks, including asymmetric upstream and downstream cases. Considering ATM traffic shaping for ABR and UBR service classes in xDSL deployments, a stepwise algorithm is designed to minimize its effect on the bandwidth measurements. The algorithm is lightweight in terms of traffic overhead introduced. The accuracy of the algorithm is achieved by implementing an original traffic generator with stable performance. Index Terms -xDSL networks, network management, accurate bandwidth measurement, asymmetric network, Java, quality of service.