Packet Delay and Loss at the Auckland Internet Access Path

−− In this paper we study packet delay and loss for IP data traversing the University of Auckland Internet ac− cess path. The ISP uplink of the university has been the subject of previous measurements and studies [1]. The fo− cus of this paper is to evaluate the information derived from a multipoint measurement, Auckland−VI [2], which was collected for a duration of four days during June 2001 at the ISP uplink and Ethernet hubs outside and inside relative to the Internet firewall host. The specific value of this data set lies in the hop−by−hop instrumentation of all devices operating at the packet level, combined with the duration of observation and the fine−grained timestamping process of packet arrivals. We provide measures for the normal day−to−day operation of the access link system. We show the impact of operating the same links at 10MBit/sec Ethernet vs. 100MBit/sec Ethernet hubs. The data set includes a number of areas where service qual− ity (delay and packet loss) is extreme; we examine the causes and impacts on network users. Index terms−− packet delay, packet loss, multipoint meas− urement, passive measurement