Sampling for Passive Internet Measurement: A Review

Sampling has become an integral part of passive network measurement. This role is driven by the need to control the consumption of resources in the measurement infrastructure under increasing traffic rates and the demand for detailed measurements from applications and service providers. Classical sampling methods play an important role in the current practice of Internet measurement. The aims of this review are (i) to explain the classical sampling methodology in the context of the Internet to readers who are not necessarily acquainted with either, (ii) to give an account of newer applications and sampling methods for passive measurement and (iii) to identify emerging areas that are ripe for the application of statistical expertise.