RFC 2680
Network Working Group G. Almes
Request for Comments: 2680 S. Kalidindi
Category: Standards Track M. Zekauskas
Advanced Network & Services
September 1999
A One-way Packet Loss Metric for IPPM
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.
1. Introduction
This memo defines a metric for one-way packet loss across Internet
paths. It builds on notions introduced and discussed in the IPPM
Framework document, RFC 2330 [1]; the reader is assumed to be
familiar with that document.
This memo is intended to be parallel in structure to a companion
document for One-way Delay ("A One-way Delay Metric for IPPM") [2];
the reader is assumed to be familiar with that document.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [5].
Although RFC 2119 was written with protocols in mind, the key words
are used in this document for similar reasons. They are used to
ensure the results of measurements from two different implementations
are comparable, and to note instances when an implementation could
perturb the network.
The structure of the memo is as follows:
+ A 'singleton' analytic metric, called Type-P-One-way-Loss, is
introduced to measure a single observation of packet transmission
or loss.
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+ Using this singleton metric, a 'sample', called Type-P-One-way-
Loss-Poisson-Stream, is introduced to measure a sequence of
singleton transmissions and/or losses measured at times taken from
a Poisson process.
+ Using this sample, several 'statistics' of the sample are defined
and discussed.
This progression from singleton to sample to statistics, with clear
separation among them, is important.
Whenever a technical term from the IPPM Framework document is first
used in this memo, it will be tagged with a trailing asterisk. For
example, "term*" indicates that "term" is defined in the Framework.
1.1. Motivation:
Understanding one-way packet loss of Type-P* packets from a source
host* to a destination host is useful for several reasons:
+ Some applications do not perform well (or at all) if end-to-end
loss between hosts is large relative to some threshold value.
+ Excessive packet loss may make it difficult to support certain
real-time applications (where the precise threshold of "excessive"
depends on the application).
+ The larger the value of packet loss, the more difficult it is for
transport-layer protocols to sustain high bandwidths.
+ The sensitivity of real-time applications and of transport-layer
protocols to loss become especially important when very large
delay-bandwidth products must be supported.
The measurement of one-way loss instead of round-trip loss is
motivated by the following factors:
+ In today's Internet, the path from a source to a destination may
be different than the path from the destination back to the source
("asymmetric paths"), such that different sequences of routers are
used for the forward and reverse paths. Therefore round-trip
measurements actually measure the performance of two distinct
paths together. Measuring each path independently highlights the
performance difference between the two paths which may traverse
different Internet service providers, and even radically different
types of networks (for example, research versus commodity
networks, or ATM versus packet-over-SONET).
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+ Even when the two paths are symmetric, they may have radically
different performance characteristics due to asymmetric queueing.
+ Performance of an application may depend mostly on the performance
in one direction. For example, a file transfer using TCP may
depend more on the performance in the direction that data flows,
rather than the direction in which acknowledgements travel.
+ In quality-of-service (QoS) enabled networks, provisioning in one
direction may be radically different than provisioning in the
reverse direction, and thus the QoS guarantees differ. Measuring
the paths independently allows the verification of both
guarantees.
It is outside the scope of this document to say precisely how loss
metrics would be applied to specific problems.
1.2. General Issues Regarding Time
{Comment: the terminology below differs from that defined by ITU-T
documents (e.g., G.810, "Definitions and terminology for
synchronization networks" and I.356, "B-ISDN ATM layer cell transfer
performance"), but is consistent with the IPPM Framework document.
In general, these differences derive from the different backgrounds;
the ITU-T documents historically have a telephony origin, while the
authors of this document (and the Framework) have a computer systems
background. Although the terms defined below have no direct
equivalent in the ITU-T definitions, after our definitions we will
provide a rough mapping. However, note one potential confusion: our
definition of "clock" is the computer operating systems definition
denoting a time-of-day clock, while the ITU-T definition of clock
denotes a frequency reference.}
Whenever a time (i.e., a moment in history) is mentioned here, it is
understood to be measured in seconds (and fractions) relative to UTC.
As described more fully in the Framework document, there are four
distinct, but related notions of clock uncertainty:
synchronization*
Synchronization measures the extent to which two clocks agree on
what time it is. For example, the clock on one host might be
5.4 msec ahead of the clock on a second host. {Comment: A rough
ITU-T equivalent is "time error".}
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accuracy*
Accuracy measures the extent to which a given clock agrees with
UTC. For example, the clock on a host might be 27.1 msec behind
UTC. {Comment: A rough ITU-T equivalent is "time error from
UTC".}
resolution*
Resolution measures the precision of a given clock. For
example, the clock on an old Unix host might advance only once
every 10 msec, and thus have a resolution of only 10 msec.
{Comment: A very rough ITU-T equivalent is "sampling period".}
skew*
Skew measures the change of accuracy, or of synchronization,
with time. For example, the clock on a given host might gain
1.3 msec per hour and thus be 27.1 msec behind UTC at one time
and only 25.8 msec an hour later. In this case, we say that the
clock of the given host has a skew of 1.3 msec per hour relative
to UTC, which threatens accuracy. We might also speak of the
skew of one clock relative to another clock, which threatens
synchronization. {Comment: A rough ITU-T equivalent is "time
drift".}
2. A Singleton Definition for One-way Packet Loss
2.1. Metric Name:
Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss
2.2. Metric Parameters:
+ Src, the IP address of a host
+ Dst, the IP address of a host
+ T, a time
2.3. Metric Units:
The value of a Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss is either a zero
(signifying successful transmission of the packet) or a one
(signifying loss).
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2.4. Definition:
>>The *Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss* from Src to Dst at T is 0<< means
that Src sent the first bit of a Type-P packet to Dst at wire-time* T
and that Dst received that packet.
>>The *Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss* from Src to Dst at T is 1<< means
that Src sent the first bit of a type-P packet to Dst at wire-time T
and that Dst did not receive that packet.
2.5. Discussion:
Thus, Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss is 0 exactly when Type-P-One-way-
Delay is a finite value, and it is 1 exactly when Type-P-One-way-
Delay is undefined.
The following issues are likely to come up in practice:
+ A given methodology will have to include a way to distinguish
between a packet loss and a very large (but finite) delay. As
noted by Mahdavi and Paxson [3], simple upper bounds (such as the
255 seconds theoretical upper bound on the lifetimes of IP
packets [4]) could be used, but good engineering, including an
understanding of packet lifetimes, will be needed in practice.
{Comment: Note that, for many applications of these metrics, there
may be no harm in treating a large delay as packet loss. An audio
playback packet, for example, that arrives only after the playback
point may as well have been lost.}
+ If the packet arrives, but is corrupted, then it is counted as
lost. {Comment: one is tempted to count the packet as received
since corruption and packet loss are related but distinct
phenomena. If the IP header is corrupted, however, one cannot be
sure about the source or destination IP addresses and is thus on
shaky grounds about knowing that the corrupted received packet
corresponds to a given sent test packet. Similarly, if other
parts of the packet needed by the methodology to know that the
corrupted received packet corresponds to a given sent test packet,
then such a packet would have to be counted as lost. Counting
these packets as lost but packet with corruption in other parts of
the packet as not lost would be inconsistent.}
+ If the packet is duplicated along the path (or paths) so that
multiple non-corrupt copies arrive at the destination, then the
packet is counted as received.
+ If the packet is fragmented and if, for whatever reason,
reassembly does not occur, then the packet will be deemed lost.
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2.6. Methodologies:
As with other Type-P-* metrics, the detailed methodology will depend
on the Type-P (e.g., protocol number, UDP/TCP port number, size,
precedence).
Generally, for a given Type-P, one possible methodology would proceed
as follows:
+ Arrange that Src and Dst have clocks that are synchronized with
each other. The degree of synchronization is a parameter of the
methodology, and depends on the threshold used to determine loss
(see below).
+ At the Src host, select Src and Dst IP addresses, and form a test
packet of Type-P with these addresses.
+ At the Dst host, arrange to receive the packet.
+ At the Src host, place a timestamp in the prepared Type-P packet,
and send it towards Dst.
+ If the packet arrives within a reasonable period of time, the one-
way packet-loss is taken to be zero.
+ If the packet fails to arrive within a reasonable period of time,
the one-way packet-loss is taken to be one. Note that the
threshold of "reasonable" here is a parameter of the methodology.
{Comment: The definition of reasonable is intentionally vague, and
is intended to indicate a value "Th" so large that any value in
the closed interval [Th-delta, Th+delta] is an equivalent
threshold for loss. Here, delta encompasses all error in clock
synchronization along the measured path. If there is a single
value after which the packet must be counted as lost, then we
reintroduce the need for a degree of clock synchronization similar
to that needed for one-way delay. Therefore, if a measure of
packet loss parameterized by a specific non-huge "reasonable"
time-out value is needed, one can always measure one-way delay and
see what percentage of packets from a given stream exceed a given
time-out value.}
Issues such as the packet format, the means by which Dst knows when
to expect the test packet, and the means by which Src and Dst are
synchronized are outside the scope of this document. {Comment: We
plan to document elsewhere our own work in describing such more
detailed implementation techniques and we encourage others to as
well.}
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2.7. Errors and Uncertainties:
The description of any specific measurement method should include an
accounting and analysis of various sources of error or uncertainty.
The Framework document provides general guidance on this point.
For loss, there are three sources of error:
+ Synchronization between clocks on Src and Dst.
+ The packet-loss threshold (which is related to the synchronization
between clocks).
+ Resource limits in the network interface or software on the
receiving instrument.
The first two sources are interrelated and could result in a test
packet with finite delay being reported as lost. Type-P-One-way-
Packet-Loss is 0 if the test packet does not arrive, or if it does
arrive and the difference between Src timestamp and Dst timestamp is
greater than the "reasonable period of time", or loss threshold. If
the clocks are not sufficiently synchronized, the loss threshold may
not be "reasonable" - the packet may take much less time to arrive
than its Src timestamp indicates. Similarly, if the loss threshold
is set too low, then many packets may be counted as lost. The loss
threshold must be high enough, and the clocks synchronized well
enough so that a packet that arrives is rarely counted as lost. (See
the discussions in the previous two sections.)
Since the sensitivity of packet loss measurement to lack of clock
synchronization is less than for delay, we refer the reader to the
treatment of synchronization errors in the One-way Delay metric [2]
for more details.
The last source of error, resource limits, cause the packet to be
dropped by the measurement instrument, and counted as lost when in
fact the network delivered the packet in reasonable time.
The measurement instruments should be calibrated such that the loss
threshold is reasonable for application of the metrics and the clocks
are synchronized enough so the loss threshold remains reasonable.
In addition, the instruments should be checked to ensure the that the
possibility a packet arrives at the network interface, but is lost
due to congestion on the interface or to other resource exhaustion
(e.g., buffers) on the instrument is low.
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2.8. Reporting the metric:
The calibration and context in which the metric is measured MUST be
carefully considered, and SHOULD always be reported along with metric
results. We now present four items to consider: Type-P of the test
packets, the loss threshold, instrument calibration, and the path
traversed by the test packets. This list is not exhaustive; any
additional information that could be useful in interpreting
applications of the metrics should also be reported.
2.8.1. Type-P
As noted in the Framework document [1], the value of the metric may
depend on the type of IP packets used to make the measurement, or
"Type-P". The value of Type-P-One-way-Delay could change if the
protocol (UDP or TCP), port number, size, or arrangement for special
treatment (e.g., IP precedence or RSVP) changes. The exact Type-P
used to make the measurements MUST be accurately reported.
2.8.2. Loss threshold
The threshold (or methodology to distinguish) between a large finite
delay and loss MUST be reported.
2.8.3. Calibration results
The degree of synchronization between the Src and Dst clocks MUST be
reported. If possible, possibility that a test packet that arrives
at the Dst network interface is reported as lost due to resource
exhaustion on Dst SHOULD be reported.
2.8.4. Path
Finally, the path traversed by the packet SHOULD be reported, if
possible. In general it is impractical to know the precise path a
given packet takes through the network. The precise path may be
known for certain Type-P on short or stable paths. If Type-P
includes the record route (or loose-source route) option in the IP
header, and the path is short enough, and all routers* on the path
support record (or loose-source) route, then the path will be
precisely recorded. This is impractical because the route must be
short enough, many routers do not support (or are not configured for)
record route, and use of this feature would often artificially worsen
the performance observed by removing the packet from common-case
processing. However, partial information is still valuable context.
For example, if a host can choose between two links* (and hence two
separate routes from Src to Dst), then the initial link used is
valuable context. {Comment: For example, with Merit's NetNow setup,
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a Src on one NAP can reach a Dst on another NAP by either of several
different backbone networks.}
3. A Definition for Samples of One-way Packet Loss
Given the singleton metric Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss, we now define
one particular sample of such singletons. The idea of the sample is
to select a particular binding of the parameters Src, Dst, and Type-
P, then define a sample of values of parameter T. The means for
defining the values of T is to select a beginning time T0, a final
time Tf, and an average rate lambda, then define a pseudo-random
Poisson process of rate lambda, whose values fall between T0 and Tf.
The time interval between successive values of T will then average
1/lambda.
{Comment: Note that Poisson sampling is only one way of defining a
sample. Poisson has the advantage of limiting bias, but other
methods of sampling might be appropriate for different situations.
We encourage others who find such appropriate cases to use this
general framework and submit their sampling method for
standardization.}
3.1. Metric Name:
Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Poisson-Stream
3.2. Metric Parameters:
+ Src, the IP address of a host
+ Dst, the IP address of a host
+ T0, a time
+ Tf, a time
+ lambda, a rate in reciprocal seconds
3.3. Metric Units:
A sequence of pairs; the elements of each pair are:
+ T, a time, and
+ L, either a zero or a one
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The values of T in the sequence are monotonic increasing. Note that
T would be a valid parameter to Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss, and that
L would be a valid value of Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss.
3.4. Definition:
Given T0, Tf, and lambda, we compute a pseudo-random Poisson process
beginning at or before T0, with average arrival rate lambda, and
ending at or after Tf. Those time values greater than or equal to T0
and less than or equal to Tf are then selected. At each of the times
in this process, we obtain the value of Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss at
this time. The value of the sample is the sequence made up of the
resulting