Next: ICMP-based tools
Up: Sting: a TCP-based Network
Previous: Introduction
The rate at which packets are lost can have a dramatic impact on
application performance. For example, it has been shown that for
moderate loss rates (less than 15 percent) the
bandwidth delivered by TCP is proportional to [MSM97]. Similarly, some streaming media
applications only perform adequately under low loss
conditions [CB97]. Not surprisingly, there has always been a
long-standing operational need to measure packet loss; the popular
ping tool was developed less than a year after the creation of
the Internet. In the remainder of this section we'll discuss two
dominant methods for measuring packet loss: tools based on the
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) [Pos81] and new
measurement infrastructures.
Stefan Savage
8/31/1999