Key properties and features
- High-precision passive measurement platform for network traffic
- Measurement at up to Gigabit Ethernet link speeds
- Support of eletrical and optical Ethernet interfaces
- Time and performance critical tasks performed highly accurately in HW
- Flexible and intelligent filtering on layer 2-4 header fields of IP-based protocols and at arbitrary frame positions
- Smart, filter-dependent selection of captured area of a frame (header-only or variable-length)
- Re-programmable and flexible design
- Scalabe architecture
- A large range of status counters for monitoring measurement sessions (online readable)
- Support of different trace file formats (pcap, ASCII)
Architecture
The I2MP is build up by a Hardware-unit and a PC-unit.
- HW-unit
- Realisation of performance critical and time critical tasks
- Developed on the UHP (Universal Hardware Platform) based on FPGAs
- PC-unit
- Realisation of the storage, control and configuration tasks
- In-house software for capturing and pre-processing the raw measurement data
- Based on a stripped Linux system
- Communication between HW-unit and PC-unit via a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet link
- Multiple data records (captured frame area and meta-information) are tansmitted in container to PC-Unit
Measurement Contexts and Traces
- Selfnet: Traces from a dormitory network at the University of Stuttgart
- IKR network uplink to the campus network
The following trace was captured in one of the two dormitory network with the measurement platform I²MP. In this dormitory network Selfnet are approx. 800 to 1000 actively connected students. Each student has a 100Mbps access rate and the dormitory network is directly connected to the R&D network "BelWü" (scientific network of the federal state Baden-Württemberg).
Traces
Trace name | Date/Period | Location | Short description |
---|---|---|---|
UST2 | 28.10.2004 21:11 - 01.11.2004 15:42 | Uplink of dormitory network | 5.7*108 packets, start on Thursday, end on Monday |
A more detailed description of the I²MP can be obtained here.