Modelling of Load Patterns and Benchmarks for Performance Evaluation of Local Area Networks

Abstract

We propose a collection of universal benchmarks for the comparison and description of the performance characteristics of local area networks (LANs). For this purpose we discuss typical load patterns in LANs, especially chosen to reveal differences in their performance behaviour. We consider four types of general transactions in LANs — single messages, single messages with acknowledgement, demand messages with reply and broadcast messages. By assigning message priorities the transaction types are further subdivided into classes. The transaction classes are then given attributes according to the length of their messages (short, medium, long average length, exponentially distributed or constant length) and their generation process (Poisson or periodical). Typical load patterns are then defined by suitably dividing the total load between the various transaction classes. Finally, we suggest benchmarks, which, together with performance measures such as throughputs and bit times, are valuable aids in LAN evaluation and comparison.