Abstract
The development and performance of network‐aware applications depends on the availability of accurate predictions of network resource properties. Obtaining this information directly from the network is a scalable solution that provides the accurate performance predictions and topology information needed for planning and adapting application behavior across a variety of networks. The performance predictions obtained directly from the network are as accurate as application‐level benchmarks, but the network‐based technique provides the added advantages of scalability and topology discovery. We describe how to determine network properties directly from the network using SNMP. We provide an overview of SNMP and describe the features it provides that make it possible to extract both available bandwidth and network topology information from network devices. The available bandwidth predictions based on network queries using SNMP are compared with traditional predictions based on application history to demonstrate that they are equally useful. To demonstrate the feasibility of topology discovery, we present results for a large Ethernet LAN.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
S. Bajaj et al., Improving simulation for network research, Technical Report 99–702b, USC Computer Science Department (September 1999).
J. Bolliger and T. Gross, A framework-based approach to the development of network-aware applications, IEEE Trans. Software Engrg. 24(5) (May 1998) 376–390.
G.E.P. Box, G.M. Jenkins and G. Reinsel, Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 3rd ed., 1994).
R. Busby, M. Neilsen and D. Andresen, Enhancing NWS for use in an SNMP managed internetwork, in: Proceedings of the 2000 International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium (IPDPS'00) (May 2000).
J. Case, K. McCloghrie, M. Rose and S. Waldbusser, Structure of management information for version 2 of the simple network management protocol (SNMPv2), RFC1902 (January 1996).
E. Decker, P. Langille, A. Rijsinghani and K. McCloghrie, Definitions of managed objects for bridges, RFC1493 (July 1993).
R. Dietz, Remote monitoring mib extensions for application performance metrics, IETF Internet-Draft, work in progress (July 1999).
P.A. Dinda and D.R. O'Hallaron, An evaluation of linear models for host load prediction, in: Proceedings of the 8th IEEE International Symposium on High Performance Distributed Computing (HPDC) (August 1999).
B. Lowekamp, N. Miller, D. Sutherland, T. Gross, P. Steenkiste and J. Subhlok, A resource monitoring system for network-aware applications, in: Proceedings of the 7th IEEE International Symposium on High Performance Distributed Computing (HPDC), IEEE (July 1998) pp. 189–196.
K. McCloghrie and M. Rose, Management information base for network management of TCP/IP-based internets: MIB-II, RFC1213 (March 1991).
National Laboratory for Network Analysis (NLANR), Passive monitoring and analysis via packet header traces, http://moat. nlanr.net/. National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. ANI-9807479.
V. Paxson, Fast, approximate synthesis of fractional Gaussian noise for generating self-similar network traffic, Technical Report LBL-36750, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (April 1995).
V. Paxson and S. Floyd, Why we don't know how to simulate the internet, in: Proceedings of the 1997 Winter Simulation Conference (1997) pp. 1037–1044. B. Lowekamp et al. / Direct queries for network resource 291
R. Perlman, Interconnections: Bridges and Routers (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1992).
V.J. Ribeiro, R.H. Riedi, M.S. Crouse and R.G. Baraniuk, Simulation of nongaussian long-range-dependent traffic using wavelets, in: Proceedings of ACM SIGMETRICS '99, ACM (May 1999) pp. 1–12.
J. Saltzer, D. Reed and D. Clark, End-to-end arguments in system design, ACM Trans. Comput. Systems 2(4) (November 1984) 277–288.
S. Seshan, M. Stemm and R.H. Katz, SPAND: Shared passing network performance discovery, in: Proceedings of the USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems (December 1997) pp. 135–146.
W. Stallings, SNMP, SNMPv2, and RMON (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 2nd ed., 1996).
J.B. Weissman and X. Zhao, Scheduling parallel applications in distributed networks, Cluster Computing 1(1) (May 1998) 95–108.
R. Wolski, Dynamically forecasting network performance using the network weather service, Technical Report CS–96–494, UCSD (1996).
R. Wolski, Forecasting network performance to support dynamic scheduling using the network weather service, in: Proceedings of the 6th High Performance Distributed Computing Conference (HPDC) (August 1997) pp. 316–325.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lowekamp, B., O'Hallaron, D. & Gross, T. Direct queries for discovering network resource properties in a distributed environment. Cluster Computing 3, 281–291 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019000808615
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019000808615