Validating the Accuracy of ISP Subscriber Traffic Usage Meters
|
|
- Hillary Watson
- 8 years ago
- Views:
Transcription
1 Validating the Accuracy of ISP Subscriber Traffic Usage s Peter Sevcik President NetForecast, Inc. November 15, 2011 Most major broadband ISPs are in some phase of deploying a subscriber usage meter to support the ISP s consumption management strategy. Subscribers, consumer groups, and regulatory agencies are questioning the accuracy of these meters, and there have been a number of incidents in which inquisitive users have uncovered real and/or perceived meter accuracy issues. This has generated bad press for ISPs. An independent audit of the ISP s meter can assess and help assure meter accuracy, and provide a responsible and defensible way to address meter accuracy concerns. Why Accuracy Matters s are being rolled out to support excessive use policies, bandwidth enforcement actions, and in some cases, usage-based billing. All of these measures are highly controversial with consumers and consumer advocacy groups, and they are beginning to garner the attention of regulatory bodies. Consumers are typically confused by the notion of usage for their broadband service. The typical user knows little about how much bandwidth his or her digital devices and applications consume. Additional variables such as the number of users in a home and their Internet behavior make understanding usage volumes even more challenging for consumers. The ISP usage meter is the primary information tool for a consumer to manage household bandwidth consumption. An inaccurate meter is misleading to the consumer, and erodes the legitimacy of any usage-related action by the ISP. The Internet is built on an end-do-end principle that places control of a connection into consumer devices. Many consumers are smart and enjoy tinkering with the part of the Internet that resides in their homes, and savvy consumers will study the ISP s meter. The meter must, therefore, withstand the scrutiny of smart network practitioners with simple measurement tools. ISPs must assume that any meter will be examined by watchdog individuals or groups. The watchdogs are often vocal, and leverage the Internet, blogs, and social media to publicly challenge ISPs. ISPs have already encountered a public backlash due to inaccurate meters, in some cases causing the ISP to withdraw the meter. Simply denying the charges in a public relations response can worsen the problem. The best reaction is to acknowledge and correct any meter inaccuracy and publicly explain the correction. The wisest approach is to be transparent about how the meter works and provide solid evidence of its accuracy. Stonewalling critics with silence is the most dangerous approach because it can cause the problem to fester and explode into a public battle. An example of a public maelstrom is documented in the March 29, 2011 online DSL Reports website publication entitled Taking a Closer Look at AT&T's Inaccurate Usage s: AT&T Is Wildly Over-Estimating Customer Usage [1] and the subsequent coverage. Measuring Bandwidth Usage Is Difficult The Internet was designed to scale by providing only the most essential switching and transport functions to move datagrams from source to destination. Counting traffic is not in the Internet s DNA. Adding detailed traffic counters to a large packet-switched network requires a complex overlay system of hardware and software technologies that must operate in realtime and scale to support billions of SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 1
2 transactions per hour. There are a variety of usage measurement approaches from in-band counters to outof-band deep packet inspection. The systems must be built using components supplied by different vendors. In many cases, critical parts of the solution are still in development by the vendor, and are not ready for prime time. In other words, most systems are not yet mature enough to be problem free. A meter system imposes a new set of requirements on the network management structure. The operational support system (OSS) is primarily a one-way command system from the operations center to the field that operates in exception mode (e.g., for use when things are to be installed or repaired). In contrast, a meter system generates a reverse flow of data and control parameters that move from the field to a central system. The staff and systems are not designed or sized to handle high volumes of data in the reverse direction. Typical System Architecture This paper describes the typical meter system for cable-based broadband ISPs. However, all of the methodology can be applied to DSL and fiber-based ISPs even though they may use different basic traffic counters. The typical cable-based ISP meter system follows an information flow from left to right as shown in the figure below. Implementations vary by ISP and by the vendors the ISP uses to support the steps in the flow. The intent; however, is the same to show subscribers how much traffic they have consumed in the recent reporting period. CMTS Collection Aggregation Mediation Engine Data Warehouse Record Web Portal The flow from a CMTS to a meter report displayed on a web portal requires the following stages of information processing and refinement. CMTS Subscriber traffic is measured by the CMTS for each cable modem it serves. The CMTS keeps separate, incrementing counters for traffic traveling upstream (i.e., from the subscriber to the Internet) and downstream (i.e., from the Internet to the subscriber). It is critical to understand how each CMTS counts and assigns traffic to service flows. [2] The status and value of the counters is periodically reported in an Internet Protocol Detail Record (). Each CMTS periodically sends the for each cable modem (typically every 15 minutes depending on the CMTS manufacturer). Collector records are sent by the CMTS to a collector in the first information processing step. Collectors receive s from several CMTS devices, often in a geographic region. The collectors perform initial data validation and serve as temporary storage for the records. The collector must be ready to accept the s sent by each CMTS in its region. There is no room for s to be missed when a CMTS starts transmitting. Aggregator The next stage is a set of servers that integrate the data from a group of collectors. Aggregation starts by converting the incremental counters sent by the CMTS into explicit traffic counts for each period represented by the difference in the time stamps. At this stage, the records with a variety of time stamps (based on each CMTS configuration and decision to checkpoint counters and send s) are converted into hourly records. The collector and/or the aggregator must assign which service flows SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 2
3 contribute to the usage meter. These assignments may be complex and change as an ISP adds or modifies service offerings. [3] Mediation Engine In the next stage, a mediation engine associates hourly traffic data, often identified by the subscribers cable modem MAC address, with the subscribers account number. The hourly data is rolled up into daily and/or monthly traffic volumes. The mediation engine is the first place where the traffic volume can be checked against a usage policy. Data Warehouse After the meter information is finalized by the mediation engine, it is passed on to a data warehouse or some other general ISP business and operations database. The data warehouse stores the official meter records for use by other systems. This is a historic repository that may be used by engineering for planning, management for business intelligence data mining, etc. Web Portal The data warehouse feeds the usage information to a web portal from which subscribers view their current consumption statistics. This web application operates a secure subscriber interface that includes other account management functions. When the subscriber clicks on the meter page, the portal accesses recent meter records at the data warehouse and displays current usage, historic usage, and often a usage graphic. The meter data is often annotated to help consumers who are not familiar with terminology or how the usage meter works. Internal ISP Testing often Falls Short Getting a usage meter system to be accurate, operate reliably, and scale to cover all of the ISP s network technologies is a formidable challenge. Even though ISPs manage these efforts with appropriate system engineering processes, meter errors and failures still occur. As the above description shows, meter systems are complex, and they require substantial implementation effort. Multiple groups or contractors often work on each system element, and each element is subject to its own specification, development plan, and acceptance criteria. This approach inevitably leads to meter system implementations managed by a number of distinct organizational silos. To make matters worse, the six major functional elements described above are often managed separately and supplied by different vendors. If an ISP slices the meter effort into the maximum of six silos, then the risk of the system not working properly is much greater. In our experience, successful meter implementations have consolidated the effort into three different functional areas requiring only three project teams. Each project team tests its portion of the overall system to prove it is working. Unfortunately, this approach creates a classic silo management trap because no one is responsible for testing the system endto-end to ensure that the meter works from the customers point of view. The customer sends traffic through the cable modem and looks at the meter on the web portal. He or she has no idea that there are six subsystems involved between the two events. We consistently hear major ISPs describe plans to test each subsystem separately, mistakenly believing that testing each subsystem separately will be sufficient to ensure the system works end to end. In our experience, a well-designed, end-to-end test is the only way to know if a meter system works properly. Of course subsystems must be tested individually, but once this is done, end-to-end testing is essential. We have encountered consistent problems when ISPs rush to launch a meter and leave insufficient time for final real system testing. This flawed approach is guaranteed to lead to embarrassing failure. SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 3
4 Accuracy Validation Methodology To fully assess and correct meter accuracy, it is important to test the meter system end to end. A proper meter accuracy validation project will assure a successful meter rollout. accuracy validation should be done in several phases, each of which is best performed by an organization that is independent of the implementation groups. Validation testing is an audit function best done by an independent authority to ensure impartiality and avoid conflict of interest. There are three basic meter validation phases. The first is the creation of a formal description of what is in the meter report that the subscriber will read. The description does not mention any of the meter system elements, but rather the relationship of the subscriber traffic and what will appear on the meter report. Next is an end-to-end test that validates actual meter reports to the meter description. Validation answers a simple question: Does the subscriber meter report accurately match what was defined to be in the report? Finally, the results are documented in a public report to educate subscribers and the press should questions arise once the meter is launched. Below we describe the three phases of a successful meter validation project. Specification Broadband usage meters are complex and easily confuse consumers. When planning a usage meter implementation, it is critical to define key meter attributes. Following is a framework NetForecast developed to help ISPs specify and describe meter operation. We use this framework at the beginning of each meter accuracy validation project to specify what will be validated. Subscriber Traffic Specification Defines subscriber traffic in the meter report Subscriber View CMTS Collection Aggregation Mediation Engine Data Warehouse Record Web Portal The meter specification, which is jointly developed by the auditor, developers, and other ISP stakeholders at the beginning of each project, defines the following meter characteristics: Traffic Counted Specific traffic is counted as defined here: Subscriber payload by service class (up and down) Protocol overhead (up and down) is identified Background traffic (non subscriber-generated traffic) is identified. The non-subscriber background traffic is less than x up and y down. Granularity The mathematical base of the meter value is defined and the value is presented to the subscriber within x units (digits) over a defined time period (e.g., hour, day, month). Error Bounds Usage data supplied to the subscriber is +/- x% accurate per the definition of what is counted within the defined granularity by the meter system. Timeliness The subscriber's view of their meter updates on the subscriber's "my account" portal within x hours of subscriber usage activity and represents traffic counted across a specific time span in a specified time reference (i.e., UT, local time). SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 4
5 Accessibility The subscriber view of the meter is easy to find within x clicks from the ISP s service home page. Availability The subscriber view of the meter is available x% of the time. Clarity The description of the usage meter on the "my account" portal is easy to understand by a typical subscriber with click-through to more information as appropriate. The specification should be a public document that describes how an ISP s meter works and how to interpret the usage data presented to the subscriber. The document provides key background information to a subscriber who wishes to test meter accuracy. What a subscriber may perceive as a meter inaccuracy may in fact be an incomplete understanding of how the meter works and how to appropriately compare their measurements with those recorded by the meter. Independent Validation of the Specification The independent auditor validates whether the meter does what the meter specification says it will do. It is important to note that the auditor has no stake in what the meter specification says. If the specification states that the usage measurements will show up only once per month and may be in error +/- 20%, then that is what the ISP has committed to deliver. If the end-to-end validation of the meter agrees with the statement, then the meter is certified as meeting the ISP s specification. The auditor s end-to-end test of the meter system must be carried out using an independent system dedicated to the task. It must stress the meter system s accuracy and therefore must be capable of high degree of accuracy. It must also be able to generate traffic of sufficient volume to impact the values, or move the meter on the ISP s reports. The auditor s system should reflect the architecture shown in the following figure. Specification Defines subscriber traffic in the meter report CMTS Collection Aggregation Mediation Engine Data Warehouse Record Record Web Portal Cable ISP The Validation Do the ISP meter data (green) accurately match the independently measured traffic (red) as defined by the Specification? Report Traffic Observed Traffic Counted Internet Precise Reference Traffic Transfers Test Server Traffic Counted SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 5
6 The end-to-end tests transfer reference traffic measured to a degree of accuracy at least one order of magnitude greater than the ISP s meter. The error analysis must account for differences in traffic counts that occur at different points of instrumentation. For example, the calculations must adjust for what is counted in an versus what a consumer s PC will count. Comparison between the test results and the specification must cover each element of the specification, which will include more factors than the difference between tested and metered traffic counts. Extreme care must be taken to ensure that the test traffic is the only traffic on the subscriber s link. Each separate test of down and up traffic must be under the audit team s control, be unknown to the ISP, and be randomly scheduled. There must be multiple tests performed in order to acquire sufficient samples to generate a statistically valid conclusion regarding meter system accuracy. Once the tests are complete and meter reports are acquired, a comprehensive error analysis will highlight small discrepancies in the ISP s meter system. Of course at all times the audit system must check to ensure it is not introducing errors into the results. Multiple points of comparison between the ISP s meter and the auditor s measurement tools help assure that the test system is consistent. There is a limit to the number of locations that can be instrumented for the audit. But measurement locations must cover a sufficient variety of the ISP s infrastructure to assure that any accuracy conclusions are defensible. Some aspects of the specification do not lend themselves to technical measurements, but rather are best simply observed by the audit team (e.g., the clarity of the meter FAQs). All of the tests, analysis, and observations are referenced back to the meter specification. The goal is to validate that the specification is adhered to and not to change the meter system. Public Accuracy Report The greatest value from a successful validation project is a report that documents the results. [4] This report should be publicly available to subscribers, and should cover more than the validation methodology. It should also provide information to the consumer about how traffic works on the Internet and within their ISP. An important aspect is to describe the differences between what a user might perform as his or her own validation test from home and what will appear in the meter. To date, the most often perceived usage meter accuracy issues have actually been misunderstandings of why the value I see on my router is different from the value shown in the usage report on the ISP s customer portal. Lessons Learned We have been involved in independent meter accuracy validation projects for several major ISPs over the course of more than two years. In our experience, usage meters are generally not yet mature offerings for ISPs or the vendors that supply constituent parts to the ISPs. Following is a summary of the types of issues we have encountered thus far. They are presented here so ISPs and their vendors can investigate these topics before implementation and avoid costly remediation during meter deployment. Some of the issues discussed below are a natural byproduct of how the network operates and cannot be mitigated. These causes of counting errors limit the ability of an ISP to promise an extremely accurate usage meter. Under-reporting by the We define under-reporting when the ISP meter shows less traffic than was actually sent over the subscriber line (negative error). This can occur from a variety of conditions but the following have been observed quit often. Collectors or aggregators cannot keep up with volume and drop either a few records, or in some cases, a batch of records from an incoming source. SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 6
7 Aggregation loses time synch with the time stamps creating time gaps in the meter data. The effect can create a large hourly value when the meter catches up. Or it may never catch up, in which case the traffic is never counted. Packet loss on the CM-CMTS uplink during up tests will cause TCP to retransmit. A subscriber device that is counting traffic will see the packet that was lost along with the retransmitted packet. The net effect is that a lost packet is counted twice by the subscriber but only once by the CMTS. Over-reporting by the We define over-reporting as when the ISP meter shows more traffic than was actually sent over the subscriber line (positive error). This can occur due to a variety of conditions, but the following have been observed. Some part of the meter system is resending meter records. Some of the meter system information flow processes are asynchronous file updates with little or no positive feedback that a file was properly received. Under these conditions, a duplicate file will be added into the system. Packet loss on the CM-CMTS downlink during down tests causes TCP to retransmit. A subscriber device that is counting traffic sees the second packet but the CMTS saw and counted both the lost and retransmitted packet. There is a low level of background traffic on the CM-CMTS link due to the way the network operates. In some cases it also picks up traffic that is broadcast by neighbors on the common Internet path into the ISP. If the background traffic is too high, it can materially impact the accuracy of the meter that will show up as over-reporting. Erratic An erratic meter is when a dramatically wrong value appears from time to time in the meter records. Most such events are difficult to diagnose but the following have been seen. Errors in the CMTS traffic counters cause wide swings in the meter value (this may occur when a CMTS or a cable modem resets). The mediation engine can have hourly, daily, monthly roll-up errors. For example there may be issues with time zone conversions and the effect of moving into or out of daylight savings time. Late The meter system can take too long to show traffic events. This causes a failure to achieve the timeliness goal in the Specification. Summary We have described many sources of measurement inaccuracies commonly encountered when ISPs deploy Internet traffic usage meters. The complete list is much longer. To avoid these inaccuracies, it is essential for ISPs to have a well thought through plan for end-to-end system testing that will enable inaccuracy problems to be exposed and corrected early in the deployment process. It is also critical to have an independent end-to-end system audit to provide independent validation that the usage meter is, in fact accurate and performing within well-documented specifications. This protects an ISP s reputation for fairness and technical competence, and engenders subscriber trust. Based on NetForecast s experience, if you are deploying a usage meter, there is no doubt that you will encounter problems. Most major broadband ISPs are in some phase of deploying a subscriber usage meter to support the ISP s consumption management strategy. An independent audit of an ISP s meter can help assure meter accuracy and provide a responsible and defensible way to address meter accuracy concerns. SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 7
8 ISP usage meters can be accurate, and independent testing has shown some to be very accurate. The figure below shows the distribution of errors measured across four different CMTS brands. The results are based on more than 1,000 measurements. It shows a bias towards under-reporting. 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1.0% 0.9% 0.8% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 0.9% 1.0% error (+ means over-reporting, - means under-reporting) Accurate usage meters shine a light on an unknown and misunderstood aspect of the digital age: bandwidth consumption. This allows consumers to become better informed, and better-informed consumers will help positively shape the Internet s future. About the Author Peter Sevcik is President of NetForecast and is a leading authority on Internet traffic, performance, and technology. Peter has contributed to the design of more than 100 networks, including the Internet, and holds the patent on application response-time prediction. He can be reached at peter@netforecast.com. References [1] Taking A Closer Look At AT&T's Inaccurate Usage s AT&T is Wildly Over-Estimating Customer Usage, DSL Reports, March 29, [2] Understanding Service Flow Counters for Usage ing Applications, Active Broadband Networks, Inc., March 2010 [3] What Counts? Accurately Accounting for End-User Traffic with, Andrew Sundelin, Applied Broadband, Inc., SCTE Cable-Tec Expo [4] Comcast Usage Accuracy, Peter Sevcik, NetForecast Report 5101, May SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 Peter Sevcik Page 8
OpenVault Usage Meter IPDR Processing Accuracy
OpenVault Usage Meter Processing Accuracy by Peter Sevcik September 2012 OpenVault supplies an processing system as a service in support of ISP usage meters. The service shows how much Internet traffic
More informationGeneral ISP Data Usage Meter Specification and Best Practices
General ISP Data Usage Meter Specification and Best Practices Peter Sevcik, Rebecca Wetzel, Andrew Lacy June 2015 Many ISPs track subscriber data usage for the purposes of informing subscribers about their
More informationAccuracy Assessment of Suddenlink Communications Internet Usage Meter
Accuracy Assessment of Suddenlink Communications Internet Usage Meter By Peter Sevcik April 2013 Suddenlink Communications has deployed a data usage meter system to measure and report how much Internet
More informationAccuracy Audit of Cox Communications Internet Data Usage Meter
Accuracy Audit of Cox Communications Internet Data Usage Meter By Peter Sevcik May 2015 Cox Communications has deployed a data usage meter system to measure and report how much Internet data traffic a
More informationComcast Usage Meter Accuracy
Comcast Usage Meter Accuracy Peter Sevcik May 2010 Update to the original December 2009 document Comcast has launched a new usage meter that monitors and reports on how much traffic a subscriber consumes
More informationHow the Netflix ISP Speed Index Documents Netflix Congestion Problems
How the Netflix ISP Speed Index Documents Netflix Congestion Problems By Peter Sevcik June 2014 NetForecast Report NFR5117 2014 NetForecast, Inc. As of this writing, a comedic YouTube video featuring Netflix
More informationAdding Visibility to WAN Optimization, Your Ticket to Even Better Performance
Adding Visibility to WAN Optimization, Your Ticket to Even Better Performance This report was sponsored by Riverbed Technology By Peter Sevcik and Rebecca Wetzel February 2011 Much of a network professional
More informationBuilding a Data Quality Scorecard for Operational Data Governance
Building a Data Quality Scorecard for Operational Data Governance A White Paper by David Loshin WHITE PAPER Table of Contents Introduction.... 1 Establishing Business Objectives.... 1 Business Drivers...
More informationImprove Your Energy Data Infrastructure:
Electric Gas Water Information collection, analysis, and application 2818 North Sullivan Road, Spokane, WA 99216 509.924.9900 Tel 509.891.3355 Fax www.itron.com Improve Your Energy Data Infrastructure:
More informationHow Network Transparency Affects Application Acceleration Deployment
How Network Transparency Affects Application Acceleration Deployment By John Bartlett and Peter Sevcik July 2007 Acceleration deployments should be simple. Vendors have worked hard to make the acceleration
More informationBroadband Bonding Network Appliance TRUFFLE BBNA6401
Broadband Bonding Network Appliance TRUFFLE BBNA6401 White Paper In this brief White Paper we describe how the TRUFFLE BBNA6401 can provide an SMB with faster and more reliable Internet access at an affordable
More informationWhat You Don t Know Does Hurt You: Five Critical Risk Factors in Data Warehouse Quality. An Infogix White Paper
What You Don t Know Does Hurt You: Five Critical Risk Factors in Data Warehouse Quality Executive Summary Data warehouses are becoming increasingly large, increasingly complex and increasingly important
More informationIPDR vs. DPI: The Battle for Big Data
IPDR vs. DPI: The Battle for Big Data An Incognito White Paper January 2016 2016 Incognito Software Systems Inc. All rights reserved. Contents Summary... 2 IPDR vs. DPI... 3 Overview of IPDR... 3 Overview
More informationSeeing Through the Fog: Managing Application Performance in the Cloud
Seeing Through the Fog: Managing Application Performance in the By Peter Sevcik and Rebecca Wetzel February 2011 This report was sponsored by Riverbed Technology As your business applications recede from
More informationMaking Network Management. WWL - March 1 st Grand Ballroom C John O Hare. oharej@azotel.com www.azotel.com
Making Network Management WWL - March 1 st Grand Ballroom C John O Hare oharej@azotel.com www.azotel.com Azotel Technologies - Started as a WISP in 2002.!!! Initially saw exponential growth and then hit
More informationSiteCelerate white paper
SiteCelerate white paper Arahe Solutions SITECELERATE OVERVIEW As enterprises increases their investment in Web applications, Portal and websites and as usage of these applications increase, performance
More informationAchieving Control: The Four Critical Success Factors of Change Management. Technology Concepts & Business Considerations
Achieving Control: The Four Critical Success Factors of Change Management Technology Concepts & Business Considerations T e c h n i c a l W H I T E P A P E R Table of Contents Executive Summary...........................................................
More informationBandwidth Aggregation, Teaming and Bonding
Bandwidth Aggregation, Teaming and Bonding The increased use of Internet sharing combined with graphically rich web sites and multimedia applications have created a virtually insatiable demand for Internet
More informationSmart Tips. Enabling WAN Load Balancing. Key Features. Network Diagram. Overview. Featured Products. WAN Failover. Enabling WAN Load Balancing Page 1
Smart Tips Enabling WAN Load Balancing Overview Many small businesses today use broadband links such as DSL or Cable, favoring them over the traditional link such as T1/E1 or leased lines because of the
More informationLoad Balance Mechanism
Load Balance Application in Dual-WAN Interface Load Balance Mechanism To which WAN port the traffic will be routed is determined according to the Load Balance mechanism. Below diagram shows how Vigor router
More informationPlanning a Basel III Credit Risk Initiative
Risk & Compliance the way we see it Planning a Basel III Credit Risk Initiative How to Achieve Return on Investment Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Banks need a strong data foundation 4 3 A new focus on models
More informationBest Practices for Building a Security Operations Center
OPERATIONS SECURITY Best Practices for Building a Security Operations Center Diana Kelley and Ron Moritz If one cannot effectively manage the growing volume of security events flooding the enterprise,
More informationHighlights of CAMS. Service Health Manager
Service Health Manager Proxilliant Service Health Manager (SHM) is the dashboard required to monitor the quality of any network including health and customer experience of the services provided in the
More informationEffecting Data Quality Improvement through Data Virtualization
Effecting Data Quality Improvement through Data Virtualization Prepared for Composite Software by: David Loshin Knowledge Integrity, Inc. June, 2010 2010 Knowledge Integrity, Inc. Page 1 Introduction The
More informationWHITE PAPER. Centrally Monitoring Set-tops and Implementing Whole-Home Video Assurance
WHITE PAPER Centrally Monitoring Set-tops and Implementing Whole-Home Video Assurance Contents Introduction...3 The Need for Home Network Visibility for Managing Video Services...3 Video Service Assurance:
More informationData Quality Assurance
CHAPTER 4 Data Quality Assurance The previous chapters define accurate data. They talk about the importance of data and in particular the importance of accurate data. They describe how complex the topic
More informationChapter 10 Troubleshooting
Chapter 10 Troubleshooting This chapter provides troubleshooting tips and information for your ProSafe Dual WAN Gigabit Firewall with SSL & IPsec VPN. After each problem description, instructions are provided
More informationAlcatel-Lucent Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising Solution
Alcatel-Lucent Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising Solution Leverage IP networks to revolutionize the TV ad model and enhance the viewing experience As advertisers turn toward new digital media to
More informationBroadband Bonding Network Appliance TRUFFLE BBNA6401
Broadband Bonding Network Appliance TRUFFLE BBNA6401 White Paper In this brief White Paper we describe how the TRUFFLE BBNA6401 can provide an SMB with faster and more reliable Internet access at an affordable
More informationEVOLVING ENTERPRISE NETWORKS WITH SPB-M APPLICATION NOTE
EVOLVING ENTERPRISE NETWORKS WITH SPB-M APPLICATION NOTE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Enterprise network managers are being forced to do more with less. Their networks are growing in size and complexity. They need
More informationPer-Flow Queuing Allot's Approach to Bandwidth Management
White Paper Per-Flow Queuing Allot's Approach to Bandwidth Management Allot Communications, July 2006. All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents Executive Overview... 3 Understanding TCP/IP... 4 What is Bandwidth
More informationMaking Sense of Broadband Performance Never Mind the Connection Speed, Measure the Connection Consistency!
Making Sense of Broadband Performance Never Mind the Connection Speed, Measure the Connection Consistency! In today s Internet world dominated by on-demand Voice, Video and IP-TV, the key to good connection
More informationCarrier Ethernet: New Game Plan for Media Converters
Introduction IEEE Std. 802.3ah, also referred to as Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) standard, has a well established name within the industry today. It lays out ground rules for implementing Ethernet
More informationSoftware Firm Applies Structure to Content Management System for Greatest Value
Partner Solution Case Study Software Firm Applies Structure to Content Management System for Greatest Value Overview Country or Region: United States Industry: Professional services Software engineering
More informationThe Firewall Audit Checklist Six Best Practices for Simplifying Firewall Compliance and Risk Mitigation
The Firewall Audit Checklist Six Best Practices for Simplifying Firewall Compliance and Risk Mitigation Copyright, AlgoSec Inc. All rights reserved The Need to Ensure Continuous Compliance Regulations
More informationThe Economics of Cisco s nlight Multilayer Control Plane Architecture
The Economics of Cisco s nlight Multilayer Control Plane Architecture Executive Summary Networks are becoming more difficult to plan and optimize because of high traffic growth, volatile traffic patterns,
More informationBest Practices in Power Management: From Desktop to Data Center
Best Practices in Power Management: From Desktop to Data Center An ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMA ) White Paper Prepared for Avocent May 2009 IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, Table of Contents Executive
More informationFlow Analysis Versus Packet Analysis. What Should You Choose?
Flow Analysis Versus Packet Analysis. What Should You Choose? www.netfort.com Flow analysis can help to determine traffic statistics overall, but it falls short when you need to analyse a specific conversation
More informationProtecting the Palace: Cardholder Data Environments, PCI Standards and Wireless Security for Ecommerce Ecosystems
Page 1 of 5 Protecting the Palace: Cardholder Data Environments, PCI Standards and Wireless Security for Ecommerce Ecosystems In July the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) published
More informationPOLAR IT SERVICES. Business Intelligence Project Methodology
POLAR IT SERVICES Business Intelligence Project Methodology Table of Contents 1. Overview... 2 2. Visualize... 3 3. Planning and Architecture... 4 3.1 Define Requirements... 4 3.1.1 Define Attributes...
More informationA Look at the New Converged Data Center
Organizations around the world are choosing to move from traditional physical data centers to virtual infrastructure, affecting every layer in the data center stack. This change will not only yield a scalable
More informationMicrosoft Exchange Load Balancing. Unique Applied Patent Technology By XRoads Networks
Microsoft Exchange Load Balancing Unique Applied Patent Technology By XRoads Networks Microsoft Exchange Server Balancing The following is an introduction and overview as to how the EdgeXOS appliances
More informationGoodData Corporation Security White Paper
GoodData Corporation Security White Paper May 2016 Executive Overview The GoodData Analytics Distribution Platform is designed to help Enterprises and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) securely share
More informationCable Modems. Definition. Overview. Topics. 1. How Cable Modems Work
Cable Modems Definition Cable modems are devices that allow high-speed access to the Internet via a cable television network. While similar in some respects to a traditional analog modem, a cable modem
More informationBroadband Phone Gateway BPG510 Technical Users Guide
Broadband Phone Gateway BPG510 Technical Users Guide (Firmware version 0.14.1 and later) Revision 1.0 2006, 8x8 Inc. Table of Contents About your Broadband Phone Gateway (BPG510)... 4 Opening the BPG510's
More informationPQoS Parameterized Quality of Service. White Paper
P Parameterized Quality of Service White Paper Abstract The essential promise of MoCA no new wires, no service calls and no interference with other networks or consumer electronic devices remains intact
More informationcomscore ISP Speed Test Accuracy by Peter Sevcik March 2010
comscore ISP Speed Test Accuracy by Peter Sevcik March 2010 As part of a suite of tests tracking many aspects of users experiences on the Internet, comscore performs Internet service speed tests. The results
More informationCHAPTER 6 NETWORK DESIGN
CHAPTER 6 NETWORK DESIGN Chapter Summary This chapter starts the next section of the book, which focuses on how we design networks. We usually design networks in six network architecture components: Local
More informationUsing business intelligence to drive performance through accuracy in insight
PERFORMANCE & TECHNOLOGY Using business intelligence to drive performance through accuracy in insight ADVISORY Even when a BI implementation represents a significant technical achievement processing terabytes
More informationImproving Effective WAN Throughput for Large Data Flows By Peter Sevcik and Rebecca Wetzel November 2008
Improving Effective WAN Throughput for Large Data Flows By Peter Sevcik and Rebecca Wetzel November 2008 When you buy a broadband Wide Area Network (WAN) you want to put the entire bandwidth capacity to
More informationGlobal Payroll? A Few Planning Considerations. Human Resources Globalization
Global Payroll? A Few Planning Considerations Human Resources Globalization Global Payroll? A Few Considerations Today s businesses operate in an increasingly global environment. As a result, globalizing
More informationWhite Paper. An Overview of the Kalido Data Governance Director Operationalizing Data Governance Programs Through Data Policy Management
White Paper An Overview of the Kalido Data Governance Director Operationalizing Data Governance Programs Through Data Policy Management Managing Data as an Enterprise Asset By setting up a structure of
More informationDatacenter Management Optimization with Microsoft System Center
Datacenter Management Optimization with Microsoft System Center Disclaimer and Copyright Notice The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues
More informationChoosing Application Performance Management (APM) Tools
1990-2010 Peter Sevcik and NetForecast, Inc., All rights reserved. Choosing Application Performance Management (APM) Tools Peter Sevcik NetForecast, Inc. Charlottesville, Virginia peter@netforecast.com
More informationManaging User Website Experience: Comparing Synthetic and Real Monitoring of Website Errors By John Bartlett and Peter Sevcik January 2006
Managing User Website Experience: Comparing Synthetic and Real Monitoring of Website Errors By John Bartlett and Peter Sevcik January 2006 The modern enterprise relies on its web sites to provide information
More informationTECHNICAL NOTE 01/2006 ENGRESS AND INGRESS FILTERING
TECHNICAL NOTE 01/2006 ENGRESS AND INGRESS FILTERING 20 APRIL 2006 This paper was previously published by the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) a predecessor organisation to
More informationCisco IOS Flexible NetFlow Technology
Cisco IOS Flexible NetFlow Technology Last Updated: December 2008 The Challenge: The ability to characterize IP traffic and understand the origin, the traffic destination, the time of day, the application
More informationBandwidth Consumption and Broadband Reliability
White Paper Bandwidth Consumption and Broadband Reliability Studying Speed, Performance, and Bandwidth Use in the Connected Home White Paper July, 2012 2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
More informationNetwork-Wide Change Management Visibility with Route Analytics
Network-Wide Change Management Visibility with Route Analytics Executive Summary Change management is a hot topic, and rightly so. Studies routinely report that a significant percentage of application
More informationIntegrating F5 Application Delivery Solutions with VMware View 4.5
APPLICATION READY SOLUTION GUIDE What s inside: 2 Improving user experience 2 Enhancing security and access control 3 Application Performance and Availability 4 F5 and global configuration diagram 5 More
More informationNEWWAVE COMMUNICATIONS BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICE DISCLOSURES. Updated October 2012
NEWWAVE COMMUNICATIONS BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICE DISCLOSURES Updated October 2012 Consistent with FCC regulations, 1 NewWave Communications provides this information about our broadband Internet access
More informationActive Network Defense: Real time Network Situational Awareness and a Single Source of Integrated, Comprehensive Network Knowledge
Active Network Defense: Real time Network Situational Awareness and a Single Source of Integrated, Comprehensive Network Knowledge This paper will present a case study of Lumeta s participation in an open
More informationThe Shift to Wireless Data Communication
The Shift to Wireless Data Communication Choosing a Cellular Solution for Connecting Devices to a WWAN Dana Lee, Senior Product Manager dana.lee@moxa.com Recent developments in the wireless and industrial
More informationmysap ERP FINANCIALS SOLUTION OVERVIEW
mysap ERP FINANCIALS SOLUTION OVERVIEW EFFECTIVE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ... IS KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS mysap ERP FINANCIALS YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR FUTURE, YOUR SUCCESS mysap ERP is the world s most complete
More informationInmarsat TCP Accelerator V2
Inmarsat TCP Accelerator V2 User Guide for WindowsVista, WindowsXP and Windows7 Version 3.0 10 February 2012 inmarsat.com/bgan Whilst the above information has been prepared by Inmarsat in good faith,
More informationCONDIS. IT Service Management and CMDB
CONDIS IT Service and CMDB 2/17 Table of contents 1. Executive Summary... 3 2. ITIL Overview... 4 2.1 How CONDIS supports ITIL processes... 5 2.1.1 Incident... 5 2.1.2 Problem... 5 2.1.3 Configuration...
More informationApplying Internal Traffic Models to Improve Identification of High Fidelity Cyber Security Events
Applying Internal Traffic Models to Improve Identification of High Fidelity Cyber Security Events Abstract Effective Security Operations throughout both DoD and industry are requiring and consuming unprecedented
More informationJuly 2012 Report No. 12-045. An Audit Report on The ReHabWorks System at the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services
John Keel, CPA State Auditor The ReHabWorks System at the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Report No. 12-045 The ReHabWorks System at the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services
More informationLarry Wilson Version 1.0 November, 2013. University Cyber-security Program Critical Asset Mapping
Larry Wilson Version 1.0 November, 2013 University Cyber-security Program Critical Asset Mapping Part 3 - Cyber-Security Controls Mapping Cyber-security Controls mapped to Critical Asset Groups CSC Control
More informationwww.coremedia.com The Content Distribution Network (CDN) Challenge A Hybrid Approach to Dynamic, High Performance Web Caching
www.coremedia.com The Content Distribution Network (CDN) Challenge A Hybrid Approach to Dynamic, High Performance Web Caching Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) are a popular and effective means of increasing
More informationSecure Networks for Process Control
Secure Networks for Process Control Leveraging a Simple Yet Effective Policy Framework to Secure the Modern Process Control Network An Enterasys Networks White Paper There is nothing more important than
More informationiscsi SANs Don t Have To Suck
iscsi SANs Don t Have To Suck Derek J. Balling, Answers.com Summary: We have created a iscsi SAN architecture which permits maintenance of network components without any downtime,
More informationIntegrated Clinical Data with Oracle Life Sciences Applications. An Oracle White Paper October 2006
Integrated Clinical Data with Oracle Life Sciences Applications An Oracle White Paper October 2006 Integrated Clinical Data with Oracle Life Sciences Applications EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Even the largest pharmaceutical
More informationAn Introduction to. Metrics. used during. Software Development
An Introduction to Metrics used during Software Development Life Cycle www.softwaretestinggenius.com Page 1 of 10 Define the Metric Objectives You can t control what you can t measure. This is a quote
More informationBenefits of extend On-Demand (SaaS Model) for Equipment Dealers and Rental Firms
extend On-Demand WHITEPAPER Benefits of extend On-Demand (SaaS Model) for Equipment Dealers and Rental Firms A Journey to Competitive Advantage and Business Excellence Abstract Competitive Advantage through
More informationWHITE PAPER. How to simplify and control the cardholder security environment
WHITE PAPER How to simplify and control the cardholder security environment Document Version V1-0 Document Set: QCC Information Security Prepared By Nick Prescot - QCC Information Security Ltd Sponsored
More informationMulti Stage Filtering
Multi Stage Filtering Technical Brief With the increasing traffic volume in modern data centers, largely driven by e-business and mobile devices, network and application performance monitoring has become
More informationCisco and VMware Virtualization Planning and Design Service
Cisco and VMware Virtualization Planning and Design Service Create an End-to-End Virtualization Strategy with Combined Services from Cisco and VMware Service Overview A Collaborative Approach to Virtualization
More informationCisco Quantum Policy Suite for BNG
Data Sheet Cisco Quantum Policy Suite for BNG Solution Overview The Cisco Quantum Policy Suite is a carrier-grade policy, charging, and subscriber data management software solution that enables service
More informationSOLUTION WHITE PAPER. BMC Manages the Full Service Stack on Secure Multi-tenant Architecture
SOLUTION WHITE PAPER BMC Manages the Full Service Stack on Secure Multi-tenant Architecture Table of Contents Introduction................................................... 1 Secure Multi-tenancy Architecture...................................
More informationPreparing Your IP network for High Definition Video Conferencing
White Paper Global Services April 2007 Table of Contents 1.0 OVERVIEW...3 2.0 VIDEO CONFERENCING BANDWIDTH DEMAND...3 3.0 AVAILABLE BANDWIDTH...5 3.1 Converged Network Links... 6 3.2 Dedicated Network
More informationREGULATORY OPTIONS TO FACILITATE THE ADOPTION OF INTERNET PARENTAL CONTROLS PUBLIC CONSULTATION RESPONSE FROM NETSWEEPER INC.
REGULATORY OPTIONS TO FACILITATE THE ADOPTION OF INTERNET PARENTAL CONTROLS PUBLIC CONSULTATION RESPONSE FROM NETSWEEPER INC 16 May 2014 Netsweeper Inc. 104 Dawson Road Suite 100 Guelph, Ontario, N1H 1A7
More informationChoosing the Right Master Data Management Solution for Your Organization
Choosing the Right Master Data Management Solution for Your Organization Buyer s Guide for IT Professionals BUYER S GUIDE This document contains Confidential, Proprietary and Trade Secret Information (
More informationNetwork-Wide Capacity Planning with Route Analytics
with Route Analytics Executive Summary Capacity planning is an important business process in large IP networks for ensuring reliable application and service delivery. In the days of fixed circuits and
More informationFIREMON SECURITY MANAGER
FIREMON SECURITY MANAGER Regain control of firewalls with comprehensive firewall management The enterprise network is a complex machine. New network segments, new hosts and zero-day vulnerabilities are
More informationThe Benefits of Purpose Built Super Efficient Video Servers
Whitepaper Deploying Future Proof On Demand TV and Video Services: The Benefits of Purpose Built Super Efficient Video Servers The Edgeware Storage System / Whitepaper / Edgeware AB 2010 / Version1 A4
More informationDynamic Service Desk. Unified IT Management. Solution Overview
I T S E R V I C E + I T A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT Dynamic Service Desk Unified IT Management Achieving business and IT alignment requires having insight into hardware and
More informationMicrosoft IT Deploys and Manages Office 365 ProPlus
Microsoft IT Deploys and Manages Office 365 ProPlus Technical White Paper Published: June 2013 The following content may no longer reflect Microsoft s current position or infrastructure. This content should
More informationService Automation Made Easy
Service Automation Made Easy Networks that know how to customize the network experience for every subscriber Challenge Service providers want to quickly develop and deliver personalized services their
More informationMicrosoft IT Increases Security and Streamlines Antimalware Management by Using Microsoft Forefront Endpoint. Protection 2010.
Situation Microsoft IT had limited monitoring and reporting functionality with its existing antimalware system. Although the system could scan for malware, there was no reporting capability or configurable
More informationEnterprise Security Tactical Plan
Enterprise Security Tactical Plan Fiscal Years 2011 2012 (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012) Prepared By: State Chief Information Security Officer The Information Security Council State of Minnesota Enterprise
More informationFirewalls and VPNs. Principles of Information Security, 5th Edition 1
Firewalls and VPNs Principles of Information Security, 5th Edition 1 Learning Objectives Upon completion of this material, you should be able to: Understand firewall technology and the various approaches
More informationINTRUSION PREVENTION AND EXPERT SYSTEMS
INTRUSION PREVENTION AND EXPERT SYSTEMS By Avi Chesla avic@v-secure.com Introduction Over the past few years, the market has developed new expectations from the security industry, especially from the intrusion
More informationNetworking and High Availability
TECHNICAL BRIEF Networking and High Availability Deployment Note Imperva appliances support a broad array of deployment options, enabling seamless integration into any data center environment. can be configured
More informationByteMobile Adaptive Traffic Management Product Family
ByteMobile Adaptive Traffic Management Product Family Building Adaptive Traffic Management Solutions ByteMobile Adaptive Traffic Management Solutions allow mobile operators to actively and dynamically
More informationTraffic Management in a World with Network Neutrality
White Paper Traffic Management in a World with Network Neutrality Table of Contents White Paper: Traffic Management in a World with Network Neutrality Overview...1 What is Network Neutrality...1 Today's
More informationAccurate End-to-End Performance Management Using CA Application Delivery Analysis and Cisco Wide Area Application Services
White Paper Accurate End-to-End Performance Management Using CA Application Delivery Analysis and Cisco Wide Area Application Services What You Will Learn IT departments are increasingly relying on best-in-class
More informationVENDOR MANAGEMENT. General Overview
VENDOR MANAGEMENT General Overview With many organizations outsourcing services to other third-party entities, the issue of vendor management has become a noted topic in today s business world. Vendor
More informationChapter 7 Troubleshooting
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting This chapter provides troubleshooting tips and information for your ProSafe VPN Firewall 200. After each problem description, instructions are provided to help you diagnose and
More information