CN111480319A

CN111480319A - Throughput testing

Info

Publication number: CN111480319A
Application number: CN201780097647.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 严德政
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Oyj
Priority date: 2017-10-20
Filing date: 2017-10-20
Publication date: 2020-07-31
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-20
Also published as: CN111480319B; WO2019075732A1

Abstract

A method for throughput testing is described, the method comprising: sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload; receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter; and determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the delivery time, payload size and repetition parameters of the plurality of responses to the first request.

Description

Throughput testing

Technical Field

This description relates to throughput testing, such as measuring throughput in a radio interface.

Background

Data throughput is an important indicator of performance in a communication system. For example, during throughput troubleshooting, it may be desirable to identify throughput in different portions of the communication system. Determining throughput in certain portions of a communication system can be difficult.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload; receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the delivery time, the payload size, and the replica parameters of the plurality of responses to the first request. The first request may be a ping request. The node may be a base station of a mobile communication network. The plurality of responses to the first request may include a response to the first request and several copies of the response defined by a copy parameter.

The first aspect may include setting the copy parameter.

The first aspect may include identifying the first request when the requested payload matches a predefined payload. The first aspect may further comprise setting a predefined payload.

In a second aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload; sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request; receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on a response to the second request, wherein a number of responses in the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter. The first request may be a ping request. The plurality of responses to the first request may include a response to the first request and several copies of the response defined by a copy parameter. The first request may define the identified location.

In a second aspect, the second request sent to the identified location may include the requested payload.

In a second aspect, the first request may be identified when the requested payload matches a predefined payload. The second aspect may further comprise setting the predefined payload. Alternatively or additionally, the second aspect may further comprise storing the predefined payload.

The second aspect may further comprise setting the copy parameter.

The second aspect may further comprise storing the copy parameter.

The second aspect may further include determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on delivery times, payload sizes, and replica parameters of a plurality of responses to the first request.

In a third aspect, the present specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any of the methods described with reference to the first or second aspects.

In a fourth aspect, the specification describes computer readable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform any of the methods as described with reference to the first or second aspects.

In a fifth aspect, this specification describes a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor, causes performance of the following acts: sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload; receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the delivery time, the payload size, and the replica parameters of the plurality of responses to the first request.

In a sixth aspect, this specification describes a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor, causes performance of the following acts: receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload; sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request; receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on a response to the second request, wherein a number of responses in the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter.

In a seventh aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to: sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload; receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the delivery time, the payload size, and the replica parameters of the plurality of responses to the first request.

In an eighth aspect, the present specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to: receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload; sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request; receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on a response to the second request, wherein a number of responses in the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter.

In a ninth aspect, the present specification describes an apparatus comprising: means for sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload; means for receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size according to the requested payload; and means for determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the transmission time, the payload size, and the replica parameters of the plurality of responses to the first request.

In a tenth aspect, the present specification describes an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload; means for sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request; means for receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and means for sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on a response to a second request, wherein a number of the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter.

Drawings

Embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the following schematic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network architecture;

FIG. 3 illustrates a message sequence in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an algorithm according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a message sequence in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an algorithm according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of components of a processing system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment; and

fig. 8a and 8b illustrate tangible media, which are a removable storage unit and a Compact Disc (CD) storing computer-readable code, respectively, that, when executed by a computer, perform operations according to embodiments.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication system, generally indicated by reference numeral 1. The system 1 comprises a user equipment 2, an interface 4, such as a base station of a mobile communication network, a network 6 and a final location 8, e.g. a server. As shown in fig. 1, the user equipment 2 is in two-way communication with the interface 4, and the interface 4 is in two-way communication with the final location 8 via the network 6. Thus, any communication between the user equipment 2 and the final location 8 takes place via the interface 4 and the network 6.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network architecture, generally indicated by reference numeral 10 system 10 illustrates an architecture including an exemplary 3GPP long term evolution (L TE) architecture including user equipment 12 (referred to in fig. 2 as L TE user equipment or L TE-UE), an interface 14 (referred to in fig. 2 as E-UTRAN (evolved universal terrestrial radio access network)) and a network 16 (referred to in fig. 2 as EPC (evolved packet core)). as shown in fig. 2, user equipment 12 communicates with a base station 18 (referred to in the L TE document as evolved node b (enb)).

Data throughput is a key performance indicator in a communication system. In the system 1, one measure of data throughput is the data rate that can be passed between the final location 8 and the user equipment 2. In system 10, one measure of data throughput is the data rate that can be passed between network 16 and user equipment 12.

In some cases, it is desirable to know the data throughput of different parts of the communication system. This may be necessary, for example, in throughput failure removal in a mobile operator's cellular network, where it may be desirable to determine whether any part of the communication system is bottleneck and/or operating below a desired data transmission rate.

A particular problem in determining data throughput in a mobile communication system is determining data throughput between user equipment, such as the user equipment 2 and the user equipment 12 described above, and nodes of a communication network, such as the interface 4 or the base station 18 described above. This can be difficult in practice because there is typically no test server on the base station.

However, for the most recent mobile communication standards (e.g., since L TE (Long term evolution)), the bandwidth between the user equipment and the base station is much larger, increasing the possible data throughput between the user equipment and the base station.

Fig. 3 shows a message sequence (indicated generally by reference numeral 30) according to an example embodiment. The message sequence 30 shows the transmission of messages and data between the user equipment 2, the interface 4 and the final location 8 as described above. (the same principles apply to the system 10 described above.)

The message sequence 30 begins with an echo request 32 (or ping request-terms are used interchangeably in this document) sent from the user device 2 to the interface 4.

The echo request is sent as a message 34 from the interface 4 to the final location 8 (via the network 6). In response to message 34, the network returns an echo reply (message 36) to interface 4. The message 36 includes a payload (defined further below). In a message 38, an echo reply 36 (or ping reply-terms are used interchangeably in this document) is forwarded from the interface 4 to the user device 2.

ping or echo requests are commonly used to test the reachability of hosts on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. A ping or echo request is typically sent to an IP location (e.g., final location 8). The request typically includes a payload indication. If the IP location is reached, an acknowledgement ("echo", e.g., message 36) is sent with a payload of a defined size. Successful receipt of the echo confirms that the IP address location can be reached. ping requests are also used to monitor round trip time (i.e., the time a message is sent and the time an echo/reply is received).

The above-mentioned messages 32 to 38 are in accordance with a typical ping protocol. However, as shown in the message sequence 30, the interface sends multiple copies of the message 38 in addition to the echo reply 38 sent from the interface 4 to the user device 2. In fig. 3, a first copy 40, a second copy 41, a third copy 42, a fourth copy 43, a fifth copy 44, a sixth copy 45 and a seventh copy 46 are shown. Of course, any number of copies may be sent.

According to a typical ping protocol, the message 36 (and thus the message 38 and the duplicate messages 40 to 46) includes a payload. The payload may typically be a series of ASCII characters of a defined length. By copying the messages 38, the standard ping procedure can be modified to transfer large amounts of data between the interface 4 and the user equipment 2. By determining the time it takes to transmit data, a measure of the data throughput between the interface 4 and the user equipment 2 can be made.

As described above, the reachability of an IP location (e.g., final location 8) is typically tested using a ping request. In those cases, the payload is deliberately kept relatively small. In this description it may be desirable to have a large payload to ensure that a relatively large amount of data is transferred from the interface 4 to the user equipment 2. In one implementation, it may be desirable to generate enough data at the interface 4 to reach the peak rate of the user equipment 2.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart, indicated generally by the reference numeral 50, illustrating an algorithm in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The algorithm 50 begins at operation 52 and at operation 52, a ping message (e.g., message 32) is sent. Next, at operation 54, an echo and a copy of the echo (e.g., messages 38-46) are received. Then, at operation 56, the throughput is determined.

In operation 56, based on the payload size (in bits), the number of copies, and the total time (in seconds) taken to send the messages 38-46, the throughput (in bits/second) is determined by the following equation:

fig. 5 shows a message sequence, indicated generally by the reference numeral 60, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. The message sequence 60 shows the transmission of messages and data between a user device (e.g., user device 12), a base station (e.g., eNB 18), and a ping server 62. Thus, the message sequence 60 is implemented using the communication network architecture 10 described above with reference to fig. 2. Of course, the same principles can be used with the system 1.

The message sequence 60 begins with a ping/echo request 70 sent from the user device 12 to the base station 18. The request 70 has a sequence number of 0.

An echo request is sent from the base station 18 to the ping server 62 as message 72. In response to message 72, the ping server returns an echo reply (message 74) to the base station 18. Message 74 includes a payload. In message 76, message 74 is forwarded from base station 18 to user equipment 12.

As with messages 32-38 described above, messages 70-76 implement a standard ping/echo response.

As shown in message sequence 70, in addition to the echo reply 76 sent from the base station 18 to the user equipment 12, the base station also sends multiple copies of the message 76. In fig. 5, the first copy (message 78) and the nth copy (message 79) are shown. Of course, any number of copies may be sent. Note that echo reply 76 and the copies (message 78 to message 79) both include a payload.

As shown in fig. 5, at some time after receiving duplicate messages 78-79, a second echo request 80 is sent from the user equipment 12 to the base station 18. The second echo request 80 has a sequence number of 1.

A second echo request is sent as message 82 from the base station 18 to the ping server 62. In response to message 82, the ping server returns an echo reply (message 84) to the base station 18. Message 84 includes a payload. In message 86, message 84 is forwarded from base station 18 to user equipment 12. Further, in addition to echoing the acknowledgement 86, the base station also sends multiple copies of the message 86 to the user equipment 12. In fig. 5, the first copy (message 88) and the nth copy (message 89) are shown. Also, any number of copies may be sent.

Finally, sometime after receiving duplicate messages 88 through 99, a final (mth) echo request 90 is sent from the user equipment 12 to the base station 18. The final echo request 90 has a sequence number M.

The final echo request is sent as message 92 from the base station 18 to the ping server 62. In response to message 92, the ping server returns an echo reply (message 94) to the base station 18. Message 94 includes a payload. In message 96, message 94 is forwarded from base station 18 to user equipment 12. Further, in addition to echoing the reply 96, the base station also transmits multiple copies of the message 96 to the user equipment 12. In fig. 5, the first copy (message 98) and the nth copy (message 99) are shown. Also, any number of copies may be sent. As shown in fig. 5, any number of messages may be sent between messages 80 through 89 relating to the second ping request and messages 90 through 99 relating to the final ping request.

As described above with reference to fig. 4, in operation 56, based on the payload size (in bits), the number of copies, and the total time (in seconds) it takes to send the message 38 to the message 46, the throughput (in bits/second) is determined by the following equation:

in message sequence 60, M different throughput measurements (based on the payload and duration of messages 76-79, 86-89, and 96-99, respectively) may be made. To determine how throughput varies over time, it may be considered to use different message sequences. Alternatively, an average throughput time may be determined. Of course, the determination of the M measurement values is described by way of example only; the principles described herein are equally applicable to determining one, two or more throughput measurements.

The

message sequences

30 and 60 implement variations of the standard ping/echo response. FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an algorithm, generally indicated by reference numeral 100, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. As described in detail below, the algorithm 100 may be used, for example, to configure the

message sequences

30 and 60.

The algorithm 100 begins at operation 102, and in operation 102, the parameters of the ping function are set. The parameters set in operation 102 may include ping payload size and copy amount. As described above, the messages sent from the interface 4 or the base station 18 to the user equipment 2 or the user equipment 12 in the

exemplary message sequences

30 and 60 comprise a defined payload with a defined number of copies. The payload size and number of copies may be defined in operation 102.

At operation 104 of the algorithm 100, a ping request (e.g., ping requests 32, 70, 80, and 90 described above) is received (e.g., at the interface 4 or base station 18). In one form of the invention, the ping request includes a payload size definition (according to a typical ping message). The ping request is forwarded to the location indicated in the ping request (e.g., final location 8 or ping server 62) and the location returns a ping response with the requested payload (e.g.,

ping response

36, 74, 84, or 94).

At operation 106 of the algorithm 100, it is determined whether the payload request received in operation 104 is equal to the reservation parameter. If so, the algorithm 100 moves to operation 110; otherwise, the algorithm 100 moves to operation 108.

At operation 108, a single ping response (i.e., a response received from the requested location) is returned from the interface 4 to the user device 2 or from the base station 18 to the user device 12. A single ping response 108 therefore results in a standard ping response algorithm.

At operation 110, multiple copies (copies) of the ping response are provided to the requestor, where the multiple copies depend on the copy parameters set in operation 102. Thus, operation 110 may return ping responses 40 through 46, 78 and 79, 88 and 89, or 98 and 99, as described above.

By providing a reservation parameter (e.g., reserved payload size), the algorithm 100 can be used to implement the present invention in a simple manner. In particular, the message structure of the ping/echo request may conform to a related standard message format, initiating the above-described duplicate response arrangement only if the reserved payload size is included in the ping request. A reservation parameter (e.g., reserved payload size) may be set in operation 102 described above.

For completeness, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of previously described components, referred to hereinafter collectively as one or more modules of the processing system 300 (e.g., implementing some or all of the operations of the

message sequences

30 and 60 and

algorithms

50 and 100 described above). The processing system 300 may have a processor 302, a memory 304 closely coupled to the processor and comprised of RAM 314 and ROM 312, and optionally hardware keys 310 and a display 318. The processing system 300 may include one or more network interfaces 308 (e.g., modems, which may be wired or wireless) for connecting to a network.

The processor 302 is connected to each of the other components to control the operation thereof.

The memory 304 may include a nonvolatile memory (e.g., a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a Solid State Drive (SSD)). The ROM 312 of the memory 314 stores an operating system 315 and the like and may store software applications 316. The RAM 314 of the processor 304 is used by the processor 302 to temporarily store data. The operating system 315 may contain code that, when executed by a processor, implements any of the message sequences and

algorithms

30, 50, 60, and/or 100 described above.

The processor 302 may take any suitable form. For example, it may be a microcontroller, a plurality of microcontrollers, a processor, or a plurality of processors.

Processing system 300 may be a standalone computer, server, console, or network thereof.

In some embodiments, processing system 300 may also be associated with external software applications. These external software applications may be applications stored on a remote server device and may run partially or exclusively on the remote server device. These applications may be referred to as cloud-hosted applications. The processing system 300 may communicate with a remote server device to utilize the software applications stored therein.

Fig. 8a and 8b illustrate tangible media (removable storage unit 365 and Compact Disc (CD)368, respectively) storing computer readable code, which when executed by a computer, may perform a method according to the above embodiments. The removable storage unit 365 may be a memory stick (e.g., a USB memory stick) having an internal memory 366 that stores computer readable code. The memory 366 may be accessible by the computer system via the connector 367. CD 368 may be a CD-ROM, DVD, or the like. Other forms of tangible storage media may be used.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in software, hardware, application logic or a combination of software, hardware and application logic. The software, application logic and/or hardware may reside on memory or any computer medium. In an example embodiment, the application logic, software or an instruction set is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" can be any non-transitory medium or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (e.g., a computer).

In related cases, references to "computer-readable storage medium", "computer program product", "tangibly embodied computer program", or the like, or "processor" or "processing circuitry", or the like, should be understood to encompass not only computers having different architectures (e.g., single/multi-processor architectures and sequencer/parallel architectures), but also specialized circuits (e.g., field programmable gate arrays, FPGAs, application specific circuits, ASICs, signal processing devices, and other devices). References to computer program, instructions, code, etc., should be understood to mean software for programmable processor firmware, such as the programmable content of a hardware device, as instructions for a processor or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array, programmable logic device, etc.

In this application, the term "circuitry" refers to all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry), and (b) combinations of circuitry and software (and/or firmware), e.g., (if applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or (ii) processor (s)/software (including digital signal processor (s)), a portion of memory(s) that work together to cause a device such as a server to perform various functions, and (c) a portion of microprocessor(s) that require software or firmware to operate even if software or firmware is not actually present.

The different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other, as desired. Further, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined, as desired. Similarly, it will also be appreciated that the flowcharts of fig. 4 and 6 are merely examples, and that various operations depicted therein may be omitted, reordered, and/or combined.

It should be understood that the above-described exemplary embodiments are illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present specification.

Furthermore, it should be understood that the disclosure of the present application, or any generalization thereof, includes any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such feature and/or combination of such features.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while various examples are described above, these descriptions should not be construed in a limiting sense. Rather, various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload;

receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the payload requested; and

determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on delivery times of the plurality of responses to the first request, the payload size, and the replica parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting the replica parameter.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first request is identified when the payload requested matches a predefined payload.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising setting the predefined payload.

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the node is a base station of a mobile communication network.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first request is a ping request.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of responses to the first request includes a response to the first request and a plurality of copies of the response defined by the copy parameter.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload;

sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request;

receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the payload requested; and

sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on the response to the second request, wherein a number of responses in the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second request sent to the identified location comprises the payload requested.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the first request is identified when the payload requested matches a predefined payload.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising setting the predefined payload.

12. The method of claim 10 or claim 11, further comprising storing the predefined payload.

13. The method of any of claims 8 to 12, further comprising setting the copy parameter.

14. The method of any of claims 8 to 13, further comprising storing the replica parameter.

15. The method of any of claims 8 to 14, further comprising: determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on delivery times of the plurality of responses to the first request, the payload size, and the replica parameter.

16. The method of any of claims 8-15, wherein the plurality of responses to the first request includes a response to the first request and a plurality of copies of the response defined by the copy parameter.

17. The method of any of claims 8-16, wherein the first request is a ping request.

18. The method of any of claims 8-17, wherein the first request defines the identified location.

19. An apparatus configured to perform the method of any preceding claim.

20. A computer readable instruction which, when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 18.

21. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the following to be performed:

22. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the following to be performed:

receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and

23. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to:

24. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

25. An apparatus, comprising:

means for sending a first request from a user equipment to a node of a communication network, the first request comprising a requested payload;

means for receiving a plurality of responses to the first request defined by a replica parameter, each of the plurality of responses having a payload size according to a requested payload; and

means for determining a data throughput between the node and the user equipment based on the transmission times of the plurality of responses to the first request, the payload size, and the replica parameter.

26. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a node of a communication network, a first request from a user equipment, the first request comprising a requested payload;

means for sending a second request to the identified location in response to the first request;

means for receiving a response to the second request from the identified location, the response to the second request having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload; and

means for sending a plurality of responses to the first request, each response based on the response to the second request, wherein a number of responses in the plurality of responses is defined by a replica parameter.