WO2019075732A1

WO2019075732A1 - Throughput testing

Info

Publication number: WO2019075732A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/107075
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dezheng YAN
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2017-10-20
Filing date: 2017-10-20
Publication date: 2019-04-25
Also published as: CN111480319B; CN111480319A

Abstract

A method for throughput testing is described comprising: sending a first request from a user device to a node of a communication network, the first request including a requested payload; receiving a plurality of responses to said first request, as defined by a duplicate parameter; and determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request, the payload size and the repeat parameter.

Description

THROUGHPUT TESTING

Field

The present specification 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. During throughput troubleshooting， for example， it may be required to identify the throughput in different parts of a communication system. Determining throughput in some sections of a communication system can be difficult.

Summary

In a first aspect， this specification describes a method comprising： sending a first request from a user device to a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； receiving a plurality of responses to said first request， as defined by a duplicate parameter， each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload； and determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter. 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 said first request may include a response to the first request and a number of duplicates of said response as defined by the duplicate parameter.

The first aspect may include setting said duplicate parameter.

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

In a second aspect， this specification describes a method comprising： receiving a first request from a user device at a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； sending a second request， in response to the first request， to an identified location； 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 said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter. The first request may be a ping request. The plurality of responses to said first request may include a response to the first request and a number of duplicates of said response as defined by the duplicate parameter. The first request may define the identified location.

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

In the 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 in addition， the second aspect may further comprise storing the predefined payload.

The second aspect may further comprise setting said duplicate parameter.

The second aspect may further comprise storing said duplicate parameter.

The second aspect may further comprise determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of the plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the repeat parameter.

In a third aspect， this specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any method as described with reference to the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a fourth aspect， this specification describes computer-readable instructions which， when executed by computing apparatus， cause the computing apparatus to perform any method as described with reference to the first aspect or the second aspect.

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

In a sixth aspect， this specification describes a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon， the computer readable code， when executed by at least one processor， causes performance off receiving a first request from a user device at a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； sending a second request， in response to the first request， to an identified location； 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 said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter.

In a seventh aspect， this 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： send a first request from a user device to a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； receive a plurality of responses to said first request， as defined by a duplicate parameter， each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload； and determine data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.

In an eighth aspect， this 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： receive a first request from a user device at a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； send a second request， in response to the first request， to an identified location； receive 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 send a plurality of responses to said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter.

In a ninth aspect， this specification describes an apparatus comprising： means for sending a first request from a user device to a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； means for receiving a plurality of responses to said first request， as defined by a duplicate parameter， each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload； and means for determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.

In a tenth aspect， this specification describes an apparatus comprising： means for receiving a first request from a user device at a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload； means for sending a second request， in response to the first request， to an identified location； 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 said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter.

Brief description of the drawings

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

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication system；

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

Figure 3 shows a sequence of messages in accordance with an exemplary embodiment；

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing an algorithm in accordance with an exemplary embodiment；

Figure 5 shows a sequence of messages in accordance with an exemplary embodiment；

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing an algorithm in accordance with an exemplary embodiment；

Figure 7 is a block diagram， of components of a processing system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment； and

Figures 8a and 8b show tangible media， respectively a removable memory unit and a compact disc (CD) storing computer-readable code which when run by a computer perform operations according to embodiments.

Detailed description

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication system indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The system 1 comprises a user device 2， an interface 4 (such as a base station of a mobile communication network) ， a network 6 and an end location 8 (such as a server) . As shown in Figure 1， the user device 2 is in two-way communication with the interface 4 and the interface 4 is in two-way communication with the end location 8 via the network 6. Thus， any communications between the user device 2 and the end location 8 take place via the interface 4 and the network 6.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network architecture， indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. The system 10 shows an exemplary 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture comprising a user device 12 (referred to as an LTE user equipment or LTE-UE in Figure 2) ， an interface 14 (referred to as an E-UTRAN (evolved universal terrestrial radio access network) in Figure 2) and a network 16 (referred to as an EPC (evolved packet core) in Figure 2) . As shown in Figure 2， the user device 12 communicates with a base station 18 (referred to as an evolved node B (eNB) in the LTE literature) .

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

In some circumstances， it is desired to know the data throughput of different parts of a communication system. This may be required， for example， in throughput troubleshooting in a mobile operator’s cellular network， where it may be desired to determine whether any part of the communication system is acting as a bottleneck and/or is operating below a desired data transmission rate.

A particular problem with determining data throughputs in a mobile communication system is determining the data throughput between a user device (such as the

user devices

2 and 12 described above) and a node of a communications network (such as the interface 4 or the base station 18 described above) . This can be difficult in practice because there is often no test server located at the base station.

It is known to test data throughput from a user device by testing communication with a server at a core network (such as the network 16) via TCP (transmission control protocol) traffic. This method can be used to determine the throughput of the slowest segment in a data path. In prior art systems (such as those under 2G， 3G and HSPA mobile communication standards) ， the slowest segment was typically the interface between the user device and the base station. However， for more recent mobile communication standards (such as LTE (long term evolution) onwards) ， bandwidth between user devices and base stations is much greater， thereby increasing the data throughput possible between user devices and base stations. Accordingly， it can no longer be assumed that the link between a user device and base station is the slowest segment is typical communication systems.

Figure 3 shows a sequence of messages， indicated generally by the reference numeral 30， in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The message sequence 30 shows the transfer of messages and data between the user device 2， interface 4 and end location 8 described above. (The same principles could be applied to the system 10 described above. )

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

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

A ping or echo request is typically used to test the teachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. A ping or echo request is typically sent to an IP location (such as the end location 8) . The request typically includes a payload indication. If the IP location is reached， a reply is sent (an ‘echo’ -such as the message 36) with a payload of the defined size. A successful reception of the echo confirms that the IP address location can be reached. Ping requests are also used to monitor round-trip times (i.e. the time for a message to be sent and the echo/reply to be received) .

The messages 32 to 38 described above are in accordance with a typical ping protocol. However， as shown in the message sequence 30， in addition to the echo reply 38 that is sent from the interface 4 to the user device 2， the interface also sends multiple duplicates of the message 38. In Figure 3， a first duplicate 40， a second duplicate 41， a third duplicate 42， a fourth duplicate 43， a fifth duplicate 44， a sixth duplicate 45 and a seventh duplicate 46 are shown； of course， any number of duplicates could be sent.

In accordance with a typical ping protocol， the message 36 (and therefore the message 38 and the duplicate messages 40 to 46) includes a payload. The payload might typically be a series of ASCII characters of a defined length. By duplicating the message 38， the standard ping process can be modified to transfer a larger amount of data between the interface 4 and the user device 2. By determining the time taken to transfer the data， a measurement of the throughput of data between the interface 4 and the user device 2 can be made.

As noted above， ping requests are typically used to test the reachability of an IP location， such as the end location 8. In those circumstances， the payload is deliberately kept relatively small. In the present specification， it may be desired to have a larger payload in order to ensure that a relatively large amount of data is transferred from the interface 4 to the user device 2. In one implementation， it may be desirable to generate enough data at the interface 4 that the peak rate of the user device 2 is reached.

Figure 4 is a flow chart， indicated generally by the reference numeral 50， showing an algorithm in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The algorithm 50 starts at operation 52， where a ping message (such as the message 32) is sent. Next， at operation 54， an echo and duplications of that echo (such as the messages 38 to 46) are received. Then， at operation 56， the throughput is determined.

The throughput (in bits/second) is determined in operation 56 based on the payload size (in bits) ， the number of duplications， and the total time take to send the messages 38 to 46 (in seconds) by the following formula：

Figure 5 shows a sequence of messages， indicated generally by the reference numeral 60， in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. The message sequence 60 shows the transfer of messages and data between a user device (such as the user equipment 12) ， a base station (such as the 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 Figure 2. The same principles could， of course， be used with the system 1.

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

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

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

As shown in the message sequence 70， in addition to the echo reply 76 that is sent from the base station 18 to the user device 12， the base station also sends multiple duplicates of the message 76. In Figure 5， a first duplicate (message 78) and an nth duplicate (message 79) are shown； of course， any number of duplicates could be sent. Note that the echo reply 76 and the duplicates (messages 78 to 79) all include the payload.

As shown in Figure 5， at some time after the receipt of the duplicate messages 78 to 79， a second echo request 80 is sent from the user device 12 to the base station 18. The second echo request 80 has a serial number 1.

The second echo request is sent from the base station 18 to the ping server 62 as message 82. In response to the message 82， the ping server returns an echo reply (message 84) to the base station 18. The message 84 includes a payload. The message 84 is forwarded from the base station 18 to the user device 12 in message 86. Further， in addition to the echo reply 86， the base station sends multiple duplicates of the message 86 to the user device 12. In Figure 5， a first duplicate (message 88) and an nth duplicate (message 89) are shown； again， any number of duplicates could be sent.

Finally， at some time after the receipt of the duplicate messages 88 to 99， a final (Mth) echo request 90 is sent from the user device 12 to the base station 18. The final echo request 90 has a serial number M.

The final echo request is sent from the base station 18 to the ping server 62 as message 92. In response to the message 92， the ping server returns an echo reply (message 94) to the base station 18. The message 94 includes a payload. The message 94 is forwarded from the base station 18 to the user device 12 in message 96. Further， in addition to the echo reply 96， the base station sends multiple duplicates of the message 96 to the user device 12. In Figure 5， a first duplicate (message 98) and an nth duplicate (message 99) are shown； again， any number of duplicates could be sent. As indicated in Figure 5， any number of messages might be sent between the messages 80 to 89 relating to the second ping request and the messages 90 to 99 relating to the final ping request.

As described above with reference to Figure 4， throughput (in bits/second) is determined in operation 56 based on the payload size (in bits) ， the number of duplications， and the total time take to send the messages 38 to 46 (in seconds) by the following formula：

In the message sequence 60， M different throughput measurements can be taken (based on the payload and duration of messages 76 to 79， 86 to 89 and 96 to 99 respectively) . The different message sequences might be considered in order to determine how throughput changes over time. Alternatively， an average throughput time might be determined. Of course， the determination of M measurements is described by way of example only； the principles described herein apply equally to determining one， two or more throughput measurements.

The

message sequences

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

message sequences

30 and 60.

The algorithm 100 starts at operation 102 where the parameters of the ping function are set. Parameters set in operation 102 might include a ping payload size and a duplication amount. As described above， the message sent from the interface 4 or base station 18 to the

user device

2 or 12 in the

exemplary message sequences

30 and 60 include a defined payload with a defined number of duplications； the payload size and the number of duplications may be defined in operation 102.

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

ping responses

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 a reserved parameter. If so， the algorithm 100 moves to operation 110； otherwise the algorithm 106 moves to operation 108.

At operation 108， a single ping response (i.e. the 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. The single ping response 108 therefore concludes a standard ping response algorithm.

At operation 110， multiple copies (duplicates) of the ping response are provided to the requesting party， with the multiple being dependent on the duplicate parameter set in operation 102. Thus， the operation 110 may return the ping responses 40 to 46， 78 and 79， 88 and 89 or 98 and 99 described above.

By providing a reserved parameter (such as a reserved payload size) ， the algorithm 100 can be used to implement the present invention is a simple manner. In particular， the message structure of the ping/echo requests can conform to the relevant standard message formats， with the duplicate response arrangement described above only being initiated when the reserved payload size is included in the ping request. The reserved parameter (e.g. reserved payload size) may be set in the operation 102 described above. For completeness， Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of components of one or more of the modules described previously (e.g. implementing some or all of the operations of the

message sequences

30 and 60 and the

algorithms

50 and 100 described above) ， which hereafter are referred to generically as processing systems 300. A processing system 30o may have a processor 302， a memory 304 closely coupled to the processor and comprised of a RAM 314 and ROM 312， and， optionally， hardware keys 310 and a display 318. The processing system 300 may comprise one or more network interfaces 308 for connection to a network， e.g. a modem which may be wired or wireless.

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

The memory 304 may comprise a non-volatile memory， such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) . The ROM 312 of the memory 314 stores， amongst other things， an operating system 315 and may store software applications 316. The RAM 314 of the memory 304 is used by the processor 302 for the temporary storage of data. The operating system 315 may contain code which， when executed by the processor implements aspects any of the message sequences and

algorithms

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

The processor 302 may take any suitable form. For instance， it may be a microcontroller， plural microcontrollers， a processor， or plural processors.

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

In some embodiments， the processing system 300 may also be associated with external software applications. These may be applications stored on a remote server device and may run partly or exclusively on the remote server device. These applications may be termed cloud-hosted applications. The processing system 300 may be in communication with the remote server device in order to utilize the software application stored there.

Figures 8a and 8b show tangible media， respectively a removable memory unit 365 and a compact disc (CD) 368， storing computer-readable code which when run by a computer may perform methods according to embodiments described above. The removable memory unit 365 may be a memory stick， e.g. a USB memory stick， having internal memory 366 storing the computer-readable code. The memory 366 may be accessed by a computer system via a connector 367. The CD 368 may be a CD-ROM or a DVD or similar. 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 media. 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” may be any non-transitory media 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， such as a computer.

Reference to， where relevant， “computer-readable storage medium” ， “computer program product” ， “tangibly embodied computer program” etc.， or a “processor” or “processing circuitry” etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having differing architectures such as single/multi-processor architectures and sequencers/parallel architectures， but also specialised circuits such as field programmable gate arrays FPGA， application specify circuits ASIC， signal processing devices and other devices. References to computer program， instructions， code etc. should be understood to express software for a programmable processor firmware such as the programmable content of a hardware device as instructions for a processor or configured or configuration settings for a fixed function device， gate array， programmable logic device， etc.

As used in this application， the term “circuitry” refers to all of the following： (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analogue and/or digital circuitry) and (b) to combinations of circuits and software (and/or firmware) ， such as (as applicable) ： (i) to a combination of processor (s) or (ii) to portions of processor (s) /software (including digital signal processor (s) ) ， software， and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus， such as a server， to perform various functions) and (c) to circuits， such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) ， that require software or firmware for operation， even if the software or firmware is not physically present.

If desired， the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore， if desired， one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined. Similarly， it will also be appreciated that the flow diagrams of Figures 4 and 6 are examples only and that various operations depicted therein may be omitted， reordered and/or combined.

It will be appreciated that the above described example embodiments are purely illustrative and are not limiting on the scope of the invention. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present specification.

Moreover， the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generalization thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom， new claims may be formulated to cover any such features 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 the above describes various examples， these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather， there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A method comprising：

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

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

determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in claim 1， further comprising setting said duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2， wherein the first request is identified when the requested payload matches a predefined payload.
A method as claimed in claim 3， further comprising setting the predefined payload.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims， wherein said node is a base station of a mobile communication network.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims， wherein the first request is a ping request.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims， wherein the plurality of responses to said first request includes a response to the first request and a number of duplicates of said response as defined by the duplicate parameter.
A method comprising：

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

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

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 said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in claim 8， wherein the second request sent to the identified location includes the requested payload.
A method as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9， wherein the first request is identified when the requested payload matches a predefined payload.
A method as claimed in claim 10， further comprising setting the predefined payload.
A method as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11， further comprising storing the predefined payload.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12， further comprising setting said duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13， further comprising storing said duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 14， further comprising determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of the plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the repeat parameter.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 15， wherein the plurality of responses to said first request includes a response to the first request and a number of duplicates of said response as defined by the duplicate parameter.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 16， wherein the first request is a ping request.
A method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 17， wherein the first request defines the identified location.
An apparatus configured to perform the method of any preceding claim.
Computer-readable instructions which， when executed by computing apparatus， cause the computing apparatus to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.
A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon， the computer readable code， when executed by at least one processor， causes performance of：

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

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

determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.
A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon， the computer readable code， when executed by at least one processor， causes performance of：

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

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

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

send a first request from a user device to a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload；

receive a plurality of responses to said first request， as defined by a duplicate parameter， each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload； and

determine data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.
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：

receive a first request from a user device at a node of a communication network， the first request including a requested payload；

send a second request， in response to the first request， to an identified location；

receive 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

send a plurality of responses to said first request， each based on the response to the second request， wherein the number of responses in the plurality is defined by a duplicate parameter.
Apparatus comprising：

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

means for receiving a plurality of responses to said first request， as defined by a duplicate parameter， each of the plurality of responses having a payload size in accordance with the requested payload； and

means for determining data throughput between the node and the user device on the basis of a delivery time of said plurality of responses to said first request， the payload size and the duplicate parameter.
Apparatus comprising：

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

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

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