Experimental study of Internet traffic modeling and bandwidth allocation

We analyze the characteristics of Internet traffic by considering its correlation properties. First, a simple measurement is performed, by using the autocorrelation technique, to illustrate the correlation properties of the HTTP/Web and the e-mail (SMTP) services. The ACF (autocorrelation factor) and PACF (partial ACF) measurements are applied to examine the correlation characteristics of the traffic correlation within consecutive hours. The measurement results indicate that correlation with one-hour lag is acceptable for both services. Then the autocorrelation of each service is performed, respectively, to understand the correlation property of these two services. The experiment results illustrate that the HTTP/Web service has much higher self-correlation, especially for one hour lag, than the e-mail service. Finally, a heuristic bandwidth allocation method is proposed by considering the correlation characteristics. The proposed method is suitable for the management of Internet bandwidth dynamically.