Traffic analysis of Internet-based multiplayer online games from a client perspective

An analysis of self-similarity in traffic generated by the popular Internet-based online game engine, unreal engine, is presented. Client-side packet traces are collected and analyzed for both client and server traffic. Initial analysis of over two million packets indicates client generated traffic shows strong long-range dependence of a self-similar nature primarily due to packet interarrival times associated with user actions. On the contrary, server generated traffic seen at the client, while still exhibiting a heavy tail, is more short-range dependent in regions where self-similarity is observed.