PACKET NETWORK TRAFFIC FLOW EFFECTIVE BANDWIDTH ESTIMATION APPARATUS AND METHOD

摘要

Packet network traffic flow effective bandwidth estimation apparatus 10 comprising a committed burst size, CBS, estimator loop 12, a peak information rate, PIR, estimator 22 and an effective bandwidth, Eff.BW, estimator 24. The loop 12 comprises: a meter 14 arranged to determine a number of conformant bytes, G, and a number of violating bytes, Y, of a traffic flow 16; a committed information rate, CIR, estimator 18 arranged to determine a subsequent estimated CIR; a controller 20 arranged to, if Y is above zero, determine an estimated CBS, ECBS, correction and to apply the correction to the ECBS, and arranged to, if Y is zero, output the previously used ECBS. The PIR estimator 22 receives the ECBS from the loop and the ECIR and determines an estimated PIR, EPIR, in dependence on the ECBS and the ECIR. The Eff.BW estimator 24 determines an Eff. BW of the traffic flow from the EPIR, ECBS and ECIR.