Table Of ContentImproving Network Performance: An
Evaluation of TCP/UDP on Networks
A Doctor of Computing Thesis
by
Shaneel Narayan
Supervisors
Principal
ProfessorAbdolhosseinSarrafzadeh
Associate
DrChandimalJayawardena
DrImanArdekani
Submittedinpartialfulfilmentofthe
requirementsforthedegreeof
DoctorofComputing
DepartmentofComputing
UNITECInstituteofTechnology
Auckland,NewZealand
December2014
Dedicatedtomymumandmylittleangel
Abstract
Computernetworksarecomplex-theyareaheterogeneousenvironmentin
which numerous services, such as electronic mail, web browsing, voice and
multimedia data, traverse the globe daily. The needs and demands of end
users continuously change, and to meet these, new technologies are being
incorporated into this mega digital infrastructure at a phenomenal rate. In
addition to ensuring that necessary functionalities are provided, it is vitally
importanttoensurethatnetworkperformanceisalwaysatitsoptimum.
Fundamentally,networksareanenvironmentwheredata,mostlyintheform
ofTCPandUDP,arebeingpropagatedend-to-endbetweenthesendingand
receiving nodes. There are numerous avenues of network performance that
canbeexploitedinordertoimproveitsperformance. Researchinthisareais
multi-faceted, and in this thesis the focus is on evaluating the behaviour of
TCPandUDPend-to-endonnetworksinthreescenarios,namely,networks
with transition mechanisms, wireless based networks, and in the context of
usingvirtualprivatenetworktechnologiesassecurityprotocols.
Thisthesiswillgiveinsightsintothebehaviourofcommonprotocolsonreal
networks. Therefore, performance metrics related to networks have been
gathered from test-bed implementations. The collected data has been pre-
sented in graphs and heat maps, which have been evaluated to ascertain
network related characteristics. In particular, key metrics have been identi-
fied, networking techniques within each context have been ranked, specific
observations related to each network environment have been made, and fi-
nally, the impact of either version of the Internet Protocol or an operating
systemhasbeenevaluated.
v
Acknowledgments
A lifelong dream of completing a Doctorate has been fulfilled, and for that,
first and foremost I would like to thank my Mum. She has inspired me and
instilledinmethevalueofeducation. Hersacrifices, blessings, andencour-
agement have been my strength from inception to conclusion. Thank you
Mum.
IwouldliketoexpressmysinceregratitudetomyprincipalsupervisorPro-
fessor Abdolhossein Sarrafzadeh, and associate supervisors Dr Chandimal
Jayawardena and Dr Iman Ardekani. Thank you for giving me an opportu-
nity to work with you, your guidance has been priceless. Special acknowl-
edgements go to my employer Unitec Institute of Technology and the De-
partment of Computing for supporting me in this process for a number of
years. IthankmyHeadofDepartmentProfessorAbdolhosseinSarrafzadeh
forbelievinginme.
A big shout out to all those undergraduate and postgraduate students who
have worked with me tirelessly on various network research projects over
thelast14years. Yourenthusiasmandsupporthasbeenbrilliant.
IamforevergratefulformydaughterGitali’sunconditionallove. Moments
with you are always priceless, and now with the completion of the Doctor-
ate,Iwillspendmoretimewithyou.
Lastbutnotleast,IwouldliketothankGodforbeingmystrength. Without
Hisblessings,thiswouldhavenevercometofruition.
vii
List of Abbreviations
AES AdvanceEncryptionStandard
AH AuthenticationHeader
AMID Additive-IncreaseMultiplicative-Decrease
APNIC AsiaPacificNetworkInformationCentre
ARP AddressResolutionProtocol
ARPA AdvanceResearchProjectAgency
BYOD BringYourOwnDevice
CA CertificationAuthority
CCK ComplementaryCodingKey
CCMP ChainingMessageAuthenticationCodeProtocol
CGA CryptographicAnomaly
CHAP Challenge-HandshakeAuthenticationProtocol
CIDR Cluster-basedInter-DomainRouting
CPU CentralProcessingUnit
CRC CyclicRedundancyCheck
CSMA/CA CarrierSenseMultipleAccess/CollisionAvoidance
D-ITG Distributed-InternetTrafficGenerator
DES DataEncryptionStandard
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DHCP DynamicHostControlProtocol
DNS DomainNameSystem
DoD DepartmentofDefense
DOS DenialofService
DSCP DifferentiatedServiceCodePoint
DSSS Direct-SequenceSpreadSpectrum
DSTM DualStackTransitionMechanism
DTTS DynamicTunnellingTransitionSolution
DUPACK DuplicateAcknowledgement
EAP ExtensibleAuthenticationProtocol
ECN ExplicitCongestionNotification
ELISIA EvolvableLocator/IDSeparationInternetArchitecture
ERP ExtendedRatePhysical
ESP EncapsulatedSecurityPayload
FTP FileTransferProtocol
GPRS GeneralPacketRadioServices
GRE GenericRoutingExaminations
HMAC HashMessageAuthenticationCode
HR-DSSS HighRate-DSSS
HTTP HypertextTransferProtocol
HTTPS SecureHTTP
IANA InternetAssignmentNumbersAuthority
ICAAN InternetCorporationforAssignmentNameandNumbers
ICMP InternetControlMessageProtocol
ICV IntegrityCheckValue
IEEE InstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers
IETF InternetEngineeringTaskForce
x
Description:This thesis will give insights into the behaviour of common protocols on real networks. Srivastava et al., 2014a,2014b). The tools If a tunnel requires manual configuration of the tunnel O P Verma, Ritu Agarwal, In Proceedings of the Baltic Congress on Future Internet Communications.
