Network Traffic Analysis for Optimizing the Performance of Critical Applications: The Case of AAU Network

Awol, Faris (2015) Network Traffic Analysis for Optimizing the Performance of Critical Applications: The Case of AAU Network. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.

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Abstract

Nowadays almost all applications designed being connected to the internet in order to perform their basic tasks in addition to exchanging large volumes of information. This has resulted in an ever increasing need for effective application network optimization tools that can monitor the network. Inefficiency of the current AAU network system represents a significant financial and academic burden for the institution. This study investigates detail application network related effects, behaviors and problems so as to propose suitable framework that will enhance the performance of applications on AAU network. The analysis phase of the study started after performing two vital tasks. The first one is selecting HTTP, Email, Video, Voice and Database as critical applications for the institution consecutively. Critical applications selected by interviewing system administrators and by identifying most used applications by users. The second one is simulating AAU network on OPNET modeler and analyze it for two month. The analysis help to know the magnitude of network effects on applications, application problems or bottlenecks and solutions or optimization techniques to the problem. Response Time, Delay, Delay Variation, TCP Retransmission count and Jitter used as a metrics. The analysis shows that the network is experiencing application contention and application related network problems like protocol, latency and chattiness bottlenecks. In addition the analysis revealed that applications highly affected by network effects like when there is high amount of background traffic in the network, if the link is shared by applications and if the network link delay increases. Based on the finding, this study proposes a network application optimization framework and algorithms for AAU network. The proposed framework are designed to improve the reliability, performance and delivery of critical applications across the network. The framework approaches the optimization first by analyzing the network condition to identify application network problem type after that it identifies the application running in the network then it apply optimization technique based on type of problem and application. Finally it monitors and checks the outcome of the optimization on the network. The main challenge faced in this study is getting common metrics used to compare multimedia and data applications. Running the simulation for relatively long time needs huge computer capacity and processor as a result limited data and short simulation period of time used. Accordingly we recommended further research on this topic.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Selom Ghislain
Date Deposited: 05 Oct 2018 13:54
Last Modified: 05 Oct 2018 13:54
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/6756

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