TECH INSIGHTS

Will Small Packets Degrade Your Network Performance?

Mobile Broadband Trends
Most of the packets transmitted in the mobile Internet are 64 bytes or less Many high growth, mobile applications are latency sensitive and favor smaller packet sizes Mobile broadband traffic will increasingly consist of smallpacket transmissions Network equipment often under performs as PPS increases

Resetting Performance KPIs in Mobile Broadband

For the new mobile broadband environment, operators need to consider two important elements the range of packet sizes actually transmitted through their network, and whether network equipment is powerful enough to meet the more processing-intensive demands of IPsec encryption/decryption of smaller packets. The majority of LTE traffic today and in the future will consist of applications and services that use smaller packet transmissions that is packet sizes less than 400 bytes, including VoLTE and streaming mobile video. In addition, mobile broadband data traffic is characterized by unpredictable peaks, driven by subscriber controlled applications and events. This creates far more uncertainty in capacity planning for mobile operators and increases the need for core network equipment that can withstand a broad range of potential traffic conditions, including large increases in latency-sensitive applications that favor smaller packet sizes. However, many network equipment suppliers optimize equipment for large packets sizes only, with performance falling off rapidly as packet sizes get smaller and the packets per second (PPS) numbers soar. This is inconsistent with recommendations by 3GPP and the IETF can dramatically increases the costs for operators to respond to evolving traffic requirements. Stokes best of breed solutions are designed to maintain line rate processing even when packet sizes drop and packet rates climb. For 128 byte packets, the Stoke SSX chassis can deliver over 8 million packets per second the maximum possible - while leading competitors deliver less than 2 million.

Recommendations
Include packets per second, at IETF recommended packet sizes, in network element evaluation KPIs Analyze cost of capacity expansion as packet sizes decline Select network elements that ensure line rate performance across the broadest range of packet sizes

Unpredictable, Subscriber-controlled Environment

Mobile network operators no longer control the applications that can have significant impact on network performance. Underlying many network outages are network vulnerabilities not previously foreseen by the operator, despite diligent

planning and testing. Outage information quickly spreads through social media, are often well publicized, usually occur in highly competitive urban markets, and consequently require careful (and expensive) public relations and regulatory responses.

High Growth in VoLTE, Streaming Mobile Video, M2M

Over the last year, mobile voice-over-IP and LTE (VoIP/(VoLTE) and streaming mobile video have seen usage growth rates of 101% and 93% respectively. Network performance delays for these services are very noticeable by the subscriber. Streaming mobile video is increasingly used to reach a diverse consumer and business audience, often with unpredicted, network impacting adoption. For example, the PBS KIDS Video App, launched on iPad in 2011, now averages two million download streams per day. Machine-to-machine communications is expected to expand to 2.1 billion connections by 2020, increasing traffic from applications such as real-time video surveillance, telemetry and others. All these services and others are delivered in small packet sizes, as shown in Table

with the high growth in new

1. In mobile streaming video, even though total file size may be quite large, the variable quality of radio network and devices, and limitations on device resources dictate a preference for smaller packets - as retransmission is much more likely. Representative Applications Video Streaming (mobile) VoIP / VoLTE P2P (Email, SMS, MMS) On-Line Game M2M Typical Packet Size (bytes) < 350 64 - 136 377 74 <400

small packet applications, mobile network operators should expect that future mobile broadband networks will need to carry high volumes of small packet traffic."

Table 1. Transmission packet size of high growth mobile applications. Many operators consider machine-to-machine, streaming mobile video and VoIP/VoLTE to be core elements for new revenue-generating premium services, increasing the urgency to ensure high performance delivery.

Mobile Internet Traffic Packet Size Distribution

Today, most of the packets transmitted in the Internet, including mobile Internet, are less than 400 bytes. The distribution shows that packets are concentrated at sizes just below 64 bytes and above 1400 bytes. About 10% of Internet packets are between 500 and 1400 byte packet size. With this existing bi-modal distribution and the high growth in new small packet applications, mobile network operators

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should expect that future mobile broadband networks will need to carry high volumes of small packet traffic.

Industry Recommendations
When most packets transmitted through the network are below 400 bytes, throughput based upon an average or median packet size (such as 512 bytes) does not provide an accurate representation of performance limits. RFC 2544 recommends that seven standard frame sizes be tested multiple times, for a specified length of time, as all frame sizes are used in the network and so the results for each must be known. Performance testing at only fewer packet sizes may mask deficiency in delivering high volumes of smaller packets.

Performance Degradation Example

Equipment from most leading infrastructure providers will show a wide range in throughput when tested at different packet sizes. Figure 1 shows that a typical network node delivers small packets (< 128 bytes) at 20% or less of the maximum throughput.

"Equipment from most leading infrastructure providers will show a wide range in throughput when tested at different packet sizes. A typical network node delivers small packets (< 128 bytes) at 20% or less of the maximum throughput.

Figure 1. Packets below 128 Bytes delivered <20% of maximum throughput.

Packets per Second KPIs

While throughput measured in Gigabits per second (Gbps) indicates end-to-end delivery success, packets per second, indicates the actual performance limits of the equipment itself. Core network equipment that delivers packets at the maximum rate possible will provide the performance needed for unpredictable mobile broadband networks. In this "high volume, small packet size" environment, ultrafast processing speeds in the network are crucial to maintaining quality of service.

Implications to Operators
Return on investments in new spectrum or RAN capacity wont be realized if the

Stoke, Stoke Session Exchange and the Stoke logo are trademarks of Stoke, Inc. Copyright 2012 Stoke, Inc. All rights reserved. Lit# 150-0016-001

user still experiences slower performance due to network elements that cannot process packets quickly enough - ultimately resulting in a bad user experience and higher churn. Low performing network elements can contribute to underutilization of transport and increase CAPEX when blades and chassis are added to provide the needed processing power.

Stoke, Best of Breed Performance

Powering all the Stoke solutions is the SSX-3000, a compact, modular, purposebuilt platform for performing IPsec, IP session management, charging functions and policy enforcement. Its dimensions of scalability enable dramatic improvements to service delivery costs. The SSX-3000 can scale up to 480,000 concurrent IPsec tunnels, and configurations range from 4 Gbps up to 40 Gbps (Full Duplex) in a compact 5 rack unit form factor. Each line card and port is provisioned for IPsec processing at full line rate on Gigabit Ethernet or 10 Gigabit Ethernet links. The following chart shows Stoke providing near 100% line rate throughput and maximum packets per second, at recommended RFC 2544 packet sizes.1

Stoke solutions deliver line rate performance, providing operators with added insurance that they can sustain throughput levels at core network aggregation points, regardless of packet size.
Figure 3. Stoke delivers line rate throughput for small and large packet sizes.

Conclusion
Mobile network operators need to deliver the best possible user experience, and highest network performance to their mobile data subscribers. The high volumes of small packet, less predictable mobile broadband applications have made this task more difficult for operators trying to provision their network to meet demand. Stoke solutions deliver line rate performance, providing operators with added insurance that they can sustain throughput levels at core network aggregation points, regardless of packet size.

Source: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2544.txt. In RFC 2544 IETF recommends that seven standard frame sizes (64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280 and 1518 byte) be tested multiple times, for a specified length of time. This is because all these frame sizes are used in the network and so the results for each must be known.

Stoke, Stoke Session Exchange and the Stoke logo are trademarks of Stoke, Inc. Copyright 2012 Stoke, Inc. All rights reserved. Lit# 150-0016-001