Assessing the Impact of BitTorrent on DOCSIS Networks

BitTorrent is a widely deployed peer-to-peer protocol that provides scalable le sharing capabilities. While Bit-Torrent applications contribute to the demand for high speed broadband access, they also contribute to the undesirable 80/20 effect wherein 80% of the bandwidth is consumed by 20% of the users. In this study the authors explore the impact that BitTorrent users can have on a DOCSIS cable network. They began the study by capturing packet traces of BitTorrent applications operating on two commercial DOCSIS cable networks. Next they developed for the ns-2 simulation tool a configurable mix of BitTorrent, Web browsing, and VOIP workloads and verified that the behavior of the simulated BitTorrent workloads to be consistent with the behavior observed on the commercial network.