PILOT: A methodology for modeling the performance of packet connections

Network Services automation requires predictable Quality of Service (QoS) performance, measured in terms of throughput, delay and jitter, to allow making proactive decisions. QoS is typically guaranteed by overprovisioning capacity dedicated to the packet connection, which increases costs for customers and network operators, especially when the traffic generated by the users and/or the virtual functions highly varies over the time. This paper presents the PILOT methodology for modeling the performance of packet connections during commissioning testing in terms of throughput, delay and jitter. PILOT runs in a sandbox domain and constructs a scenario where an efficient traffic flow simulation environment, based on the CURSA-SQ model, is used to generate large amounts of data for Machine Learning (ML) model training and validation. The simulation scenario is tuned using real measurements of the connection obtained from a set of active probes.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101095890 (PREDICT6G), from the Spanish MINECO and the European Union though the NextGeneration UNICO5G TIMING (TSI-063000- 2021-145/148/149), and the AEI IBON (PID2020-114135RB-I00) projects and from ICREA.
Peer Reviewed
Postprint (author's final draft)