Title:
WTF? Locating Performance Problems in Home Networks
WTF? Locating Performance Problems in Home Networks
Author(s)
Sundaresan, Srikanth
Grunenberger, Yan
Feamster, Nick
Papagiannaki, Dina
Levin, Dave
Teixeira, Renata
Grunenberger, Yan
Feamster, Nick
Papagiannaki, Dina
Levin, Dave
Teixeira, Renata
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Abstract
Most users of home networks have experienced the intense
frustration that comes with diagnosing poor performance.
Even determining something as simple as whether a performance
problem lies with the ISP or somewhere in the home
network is incredibly difficult; this lack of visibility results
in unnecessary service calls to ISPs and a general inability to
have the network perform as well as it should. In this paper,
we design and develop WTF (Where’s The Fault?), a system
that reliably determines whether a performance problem
lies with the user’s ISP or inside the home network. The tool
can also distinguish these problematic situations from the benign
case when the network is simply under-utilized. WTF
uses cross-layer techniques to discover signatures of various
pathologies. We implemented WTF in an off-the-shelf
home router; evaluated the techniques in controlled lab experiments
under a variety of operating conditions; validated
it in real homes where we can directly observe the home
conditions and network setup; and deployed it in 30 home
networks across North America. The real-world deployment
sheds light on common pathologies that occur in home networks.
We find, for instance, that many users purchase fast
access links but experience significant (and frequent) performance
bottlenecks in their home wireless network.
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Date Issued
2013
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Text
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Technical Report