ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY ADDIS ABABA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING Traffic Analysis of IP Core Networks: the Case of Ethio Telecom By Mehretu Daka Advisor Dr. -Ing. Dereje Hailemariam A Thesis Submitted to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Communication Engineering May, 2017 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY ADDIS ABABA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING Traffic Analysis of IP Core Networks: the Case of Ethio Telecom By: Mehretu Daka Approval by Board of Examiners _________________________________ ____________ Chairman, School Graduate Committee Signature Dr. -Ing. Dereje Hailemariam_______ ____________ Advisor Signature ______________________________ ____________ Internal Examiner Signature _____________________________ ____________ External Examiner Signature Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom i Declaration I, the undersigned, declare that this MSc thesis is my original work, has not been presented for fulfillment of a degree in this or any other university, and all sources and materials used for the thesis have been acknowledged. Mehretu Daka___ _______________ Name Signature Place: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Date of submission: May 29, 2017 This thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as a university advisor. Dr. -Ing. Dereje Hailemariam__ ____________ Advisor’s Name Signature Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom ii Abstract According to the Internet World Status report, number of Internet users is increasing at about 10% annually, and the trend is the same in Ethiopia. Beside, most networks in telecom companies are converging to Internet Protocol (IP)-based core networks. To get maximum possible capability of IP-based core network, operators work on capacity development projects like expanding the bandwidth of their core networks. However, doing expansion project usually needs high cost that increases Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the operators. So, rather than doing capacity development projects frequently, core network traffic should be regularly analyzed in order to understand its’ usage level; to improve the functionality of the network; to be aware of the operational aspects of the network; and to identify a way that uses maximum possible level of the network. In this thesis, IP core network traffic analysis is conducted. To do this, data is obtained from the IP core network performance monitoring tools. After studying real time data and getting average values of key parameters, the network Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are simulated using Matlab software environment. The real time data obtained from the monitoring tools is analyzed by comparing with simulated results. The study results in usage level evaluation of core network, indicates the vendor tools reliability and gives better recommendation on core network architecture that helps to obtain maximum possible level of the network. Accordingly, the study shows that almost all tested service quality indicators are below the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards and vendors’ tools are reliable. However, Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom iii enormously increasing number of subscribers will make core network traffic congested in a near future. So, this study recommended better core network architecture. As there will be a need to deploy new core networks or expand existing core network, findings in this study can be used as reference for new build as well as expansion on IP core network. Keywords—IP Core Network, Traffic Analysis, Performance Monitoring, Active Monitoring, Passive Monitoring, KPIs. Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom iv Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to thank the almighty God for letting me finish this thesis. Secondly, I would like to express my sincere and special thanks of gratitude to my advisor Dr. -Ing. Dereje Hailemariam, who has given me great help, excellent advice and has treated me with infinite patience throughout this thesis work. It would be very difficult and might have taken longer time to finish this paper without his attentive guidance. I also want to thank my brothers for their material support, indispensable guidance and moral advice. Beside them, I want to thank my wife for her patience during the thesis work. My gratitude also goes to my friends for their help and best wishes during the whole program, and particularly during this thesis work. Finally, I want to give my endless gratitude to Addis Ababa University for giving me the chance to study in this program and ethio telecom fo r permission of data gathering. Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom v Table of Content Abstract....................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................................................... v Table of Content ........................................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. xii List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 3 1.2. Objective .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1. General Objective ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2. Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.4. Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 8 1.5. Scope and Limitation ..................................................................................................................... 9 1.5.1. Scope of the Thesis ......................................................................................................................... 9 1.5.2. Limitation of the Thesis ............................................................................................................... 10 1.6. Contribution of the Thesis .......................................................................................................... 10 1.7. Thesis Layout ................................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Network Architecture in Telecommunication .................................................................. 12 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 12 2.2. Main Components of Network Architecture ........................................................................... 13 2.2.1. Core Network ............................................................................................................................... 13 Traffic Analysis of IP Core Network: The Case of Ethio Telecom vi 2.2.2. Aggregation Network ................................................................................................................. 15 2.2.3. Access Network ............................................................................................................................ 18 2.1. Network Architecture in Ethio Telecom ................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: IP Core Network Elements .................................................................................................. 22 3.1. Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2. IP Core Network Elements ......................................................................................................... 22 3.3. IP Core Network Architecture in Ethio Telecom ..................................................................... 29 3.4. Methods of Monitoring a Network ........................................................................................... 30 3.5. Connecting to a Network ............................................................................................................ 31 a. Using Link Taps ..........................................................................................................................