engineering

Internet traffic engineering

Internet traffic engineering is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Internet traffic engineering rather than just read about it. In short: Internet traffic engineering is defined as the aspect of network engineering dealing with the issue of performance evaluation and performance optimization of operational IP networks, notably the Internet. Traffic engineering encompasses the application of technology and scientific principles to the measurement, characterization, modeling, and control of Internet traffic.

Key takeaways

Internet traffic engineering belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Internet traffic engineering to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Internet traffic engineering from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Internet traffic engineering is defined as the aspect of network engineering dealing with the issue of performance evaluation and performance optimization of operational IP networks, notably the Internet. Traffic engineering encompasses the application of technology and scientific principles to the measurement, characterization, modeling, and control of Internet traffic. Enhancing the performance of an operational network, at both traffic and resource levels, are major objectives of Internet engineering. This is accomplished by addressing traffic performance requirements, while utilizing the network economically and reliably. Traffic oriented performance includes packet transfer delay, packet delay variation, packet loss, and throughput. Another important objective of Internet traffic engineering is to facilitate reliable network operations. This can be done by providing mechanisms that enhance network integrity and by embracing policies emphasizing survivability. This results in a minimization of the network to service outages arising from errors, faults and failures occurring within the infrastructure. The Internet exists in order to transfer information from nodes to destination nodes. Accordingly, one of the most crucial functions performed by the Internet is the routing of traffic. Ultimately, it is the performance of the network as seen by network services that is truly paramount. This crucial function should be considered throughout the development of engineering mechanisms and policies. The characteristics visible to end users are the emergent properties of the network, which are characteristics of the network when viewed as a whole. A goal of the service provider, therefore, is to enhance the properties of the network while taking economic considerations into account. The importance of the above observation regarding the properties of networks is that special care must be taken when choosing network performance metrics to optimize. Optimizing the wrong metrics may achieve certain local objectives, but may have repercussions elsewhere.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Internet traffic engineering

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Internet traffic engineering claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Internet traffic engineering before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Internet traffic engineering ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Internet traffic engineering

In research: Internet traffic engineering appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Internet traffic engineering in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Internet traffic engineering is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Emergence, Internet architecture, Internet stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Internet traffic engineering outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Internet traffic engineering in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Internet traffic engineering means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Internet traffic engineering out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Internet traffic engineering in simple terms?

Why does Internet traffic engineering matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Internet traffic engineering?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Internet traffic engineering.