This presentation describes an approach to IP multicast performance measurement on the NSF's very-high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS). Using OC-12c attached workstations acting as multicast senders or receivers distributed throughout the vBNS backbone, we create arbitrary topologies, generate synthetic IP multicast traffic and measure loss encountered. The presentation includes packet loss results as a function of time and router hop count and an analysis of the join latency incurred.

The multicast tests described in the presentation have been used by the vBNS for the past year as a diagnostic tool for monitoring the state of the production multicast netork. In addition, the presentation will contain timely information for network operators interested in the potential capabilities of multicast, scaling properties and testing methods.

About the Presenter
Robert Beverly is a senior engineer with WorldCom's Advanced Internet Technology group in Ashburn, Virginia, where he has worked for the past two years on the very high performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS). His primary interests include network performance, statistics and visualization. He received his B.S. in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996.