Performance evaluation of multicast communication in packet-switched networks

In this paper we describe the theoretical background and practical application of QNA-MC (queueing network analyser supporting multicast), a tool for the analytical evaluation of multicast protocols. QNA-MC is based on the QNA method, which (approximately) analyses open networks of GI|G|m queues. In contrast to standard QNA, QNA-MC allows for the specification and evaluation of multicast routes. As in real multicast communication, packets leaving a particular node can be copied and deterministically routed to several other nodes. In order to analyse such queueing networks, QNA-MC converts the multicast routes to a suitable input for standard QNA. From the results delivered by QNA, QNA-MC then derives several performance measures for multicast streams in the network. A validation of QNA-MC, via a comparison to simulation results, shows that QNA-MC yields very good results. Finally, we give a detailed application example by evaluating different multicast routing algorithms for a realistic video conferencing scenario in the European MBONE.