File-aware P2P traffic classification: An aid to network management

As P2P dominates Internet traffic in recent years, ISPs are striving to balance between providing the basic networking services for P2P users and properly managing network bandwidth usage. That is, ISPs are required to provide proper bandwidth for each P2P user to get every file to fulfill their provision for communications, while they have to control bandwidth consumption for efficient usage. However, current P2P traffic management strategies are unable to satisfy both requirements. In this paper, our goal is to design a simple and effective scheme for ISPs to moderate the tradeoff. It is achieved by proposing a file-aware P2P traffic classification method that can identify files and the associated flows. The file-level information can lead to more efficient and flexible management strategies on a per-file basis. We offer two alternatives: constraining the per-file bandwidth consumption and the number of per-file concurrent flows. Finally, a real-life trace is measured using our file-aware method from the perspectives of peers and files. The results indicate that ISPs can gain enough opportunities to flexibly choose proper traffic manage parameters according to actual demands.