1. The complexity of measurement in an Internet environment

1.1 General characteristics of IP traffic

Today, an Internet-type network must be multi-service. Its vocation is to carry a large number of service types with different traffic characteristics and QoS constraints. However, for the sake of simplified modeling as much as for the operational needs of network management, a rough classification of the different types of traffic is sought instead [1] .

Most authors generally agree on distinguishing two broad classes of telecommunications traffic in broadband networks:

• Streaming" traffic, whose duration and flow rate are intrinsically real, albeit variable. Often associated with the notion of "connection-oriented"...