Open Source Software Tools for Measuring the Quality of 4G Networks
https://github.com/feron-tech/movement Feron Technologies along with the leading National MNO, COSMOTE S.A., work together in the EU MONROE H2020 Project towards developing a set of automated software tools targeting the benchmarking of commercial networks. The tools can be executed either at remote MONROE nodes or at any general-purpose linux-based host equipped with mobile broadband devices (e.g. Wi-Fi/4G USB dongle, Mi-Fi, etc.). The specific software tools enable the automated execution of a set of widely used mobile data network performance tools. The applications allow to characterize latency and throughput. Currently the following standard applications are supported:- ping, for measuring RTT latency.
- iperf3 forward and reverse TCP tests, for measuring throughput.
- speedtest, for measuring latency, download and upload speed.
- HTTP transfer file download (GET) and upload (POST) using the curl package, for measuring throughput in both directions.
- Video Streaming, i.e. playing a video from a remote server (youtube or standalone server), for measuring various quality of service and experience indicators. The VLC client has been selected to be the core of our video testing tool, thanks to the availability of an extensive open API/library which exposes various video streaming parameters and performance indicators. Currently, the tool is able to automatically stream both YouTube videos (using a parser) and videos stored to dedicated servers. Various video quality levels (including 1080p) and network caching configurations are being supported. The tool enables the capture of a set of application-level quality of service/experience indicators, such as:
- video playback initiation latency,
- number of (potential) video stalls,
- progress of video playing time vs. the actual time,
- application bit-rate.
