StarHub MaxOnline Network Management Information

Network management is commonly used by service providers to optimize the use of finite network resources in delivering services to their customers. It ensures that the vast majority of end users receive service levels that are commensurate with the plans they have subscribed to. Network management is non-intrusive, and does not target individual end users. It is also content-agnostic and is independent of the nature of the content being delivered.

The evolving Internet environment can unexpectedly change usage patterns and can cause network congestion that, in turn, adversely affects the end user experience. Based on the identification of application types, and associated usage patterns, network management and traffic optimization ensure that all users will have a fair opportunity to use the service in a manner that maximizes their own utility. Network management is especially important during periods of peak usage and under abnormal conditions (such as public emergencies, link outages, etc).

The majority of MaxOnline end users are using the Internet for web-surfing, video-streaming, emailing, Voice-over-IP and instant messaging. However, our network traffic analysis indicates that a significant proportion of Internet traffic over the MaxOnline network is generated by peer-to-peer related applications from a relatively small number of end users. This usage places disproportionate demands on network resources, and can cause congestion that degrades the Internet experience of all end users.

StarHub has been working with our technology partners to mitigate the heavy burden caused by the volume of P2P traffic on the network. To ensure latency-sensitive applications (such as web-surfing and video-streaming) are not severely affected, especially during peak periods, we have implemented traffic shaping to optimize the overall efficiency of the network.

Traffic shaping is a network deployment technique to provide control over the volume of traffic being sent into the network, either by specifying a period of time or a maximum rate at which the traffic is sent. Traffic shaping is similar to traffic policing, but instead of dropping packets that exceed the bit rate limit, the packets are queued and metered out so as not to exceed the bit rate limit. In short, traffic shaping is achieved by delaying some packets but not dropping them.

StarHub employs Sandvine Inc's Policy Traffic Switch to carry out this traffic shaping. Traffic shaping is achieved by maintaining a threshold of P2P traffic sent into the network during the peak (3pm to 3am) and off-peak (3am to 3pm) periods. It is important to note that traffic shaping, as deployed in our network, does not examine end users’ content. It only identifies the type of traffic (such as http, ftp, SMTP, P2P etc). The traffic shaping function ensures the amount of P2P traffic is kept between 10-40% of the total traffic and, as a result, non-P2P applications will have a more equitable share of bandwidth. As a result of traffic shaping, the majority of StarHub MaxOnline customers enjoy a better and more consistent surfing experience.

From the viewpoint of a typical MaxOnline end user, traffic shaping greatly improves their Internet experience. For example, end users who perform web-surfing and video-streaming during peak hours will be allocated additional bandwidth, relative to an environment without traffic shaping. As for P2P users, their experience will vary, as P2P file sharing applications are subject to many factors (such as the number of peer nodes, the location, availability, computing power and speed of peers, interconnecting networks between peers, size and numbers of shared files).

Given its nature, P2P applications are not sensitive to latency, and a typical download can take several hours (if not longer). Such experiences are common and well-known. It is difficult to ascertain what the exact impact of traffic shaping will be on an individual end user, as P2P applications generally take a significant amount of time, spanning across peak and off-peak hours. Subject to the volume of the P2P traffic and the time of day, the impact to a P2P user may be negligible - particularly during off-peak hours. P2P downloading during peak hours may be up to 3-4 times longer. Hence, the P2P experience will vary considerably among end users.

In summary, our traffic shaping implementation ensures fair and consistent traffic utilization across the broadest base of users and applications. Traffic shaping is applied as part of our overall network management implementation to prevent service deterioration and to enhance the end user experience.