On Mon, 5 Apr 2021 08:46:15 -0400 Rich Brown <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dave Täht has put me up to revising the current Bufferbloat article on > Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufferbloat) > > Before I get into it, I want to ask real experts for some guidance... Here > goes: > > 1) What is *our* definition of Bufferbloat? (We invented the term, so I think > we get to define it.) > > a) Are we content with the definition from the bufferbloat.net site, > "Bufferbloat is the undesirable latency that comes from a router or other > network equipment buffering too much data." (This suggests bufferbloat is > latency, and could be measured in seconds/msec.) > > b) Or should we use something like Jim Gettys' definition from the Dark > Buffers article (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5755608), "Bufferbloat > is the existence of excessively large (bloated) buffers in systems, > particularly network communication systems." (This suggests bufferbloat is an > unfortunate state of nature, measured in units of "unhappiness" :-) > > c) Or some other definition? > > 2) All network equipment can be bloated. I have seen (but not really > followed) controversy regarding the amount of buffering needed in the Data > Center. Is it worth having the Wikipedia article distinguish between Data > Center equipment and CPE/home/last mile equipment? Similarly, is the "bloat > condition" and its mitigation qualitatively different between those > applications? Finally, do any of us know how frequently data centers/backbone > ISPs experience buffer-induced latencies? What's the magnitude of the impact? > > 3) The Wikipedia article mentions guidance that network gear should > accommodate buffering 250 msec of traffic(!) Is this a real "rule of thumb" > or just an often-repeated but unscientific suggestion? Can someone give > pointers to best practices? > > 4) Meta question: Can anyone offer any advice on making a wholesale change to > a Wikipedia article? Before I offer a fork-lift replacement I would a) > solicit advice on the new text from this list, and b) try to make contact > with some of the reviewers and editors who've been maintaining the page to > establish some bona fides and rapport... > > Many thanks! > > Rich I like to think of Bufferbloat as a combination of large buffers and how algorithms react to those buffers. _______________________________________________ Bloat mailing list [email protected] https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat
