Using OWAMP to Test Into the Middle

Because OWAMP allows Abilene regularly scheduled one-way latency tests, these systems can also be used by end users. This enables end users to do path decomposition to help isolate problem portions of the path.

We are now ready to start allowing users to run tests into the middle. That said, our policies are still in a state of flux. It is still unclear to us how popular this service will be, so we have not determined exactly how to set the priorities. We are attempting to be as "liberal" as we can for now, but we may need to become more strict over time.

If you are interested in doing tests into the middle (i.e. tests from your institution to Abilene routers), these are the basic steps:

1. Locally install and test. Instructions for OWAMP can be found at: http://e2epi.abilene.ucaid.edu/owamp.



• Determine local policy issues (who are you willing to test with and how what resources are you willing to allow them to use).



• If possible, install on two local hosts and run tests between them to troubleshoot problems locally before dealing with tests across multiple network domains. (You can also test to localhost for simplistic problems - finding clock offset issues requires multiple systems.)



2. Abilene currently allows for a fairly liberal amount of "open" OWAMP traffic, with no authentication required. If you wish to run authenticated tests with us, please send email to: ami-key@internet2.edu.



3. Run your tests. The current measurement points within Abilene are: