Patent ID: 8005005

Claim:
A method for estimating an ON-OFF traffic characteristic, comprising: measuring a packet length and a packet transfer time interval of a communication traffic; computing a data transfer rate variance indicator based on a relative entropy value between the packet transfer time interval which is measured in the measuring the packet length and the packet transfer time interval and the packet transfer time interval in case of transferring at a constant transfer rate; and at least approximately computing a predetermined traffic characteristic value using the data transfer rate variance indicator which is computed in the computing the data transfer rate variance indicator, wherein the data transfer rate variance indicator is obtained by the following equation: VDTR=Σ{L ( i )/(Σ L ( k ))}× ln[{L ( i )/(Σ L ( k ))}/{Δ t ( i )/(ΣΔ t ( k ))}], where VDTR denotes a data transfer rate variance indicator, Δt(i) denotes a packet transfer time interval, L(i) denotes a packet length of an i-th packet, ln( )denotes a natural logarithmic function, Σ denotes a sum in which i of all packets measured during a period of from a measurement start to a measurement end is used as an index, and ΣL(k) and ΣΔt(k) are sums in which k of all packets measured during a period of from a measurement start to a measurement end is used as an index, and are regarded as constants since “i” is not included.