Patent ID: 7558202

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for estimating available bandwidth on a network including one or more tight links, the method having computer instructions executable by a processor, comprising: communicating a set of packets, by a probing sender, at multiple sending rates to a receiver, at least two of the sending rates resulting in multiple overloading streams of packets being sent to the receiver, wherein one or more packets comprise a packet train of an adjustable length; receiving at the probing sender, a set of queuing delay information from the receiver, the queuing delay information being based on one-way delay measurements corresponding to a receipt by the receiver of at least two successive packets; estimating available bandwidth of the network based on the queuing delay information and the multiple sending rates associated with at least two overloading streams of packets, wherein the estimating is independent of prior knowledge of tight link capacity; and adjusting a packet train length based on the probing to substantially avoid a buffer overflow at the receiver, wherein the packet train length is adjusted according to one or more sending rates and an estimated link capacity.