A comparative study on online machine learning techniques for network traffic streams analysis

Modern networks generate a massive amount of traffic data streams. Analyzing this data is essential for various purposes, such as network resources management and cyber-security analysis. There is an urgent need for data analytic methods that can perform network data processing in an online manner based on the arrival of new data. Online machine learning (OL) techniques promise to support such type of data analytics. In this paper, we investigate and compare the OL techniques that facilitate data stream analytics in the networking domain. We also investigate the importance of traffic data analytics and highlight the advantages of online learning in this regard, as well as the challenges associated with OL-based network traffic stream analysis, e.g., concept drift and the imbalanced classes. We review the data stream processing tools and frameworks that can be used to process such data online or on-the-fly along with their pros and cons, and their integrability with de facto data processing frameworks. To explore the performance of OL techniques, we conduct an empirical evaluation on the performance of different ensemble- and tree-based algorithms for network traffic classification. Finally, the open issues and the future directions in analyzing traffic data streams are presented. This technical study presents valuable insights and outlook for the network research community when dealing with the requirements and purposes of online data streams analytics and learning in the networking domain.