Calculating latency in computer networks

• US 10,250,474 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2014
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Akhter, Aamer, Nedeltchev, Plamen, Pignataro, Carlos M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beharry, Noel R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Wilfred
• Application Number:
  US14/230,224
• Publication Number:
  US 20150281028A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0858 One way delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps

Abstract

In one implementation, data is communicated along a communications route in a network. A mediatrace request is generated for the communications route. Responses to the mediatrace request are received from along the communications route. The hop-by-hop latency is passively measured, from the responses, with one-way delay along the communications route in the network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

communicating data from a source device to a destination device along a flow path, the data comprising user traffic in packets of media content;

transmitting a request from the source device to an intermediary device of the flow path, wherein the request includes an identification of packets of the data and includes a query for timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the source device, wherein the request comprises a route discovery request for the flow path, wherein the route discovery request comprises the identification as filter and sampling parameters of the data;

receiving, from the intermediary device and in response to the request, the timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the source device; and

calculating, by the source device, a latency of the identified packets of the data on the flow path from the source device to the intermediary device using the timestamps.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating data comprises communicating audio, video, or audio and video data, the packets comprising packets of the audio, video, or audio and video data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the route discovery request comprises transmitting a mediatrace request.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request with the timestamp query comprises transmitting the request as a one-way delay request for the packets of the data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving comprises receiving the timestamps with packet signatures for the identified packets.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the latency comprises calculating a delay from the packets leaving the source device to arrival at the intermediary device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further comprises receiving, in response to the request, other timestamps from other intermediary devices and from the destination device, the other timestamps being for the identified packets of the data received by the other intermediary devices and the destination device, and wherein calculating comprises calculating the latency from the source to the destination.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the data comprises communicating different types of packets, wherein transmitting the request with the identification comprises transmitting with the identification of the packets of the different types, wherein receiving comprises receiving the timestamps for the different types, and wherein calculating comprises calculating separate latencies for the different types.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the source device and from a requestor device outside the flow path, an instruction to initiate the request, and providing the latency to the requestor device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request comprises transmitting the request with a reverse request for the destination device to gather timestamps for a destination device to source device latency.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein calculating comprises calculating a round trip travel time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein calculating the round trip travel time comprises calculating the latency from the source device to the intermediary device, from the intermediary device to the source device, and from receipt by the intermediary device of the request to a response from the intermediary device to the source device.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a communication interface configured to enable network communications with a destination device; and

a controller configured to;

communicate data to the destination device along a flow path, the data comprising user traffic in packets of media content;

transmit a request to an intermediary device of the flow path, wherein the request includes an identification of packets of the data and includes a query for timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the apparatus, wherein the request comprises a route discovery request for the flow path, wherein the route discovery request comprises the identification as filter and sampling parameters of the data;

receive, from the intermediary device and in response to the request, the timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the apparatus; and

calculate a latency of the identified packets of the data on the flow path from the apparatus to the intermediary device using the timestamps.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is a controller of a source of the data of the flow path, the source comprising an initiator of the request configured to gather the timestamps and calculate the latency.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to initiate path discovery requests for one-way delay along the flow path.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to calculate a latency for each hop in the flow path from a source device to the destination device, a latency for reverse direction communications from the destination device to the source device, and a round trip travel time between the source device and the destination device.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with software comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a source device, cause the processor to:

communicate data to a destination device along a flow path, the data comprising user traffic in packets of media content;

transmit a request to an intermediary device of the flow path, wherein the request includes an identification of packets of the data and includes a query for timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the source device, wherein the request comprises a route discovery request for the flow path, wherein the route discovery request comprises the identification as filter and sampling parameters of the data;

receive, from the intermediary device and in response to the request, the timestamps for the identified packets of the data arrived at the intermediary device from the source device; and

calculate a latency of the identified packets of the data on the flow path from the source device to the intermediary device using the timestamps.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to:

receive the timestamps with packet signatures for the identified packets.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to:

transmit a mediatrace request when transmitting the route discovery request.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to:

calculate a delay from the packets leaving the source device to arrival at the intermediary device.