Network traffic generation and monitoring systems and methods for their use in testing frameworks for determining suitability of a network for target applications
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for determining information pertaining to a call traveling through a network at a given time, comprising:
- determining a network path the call traverses at the given time;
determining load, utilization, and error statistics on all network devices on the call path at the given time; and
determining end-to-end quality of the call at the given time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring traffic on a network first discovers the network so as to map the various devices and links in the network. Statistics are then gathered from various points in the network relating to quality of service, and especially loads on the network devices. Synthetic calls are generated at selected points of the network while monitoring the network. This data is then stored and displayed in a manner that is easy for the operator to analyze, with more detailed displays being available through the use of a mouse or keystrokes.
331 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for determining information pertaining to a call traveling through a network at a given time, comprising:
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determining a network path the call traverses at the given time;
determining load, utilization, and error statistics on all network devices on the call path at the given time; and
determining end-to-end quality of the call at the given time. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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2. A method for determining information pertaining to a call path in a network at a given time, comprising:
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determining load, utilization, and error statistics on all network devices on the path at the time;
determining number of calls going over the path at the time; and
determining end-to-end quality incurred by all calls going over the path at the time.
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3. A method for determining information pertaining to a network device at a given time, comprising:
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determining load, utilization, and error statistics of said device at the time; and
determining quality incurred by all calls going over the device at the time.
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18. A system for determining the paths of calls traveling through a network comprising:
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an apparatus for automatically conducting topological discovery;
an apparatus for automatically collecting trace route information; and
an apparatus for storing the collected information in the data store.
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19. A system for measuring network device utilization data comprising:
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an apparatus for automatically sending and receiving SNMP requests at regular intervals;
an apparatus for computing metrics pertaining to each interval; and
an apparatus for storing said computed metric in the data store.
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20. A system for measuring call quality comprising:
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an apparatus for injecting synthesized traffic;
an apparatus for coordinating the injection of traffic to reflect different types of configurations;
an apparatus for computing metrics indicative of call quality pertaining to each call; and
an apparatus for storing said computed metric in the data store.
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21. A system for integrating call path, call quality, network path utilization measurements comprising:
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an apparatus for accessing data store; and
an apparatus for automatically analyzing the data.
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22. A method for use in assessing the quality of service (QoS) in a network with respect to target applications comprising:
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collecting simultaneous network measurements consisting of network paths, traffic on network devices, and QoS measurements across network paths; and
relating the said simultaneous measurements on the same time scale. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A system for collecting simultaneous network measurements consisting of network paths, traffic on network devices, and QoS measurements across network paths;
- and integrating the said simultaneous measurements on the same time scale, comprising;
an apparatus for conducting topological discovery;
an apparatus for collecting trace route information;
an apparatus for sending and receiving device polling requests at regular intervals;
an apparatus for storing the collected load, utilization, and error statistics for network devices in the data store;
an apparatus for injecting synthetic traffic;
an apparatus for coordinating the injection of traffic to reflect different types of network configurations and traffic parameters;
an apparatus for computing metrics indicative of the QoS received by the synthetic traffic;
an apparatus for storing the said collected information in the data store;
an apparatus for accessing data store, and an apparatus for relating simultaneous network measurements in the data store on the same timescale.
- and integrating the said simultaneous measurements on the same time scale, comprising;
Specification