Network statistics information service system and internet access server

• US 20050128946A1
• Filed: 07/26/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Communication Technologies, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Communication Technologies, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wada, Mitsuhiro, Murakami, Yasuo
• Application Number:
  US10/898,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20050128946A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2859 Point-to-point connection between the data network and the subscribers encapsulation H04L12/4633; virtual LANs H04L12/4641; routing of packets H04L45/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5016 based on statistics of service availability, e.g. in percentage or over a given time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

A network statistics information service system comprised of a service provider system having a database for storing statistics data and statistics information collection conditions for each user and an access server for receiving, upon the authentication of a user terminal, a response packet indicative of the result of authentication, a request source user ID, the statistics information collection conditions, and statistics parameters from the service provider system, wherein the access server collects statistics information for each user according to the statistics information collection conditions and the statistics parameters indicated by the response packet while the user terminal is connected to the Internet, and notifies the service provider system of updated statistics data, and the service provider system updates the database based on the data received from the access server and discloses at least a part of the statistics data accumulated in the database in response to a request from the user terminal.

Claims

1. A network statistics information service system, comprising of:

a service provider system having a database for storing, in correspondence with a user identifier, statistics data and statistics information collection conditions desired by a user; and

an access server for transmitting an authentication request packet to said service provider system upon receiving an authentication request from a user terminal via an access network, receiving from said service provider system a response packet indicating a result of authentication, an identifier of the request source user, the statistics information collection conditions, and statistic parameters to be collected, and responding to said user terminal based on the result of authentication indicated by the response packet, wherein

said access server is comprised of;

a management table for storing the statistics information collection conditions and the statistics parameters each indicated by the response packet from said service provider in correspondence with the user identifier and a session identifier;

statistics data updating means for collecting information in accordance with the statistics information collection conditions and the statistics parameters each indicated by said management table while said user terminal is connected to the Internet and updating statistics data in said management table; and

update request generating means for generating an update request packet indicating said updated statistics data and transmitting the generated update request packet to said service provider system, and

said service provider system updates the statistics data in said database based on the contents of the update request packet received from said access server and discloses, in response to a request from the user terminal, at least a part of the statistics data accumulated in said database in correspondence with the user identifier of the user terminal.

2. A network statistics information service system according to claim 1, wherein

said update request generating means transmits, to said service provider system, the update request packets periodically generated at specified intervals while the user terminal is connected to the Internet and the update request packet generated upon releasing of a session with said user terminal resulting from termination of the connection to the Internet.

3. A network statistics information service system according to claim 1, wherein

said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server; and

a Web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal.

4. A network statistics information service system according to claim 2, wherein

said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server; and

a Web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal.

5. A network statistics information service system according to claim 2, wherein

said update request generating means generates, upon occurrence of a specified event preliminarily specified by said statistics information collection conditions, an update request packet indicative of the occurrence of the specified event and transmits the generated update request packet to said service provider system.

6. A network statistics information service system according to claim 5, wherein

one of said statistics information collection conditions specifies a monitored IP address and a threshold, and

said access server counts the number of packets transmitted from said monitored IP address by said statistics data updating means and, when said number of packets exceeds said threshold, generates the update request packet indicative of the exceeded threshold and transmits the generated update request packet to said service provider system by said update request generating means.

7. A network statistics information service system according to claim 5, wherein

one of said statistics information collection conditions specifies counting of the number of loss packets, and

said access server counts the number of packets lost upon occurrence of network congestion by said statistics data updating means, and generates an update request packet indicative of said number of loss packets upon recovery from the congestion and transmits the generated update request packet to said service provider system by said update request generating means.

8. A network statistics information service system according to claim 5, wherein

one of said statistics information collection conditions specifies counting of a service interruption time, and

said access server counts the service interruption time resulting from network congestion by said statistics data updating means, and generates an update request packet indicative of said service interruption time upon recovery from the congestion and transmits the generated update request packet to said service provider system by said update request generating means.

9. A network statistics information service system according to claim 5, wherein said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server;

a Web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal; and

a mail server for notifying, upon receipt of the update request packet resulting from occurrence of a specified event from said access server, a user terminal of concern of the occurrence of said specified event.

10. A network statistics information service system according to claim 6, wherein said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server;

a Web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal; and

a mail server for notifying, upon receipt of the update request packet resulting from occurrence of a specified event from said access server, a user terminal of concern of the occurrence of said specified event.

11. A network statistics information service system according to claim 7, wherein said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server;

a Web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal; and

a mail server for notifying, upon receipt of the update request packet resulting from occurrence of a specified event from said access server, a user terminal of concern of the occurrence of said specified event.

12. A network statistics information service system according to claim 8, wherein said service provider system is comprised of:

a statistics information management server for managing said database and responding to the authentication request packet and the update request packet from said access server;

a web server for executing a process for disclosing the statistics data in response to the request from said user terminal; and

a mail server for notifying, upon receipt of the update request packet resulting from occurrence of a specified event from said access server, a user terminal of concern of the occurrence of said specified event.

13. An Internet access server for transmitting an authorization request packet to a service provider system upon receiving an authorization request from a user terminal and responding to said user terminal, upon receiving from said service provider system a response packet indicative of a result of authentication, an identifier of the request source user, statistics information collection conditions and statistics parameters to be collected, based on the result of authentication indicated by the response packet, said access server comprising of:

a management table for storing the statistics information collection conditions and the statistics parameters each indicated by the response packet from said service provider system in correspondence with the user identifier and a session identifier;

statistics data updating means for collecting information in accordance with the statistics information collection conditions and the statistics parameters each indicated by said management table while said user terminal is connected to the Internet and updating statistics data in said management table; and

update request generating means for generating an update request packet indicative of said updated statistics data and transmitting the generated update request packet to said service provider system.

14. An Internet access server according to claim 13, wherein

said update request generating means transmits to said service provider system, the update request packets periodically generated at specified intervals while the user terminal is connected to the Internet and the update request packet generated upon releasing of a session with said user terminal resulting from termination of the connection to the Internet.