Distributed architecture for real-time flow measurement at the network domain level
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring traffic flows in a domain of a communications network, the domain being logically arranged as a virtual router network having virtual interfaces at edge nodes of the domain, comprising the steps of:
- a) determining, at a virtual interface and in dependence upon a rule set, whether a packet belongs to a flow to be monitored;
b) accounting, responsive to the packet belonging to a flow to be monitored, the packet in a flow record corresponding to that flow; and
c) aggregating the flow records for transmission to a collector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A virtual router network (VRN) for performing real-time flow measurements (RTFM) is provided. The VRN effectively reduces the number of traffic metering points required thereby simplifying the aggregation and exportation of flow records to a collector. The collector may be service manager in a network management system. The metering points, in a preferred embodiment, are at virtual interfaces (VI) which are edge nodes in VRN. One of the virtual interfaces is selected as a master virtual interface and act as a collector and distributor of flow related information. In one aspect of the invention the VRN is used to provide, non-invasively, per-flow delay monitoring in a communication system.
292 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring traffic flows in a domain of a communications network, the domain being logically arranged as a virtual router network having virtual interfaces at edge nodes of the domain, comprising the steps of:
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a) determining, at a virtual interface and in dependence upon a rule set, whether a packet belongs to a flow to be monitored;
b) accounting, responsive to the packet belonging to a flow to be monitored, the packet in a flow record corresponding to that flow; and
c) aggregating the flow records for transmission to a collector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for monitoring traffic flows in a domain of a communications network, the domain being logically arranged as a virtual router network having virtual interfaces at edge nodes of the domain, the system comprising:
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means at a virtual interface for determining in dependence upon a rule set, whether a packet belongs to a flow to be monitored;
means for accounting, responsive to the packet belonging to a flow to be monitored, the packet in a flow record corresponding to that flow; and
means for aggregating the flow records for transmission to a collector. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of measuring per-flow traffic delay between two routers having synchronized clocks, comprising the steps of:
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a) calculating, at each of the routers, a key uniquely and invariantly identifing a corresponding packet in the flow;
b) selecting, at each of the routers using the key, a packet to be monitored;
c) recording, at each of the routers, a timestamp upon selection of each packet; and
d) subtracting the timestamps to determine the delay for the packet. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A system for measuring per-flow traffic delay between two routers having synchronized clocks, comprising:
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means for calculating, at each of the routers, a key for every packet in the flow, wherein the key uniquely and invariantly identifies a corresponding packet in the flow;
means for selecting, at each of the routers using the key, a packet to be monitored;
means for recording, at each of the routers, a timestamp upon selection of each packet; and
means for subtracting the timestamps to determine the delay for the packet. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification