Automatic determination of connectivity problem locations or other network-characterizing information in a network utilizing an encapsulation protocol
First Claim
1. A method for determining information characterizing a network comprising a plurality of processing elements including at least one processing element associated with performance of a packet encapsulation operation of an encapsulation protocol, the method comprising the steps of:
- performing the packet encapsulation operation on a test packet to generate an encapsulated packet, the test packet having a time to live value and an identifier, wherein in conjunction with performance of the packet encapsulation operation the time to live value and the identifier of the test packet are copied to a header of the encapsulated packet;
transmitting the encapsulated packet;
determining if a reply packet is received responsive to transmission of the encapsulated packet; and
processing the received reply packet, if any, to obtain the information characterizing the network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for determining a problem location or otherwise characterizing a network comprising a plurality of processing elements, including at least one processing element associated with performance of a packet encapsulation operation of an encapsulation protocol. The packet encapsulation operation is performed on a test packet to generate an encapsulated packet, the test packet having a time to live (TTL) value and an identifier. In conjunction with performance of the packet encapsulation operation, the TTL value and the identifier of the test packet are copied to a header of the encapsulated packet. The encapsulated packet is transmitted, and a determination is made as to whether a reply packet has been received responsive to transmission of the encapsulated packet. The reply packet, if any, is processed to obtain information utilizable in determining the problem location or otherwise characterizing the network. By way of example, these operations may be repeated, for subsequent test packets with increasing TTL values, until an amount of router hop information sufficient to determine the problem location is obtained.
126 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for determining information characterizing a network comprising a plurality of processing elements including at least one processing element associated with performance of a packet encapsulation operation of an encapsulation protocol, the method comprising the steps of:
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performing the packet encapsulation operation on a test packet to generate an encapsulated packet, the test packet having a time to live value and an identifier, wherein in conjunction with performance of the packet encapsulation operation the time to live value and the identifier of the test packet are copied to a header of the encapsulated packet;
transmitting the encapsulated packet;
determining if a reply packet is received responsive to transmission of the encapsulated packet; and
processing the received reply packet, if any, to obtain the information characterizing the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for use in determining information characterizing a network comprising a plurality of processing elements including at least one processing element associated with performance of a packet encapsulation operation of an encapsulation protocol, the apparatus comprising:
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a processing element comprising a processor coupled to a memory;
the processing element being operative;
(i) to perform the packet encapsulation operation on a test packet to generate an encapsulated packet, the test packet having a time to live value and an identifier, wherein in conjunction with performance of the packet encapsulation operation the time to live value and the identifier of the test packet are copied to a header of the encapsulated packet;
(ii) to transmit the encapsulated packet;
(iii) to determine if a reply packet is received responsive to transmission of the encapsulated packet; and
(iv) to process the received reply packet, if any, to obtain the information characterizing the network. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable storage medium containing machine-executable software code for use in determining information characterizing a network, the network comprising a plurality of processing elements including at least one processing element associated with performance of a packet encapsulation operation of an encapsulation protocol, wherein the software code when executed implements the steps of:
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performing the packet encapsulation operation on a test packet to generate an encapsulated packet, the test packet having a time to live value and an identifier, wherein in conjunction with performance of the packet encapsulation operation the time to live value and the identifier of the test packet are copied to a header of the encapsulated packet;
transmitting the encapsulated packet;
determining if a reply packet is received responsive to transmission of the encapsulated packet; and
processing the received reply packet, if any, to obtain the information characterizing the network.
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Specification