Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring networks

• US 20060291473A1
• Filed: 09/28/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Greenberg, Albert G., Spatscheck, Oliver, Van der Merwe, Jacobus E., Duffield, Nicholas G., Chase, Christopher J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,228,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/395.5
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/14 using software, i.e. software packages network security related monitoring H04L63/1408
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/033 by updating distance vector protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]

Abstract

Certain exemplary embodiments comprise a method comprising: for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a dynamic tunnel, automatically diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a processing complex; and automatically forwarding the selected traffic from the processing complex toward the predetermined destination.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel, automatically diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a measurement complex; and

automatically forwarding the selected traffic from the measurement complex toward the predetermined destination.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically processing the selected traffic via the measurement complex.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is an MPLS tunnel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is an GRE tunnel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is an L2TP tunnel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is an IPSec tunnel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selected traffic is carried by a Virtual Private Network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selected traffic is carried by a Virtual Private Network created from a virtual routing forwarding table.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically inserting probes into a Virtual Private Network traversed by the selected traffic.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically inserting active probes into a Virtual Private Network traversed by the selected traffic.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically inserting passive probes into a Virtual Private Network traversed by the selected traffic.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically inserting probes into the backbone network.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

manipulating a distribution of BGP routes in the backbone network.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating an interface between the ingress point and the measurement complex.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

mapping the measurement complex into an existing Virtual Private Network comprised by the backbone network.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

mapping the measurement complex into an existing Virtual Private Network that comprises the predetermined ingress point.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing the predetermined ingress point to route the selected traffic through the measurement complex.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

coupling a Virtual Private Network with the measurement complex.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically advertising a predetermined route associated with the measurement complex to the predetermined ingress point.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

advertising a preferred route to the measurement complex, the preferred route more specific than any route determined by the predetermined ingress point.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forming a tunnel between a routing entity comprised by the measurement complex and a routing entity intermediate to the predetermined destination.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

via the measurement complex, measuring a characteristic of at least a portion of the backbone network.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

via the measurement complex, measuring a characteristic of the selected traffic.

24. A machine-readable medium storing machine instructions for a plurality of activities, comprising:

for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a BGP advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel, automatically diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a measurement complex; and

automatically forwarding the selected traffic from the measurement complex toward the predetermined destination.

25. A system, comprising:

a route controller adapted to, for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a BGP advertisement, generate a dynamic tunnel adapted to automatically divert the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a measurement complex adapted to automatically forward the selected traffic toward the predetermined destination.