Method and apparatus for diagnosing faults in a hybrid internet protocol network

• US 20070025258A1
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Chen, Weijing
• Granted Patent: US 7,684,335 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/56 Packet switching systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/02 Standardisation; Integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/34 Signalling channels for network management communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• 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 43/0823 Errors, e.g. transmission errors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/18 Protocol analysers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames

Abstract

An Ethernet switch (112) has a communications interface (122), and a controller (124). The controller is programmed to receive (202) an IP query packet generated by a receiver for collecting telemetry data between a source and the receiver in a multicast network, translate (206) the IP query packet to an Ethernet query packet, collect (208) in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the Ethernet switch, and submit (218) the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network. Additional embodiment are disclosed.

Claims

1. In an IP router and an Ethernet switch, respectively, a computer-readable storage medium for conducting diagnostics in a multicast network having network elements comprising one or more IP (Internet Protocol) routers and Ethernet switches,

the storage medium of an Ethernet switch, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving an IP query packet generated by a receiver for collecting telemetry data between a source and the receiver;

translating an IP query packet to an Ethernet query packet;

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the Ethernet switch; and

submitting the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network;

the storage medium of an IP router, comprising computer instructions for;

receiving the Ethernet query packet;

translating the Ethernet query packet to an IP query packet;

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the IP router; and

submitting the IP query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, whereupon receiving the Ethernet query packet at another Ethernet switch, the storage medium of the Ethernet switch comprises computer instructions for:

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the receiving Ethernet switch; and

submitting the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, whereupon receiving the IP query packet at another IP router, the storage medium of the IP router comprises computer instructions for:

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the receiving IP router; and

submitting the IP query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

4. The storage medium of claim 1, whereupon receiving the IP query packet at an IP router coupled to the source, the storage medium of the IP router comprises computer instructions for:

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the receiving IP router;

translating the IP query packet into an IP response packet; and

submitting the IP response packet to the receiver.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, whereupon receiving the Ethernet query packet at an Ethernet switch coupled to the source, the storage medium of the Ethernet switch comprises computer instructions for:

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the root IP router;

translating the Ethernet query packet into an IP response packet; and

submitting the IP response packet to the receiver.

6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the Ethernet switch comprises an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) snooping Ethernet switch.

7. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein storage medium of the Ethernet switch comprises computer instructions for collecting the telemetry data in the Ethernet query packet from at least one among a group of telemetry items comprising an arrival time for the Ethernet query packet, an upstream network element address, a downstream network element address, a multicast channel number, an input packet count at the arrival time, an output packet count at the arrival time, a total packet count at the arrival time, a protocol operating at the receiving Ethernet switch, and a diagnostic code.

8. The storage medium of claim 7, wherein storage medium of the Ethernet switch comprises computer instructions for generating the diagnostic code from at least one among a group of diagnostic codes comprising a no error code corresponding to a no-fault state in the receiving Ethernet switch, a wrong interface code corresponding to an IP or Ethernet query packet received by the Ethernet switch from a network element not belonging to the multicast network, a channel route error code corresponding to an IP or Ethernet query packet received from a network element on a multicast network channel different from that used by the receiver, and a router error code corresponding to receiving an expected IP query packet from an IP router.

9. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the receiver initializes a packet hop limit in the IP query packet, and wherein the storage medium of the Ethernet switch comprises computer instructions for:

decrementing the packet hop limit; and

upon exceeding the packet hop limit, discarding Ethernet query packet.

10. In an IP router and an Ethernet switch, respectively, a method for conducting diagnostics in a multicast network having network elements comprising one or more IP (Internet Protocol) routers and Ethernet switches,

a method in an Ethernet switch, comprising the steps of:

receiving an IP query packet generated by a receiver for collecting telemetry data between a source and the receiver;

translating an IP query packet to an Ethernet query packet;

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the Ethernet switch; and

submitting the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network;

a method in an IP router, comprising the steps of;

receiving the Ethernet query packet;

translating the Ethernet query packet to an IP query packet;

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the IP router; and

submitting the IP query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

11. The method of claim 10, whereupon receiving the Ethernet query packet at another Ethernet switch, the method comprises the steps of:

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the receiving Ethernet switch; and

submitting the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

12. The method of claim 10, whereupon receiving the IP query packet at another IP router, the method comprises the steps of:

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the receiving IP router; and

submitting the IP query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

13. The method of claim 10, whereupon receiving the IP query packet at an IP router coupled to the source, the method comprises the step of:

collecting in the IP query packet telemetry data from the receiving IP router;

translating the IP query packet into an IP response packet; and

submitting the IP response packet to the receiver.

14. The method of claim 10, whereupon receiving the Ethernet query packet at an Ethernet switch coupled to the source, the method comprises the step of:

collecting in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the root IP router;

translating the Ethernet query packet into an IP response packet; and

submitting the IP response packet to the receiver.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the Ethernet switch comprises an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) snooping Ethernet switch.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the telemetry data collected in the Ethernet query packet comprises at least one among a group comprising an arrival time for the Ethernet query packet, an upstream network element address, a downstream network element address, a multicast channel number, an input packet count at the arrival time, an output packet count at the arrival time, a total packet count at the arrival time, a protocol operating at the receiving Ethernet switch, and a diagnostic code.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the diagnostic code comprises at least one among a group of diagnostic codes comprising a no error code corresponding to a no-fault state in the receiving Ethernet switch, a wrong interface code corresponding to an IP or Ethernet query packet received by the Ethernet switch from a network element not belonging to the multicast network, a channel route error code corresponding to an IP or Ethernet query packet received from a network element on a multicast network channel different from that used by the receiver, and router error code corresponding to receiving an expected IP query packet from an IP router.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the receiver initializes a packet hop limit in the IP query packet, and wherein the method comprises the steps of:

decrementing the packet hop limit at each Ethernet switch; and

upon exceeding the packet hop limit, discarding Ethernet query packet.

19. An Ethernet switch, comprising:

a communications interface; and

a controller programmed to;

receive an IP query packet generated by a receiver for collecting telemetry data between a source and the receiver in a multicast network;

translate the IP query packet to an Ethernet query packet;

collect in the Ethernet query packet telemetry data from the Ethernet switch; and

submit the Ethernet query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.

20. An IP router, comprising:

a communications interface; and

a controller programmed to;

receive an Ethernet query packet generated by an Ethernet switch for collecting telemetry data between a source and a receiver in a multicast network;

translate the Ethernet query packet to an IP query packet;

collect in the IP query packet telemetry data from the IP router; and

submit the IP query packet to the next network element of the multicast network.