Identifying existence and rate of jitter during real-time audio and video streaming

• US 20070140306A1
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Klein, Paul
• Application Number:
  US11/303,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20070140306A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/516
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/205 jitter monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

Various embodiments of a computer-implemented method, system and computer program product identify jitter in a multimedia datastream comprising packets which are sent from a web server in a web server computer to a client computer. An agent in the web server computer computes packet intervals associated with the packets which are sent from the web server. The agent determines whether jitter is occurring at the client computer receiving the packets based on the packet intervals. In some embodiments, a jitter rate is determined based on the packet intervals.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of identifying jitter in a multimedia datastream comprising packets which are sent from a web server in a web server computer to a client computer, comprising:

computing, in said web server computer, packet intervals associated with said packets which are sent from said web server; and

determining, in said web server computer, whether jitter is occurring at said client computer receiving said packets based on said packet intervals.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing, by a network sniffer at said web server computer, timestamps indicating times that said network sniffer received said packets, wherein said computing said packet intervals is based on said timestamps.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said determining determines that jitter is occurring in response to at least one of said packet intervals exceeding a jitter threshold.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

determining said jitter threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying a jitter indicator in response to determining that jitter is occurring.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a jitter rate based on said packet intervals.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

displaying said jitter rate.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said jitter rate is per-packet.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, by said web server computer, a request for said jitter rate; and

providing said jitter rate.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said jitter is manifest jitter.

11. A computer program product comprising a computer-usable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

compute packet intervals associated with packets of a multimedia datastream which are sent by a web server on said computer to a client; and

determine whether jitter is occurring at said client receiving said packets based on said packet intervals.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

receive timestamps indicating times that a network sniffer received said packets, wherein said packet intervals are computed based on said timestamps.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein said jitter is determined to be occurring in response to at least one of said packet intervals exceeding a jitter threshold.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

determine said jitter threshold.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

display a jitter indicator in response to determining that jitter is occurring.

16. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

determine a jitter rate based on said packet intervals.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

display said jitter rate.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein said jitter rate is per-packet.

19. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein said jitter rate is per-unit-time.

20. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein said jitter rate is based on a number of times jitter occurred in at least a portion of said packet intervals.

21. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

provide a jitter rate indicator in response to said jitter rate exceeding a predetermined jitter alert threshold.

22. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

receive a request for said jitter rate; and

provide said jitter rate.

23. A computer system, comprising:

a web server that sends a multimedia datastream comprising packets to a client computer; and

an agent in said web server computer that computes packet intervals associated with said packets, and that determines whether jitter is occurring at said client computer receiving said packets based on said packet intervals.

24. The computer system of claim 23 further comprising:

a network sniffer that provides timestamps indicating times that said network sniffer received said packets, wherein said packet intervals are computed based on said timestamps.

25. The computer system of claim 23 wherein said agent determines that jitter is occurring in response to at least one of said packet intervals exceeding a jitter threshold.

26. The computer system of claim 23 further comprising:

a jitter indicator that is displayed in response to determining that jitter is occurring.

27. The computer system of claim 23 further comprising:

a jitter rate that is determined based on said packet intervals.

28. The computer system of claim 27 wherein said jitter rate is per-packet.

29. The computer system of claim 27 wherein said jitter rate is per-unit-time.

30. The computer system of claim 27 wherein said jitter rate is based on a number of times jitter occurred in at least a portion of said packet intervals.