METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COLLECTION, TRACKING, AND DISPLAY OF NEAR REAL TIME MULTICAST DATA

• US 20100050084A1
• Filed: 08/20/2008
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Aldrich, Timothy Mark, Knapp, Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 8,762,515 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0609 based on severity or priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data

Abstract

A computer-based method for depicting the participating devices of a multicast group based on the transmit and the receive activities of the devices in a computer network is described. The method includes extracting, from a database, a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of multicast packets, the multicast packets having been transmitted across the computer network over a predefined period of time, calculating a number of bytes transferred for each source internet protocol (IP) to destination IP multicast tuple from the extracted packets, determining a location of the source IP address and a bandwidth associated with the source IP address from the extracted packets, determining a location of the devices subscribing to the packets and a bandwidth associated with each of the destination sites, and providing a display of all multicast traffic, wherein the multicast traffic is summarized in a user selectable list.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for depicting the participating devices of a multicast group based on the transmit and the receive activities of the devices in a computer network, said method comprising:

extracting, from a database, a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of multicast packets, the multicast packets having been transmitted across the computer network over a predefined period of time;

calculating a number of bytes transferred for each source internet protocol (IP) to destination IP multicast tuple from the extracted packets;

determining a location of the source IP address and a bandwidth associated with the source IP address from the extracted packets;

determining a location of the devices subscribing to the packets and a bandwidth associated with each of the destination sites; and

providing a display of all multicast traffic, wherein the multicast traffic is summarized in a user selectable list.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a detailed map display of the multicast traffic corresponding to a selection from the selectable list.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of multicast packets comprises determining if a destination IP address of the multicast packet is within a predefined range of destination IP addresses.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising utilizing data in the extracted packet headers to determine:

at least one multicast publisher based on source IP addresses;

multicast group membership based on at least one destination IP address;

the sites subscribing to the multicast group based on the sensors detecting the packets;

a first time stamp and a last time stamp for the extracted packet headers observed within the predefined period of time; and

a bandwidth based on a total number of bytes in each extracted packet header.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein calculating a number of bytes transferred for each source IP to destination IP multicast tuple comprises summing all the bytes observed for each unique source IP to destination IP on sensor tuple.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a location of the source IP address and a bandwidth associated with the source IP address comprises:

utilizing one of a lookup function and a table to determine a sending site location for a given source IP address;

dividing the number of bytes in the packet header by the time difference between a first stamp and a last time stamp for the packet header to calculate an average bandwidth; and

writing an indicator for the determined sending site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth to at least one of a database and a computer file.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein determining a location of the devices subscribing to the packets and a bandwidth associated with each of the subscribing sites comprises:

utilizing one of a lookup function and a table to determine a receiving site location based on the device detecting the multicast IP packets;

utilizing the source IP address and the sensor detecting the packets in the packet header to align the determined sending site location with a receiving site location;

dividing the number of bytes in the packet header by the time difference between a first stamp and a last time stamp for the packet header to calculate an average bandwidth; and

writing an indicator for the determined receiving site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth to at least one of a database and a computer file.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein providing a display of all multicast traffic comprises generating a consolidated list of multicast groups by reviewing the at least one of a database and a file for both the sending site location and the receiving site location.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing a detailed map display of the multicast traffic based on a combination of the indicator for the determined sending site location, the indicator for the determined receiving site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth.

10. A computer system comprising:

a plurality of communicatively coupled computers configured to communicate via an internet protocol (IP); and

a database containing a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of IP-to-IP packets, the IP-to-IP packets having been transmitted across a computer network over a predefined period of time, one of said computers programmed to;

calculate a number of bytes transferred for each source IP to destination IP multicast tuple from the extracted packets;

determine a location of the source IP address and a bandwidth associated with the source IP address from the extracted packets;

determine a location of the devices detecting the packets and a bandwidth associated with each of the destination IP addresses; and

provide a display that includes a user selectable list of multicast traffic.

11. A computer system according to claim 10 wherein the one of said computers is programmed to provide a detailed map display of the multicast traffic corresponding to a selection from the selectable list.

12. A computer system according to claim 10 wherein to extract a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of multicast packets, the one of said computers is programmed to determine if a destination IP address of the multicast packet is within a predefined range of destination IP addresses.

13. A computer system according to claim 10 wherein the one of said computers is programmed to utilize the data in the extracted packet headers to determine:

at least one multicast publisher based on source IP addresses;

multicast group contents based on at least one destination IP address;

the sites subscribing to the multicast group based on the sensors detecting the packets;

a first time stamp and a last time stamp for the extracted packet headers observed within the predefined period of time; and

a bandwidth based on a total number of bytes in each extracted packet header.

14. A computer system according to claim 10 wherein to calculate a number of bytes transferred for each source IP to destination IP multicast tuple, the one of said computers is programmed to sum all the bytes observed for each unique source IP to destination IP on sensor tuple.

15. A computer system according to claim 10 wherein to determine a location of the source IP address and a bandwidth associated with the source IP address, the one of said computers is programmed to:

utilize one of a lookup function and a table to determine a sending site location for a given source IP address;

divide the number of bytes in the packet header by the time difference between a first stamp and a last time stamp for the packet header to calculate an average bandwidth; and

store the determined sending site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth to at least one of a database and a computer file.

16. A computer system according to claim 15 wherein to determine a location of the devices detecting the packets and a bandwidth associated with each of the destination IP addresses, the one of said computers is programmed to:

utilize one of a lookup function and a table to determine a receiving site location for a given sensor detecting the packets;

utilize the source IP address and the sensor detecting the packets in the packet header to align the determined sending site location with a receiving site location;

divide the number of bytes in the packet header by the time difference between a first stamp and a last time stamp for the packet header to calculate an average bandwidth; and

store the determined receiving site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth to at least one of a database and a computer file.

17. A computer system according to claim 16 wherein to provide a display of all multicast traffic, the one of said computers is programmed to generate a consolidated list of multicast groups by reviewing the at least one of a database and a file for both the sending site location and the receiving site location.

18. A computer system according to claim 16 wherein the one of said computers is programmed to provide a detailed map display of the multicast traffic based on a combination of the indicator for the determined sending site location, the indicator for the determined receiving site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth.

19. A computer program product stored on a tangible computer readable medium operative on the computer for passively monitoring the multicast packets passing through an IP based network, the computer program product comprising:

a first computer code for recognizing and storing a single instance of each unique packet header associated with a plurality of multicast packets;

a second computer code for determining which devices in the IP network are sending multicast packets and which sites in the IP network are receiving packets in a multicast group; and

a third computer code to generate and present to a user a map illustrating the relationships between the sending devices and the receiving sites.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19 wherein to determine which devices are sending multicast packets and which sites are receiving packets, said second computer code operable to cause the computer to:

utilize one of a lookup function and a table to determine a sending site location for a given source IP address and determine a receiving site location for a given sensor detecting the packets;

utilize the source IP address and the sensor detecting the packets in the multicast packet header to align the sending site location with at least one receiving site location;

divide the number of bytes in the multicast packet header by the time difference between a first stamp and a last time stamp for the multicast packet header to calculate an average bandwidth; and

store the sending site location, the receiving site location, the source IP address, the multicast destination IP address, and the calculated average bandwidth in at least one of a database and a computer file.