Distributed monitoring of packet transmission delay
First Claim
1. A transmission delay monitoring arrangement for measuring transmission delay of a predetermined number of packets during communication of the latter from a first circuit interfacing a communication channel with a packet switching network through said network to a second circuit interfacing another communication channel to said network, the invention comprising:
- said first circuit comprises means for ascertaining arrival times of each of said predetermined number of packets; and
means for inserting the individual ascertained arrival times into each of said predetermined number of packets;
said second circuit comprises means responsive to a receipt of each of said predetermined number of packets and to said ascertained arrival times and the present time for calculating present sum delay signals representing an amount of time consumed in communicating said predetermined number of packets;
means for defining transmission delay thresholds; and
means responsive to said transmission delay thresholds from said defining means, said present sum delay signals from said calculating means, and a receipt of reference sum signals for indicating transmission delay excursions beyond said thresholds by said present sum delay signals from said reference sum delay signals.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A trunk controller and processor arrangement for measuring packet transmission delay from a first trunk controller through a packet switching network to a second trunk controller. Packets comprising logical addresses and voice/data information are received from high-speed trunks and are communicated through the network to destination trunk controllers which are also attached to high-speed trunks. During initial call setup of a particular call, the central processor associated with the network stores the necessary logical to physical address information in the two controllers associated with that call. The associated controllers then perform all logical to physical address translation on subsequent packets of the call. Each trunk controller comprises a delay monitoring circuit which is responsive to a packet received from the attached trunk to assemble a new switch packet consisting of the arrival time, the physical address, and the received packet for transmission through the network to a destination trunk controller. When a switch packet is received from the switching network by a trunk controller, the delay monitoring circuit of that trunk controller calculates the transmission delay time resulting from the transmission of the packet from the sending trunk controller to the destination trunk controller. The delay monitoring circuit then uses this information to calculated a transmission delay sum for a predefined number of packets. After the predetermined number of packets have been received, the monitoring circuit determines whether the transmission delay excursions have increased or decreased in the excess of a multitude of predetermined percentages of transmission delay and notifies the associated processor if such excursions have occurred. At initialization time and as required during system operation, the processor determines the predetermined percentages of transmission delay which are the standards utilized by the trunk controller.
48 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A transmission delay monitoring arrangement for measuring transmission delay of a predetermined number of packets during communication of the latter from a first circuit interfacing a communication channel with a packet switching network through said network to a second circuit interfacing another communication channel to said network, the invention comprising:
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said first circuit comprises means for ascertaining arrival times of each of said predetermined number of packets; and means for inserting the individual ascertained arrival times into each of said predetermined number of packets; said second circuit comprises means responsive to a receipt of each of said predetermined number of packets and to said ascertained arrival times and the present time for calculating present sum delay signals representing an amount of time consumed in communicating said predetermined number of packets; means for defining transmission delay thresholds; and means responsive to said transmission delay thresholds from said defining means, said present sum delay signals from said calculating means, and a receipt of reference sum signals for indicating transmission delay excursions beyond said thresholds by said present sum delay signals from said reference sum delay signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A delay monitoring arrangement for measuring delay in the transmission of a predetermined number of packets through a packet switching network, the invention wherein said arrangement comprises:
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means for ascertaining arrival times of each of said predetermined number of packets at said network; routing means for transmitting arrival time signals representing said ascertained arrival times and each of said predetermined number of packets through said network; means for generating a control signal upon transmission of all of said predetermined number of packets through said network; means responsive to said arrival time signals for determining signals representing the transmission delay of each of said predetermined number of packets within said network; means responsive to said control signal and said delay signals for calculating a first set of signals representing a present transmission delay sum for all of said predetermined number of packets; means for storing a second set of signals representing a reference transmission delay sum; and means responsive to subsets of signals of said first and second sets of signals for generating a report signal indicating excursions of said present transmission delay sum from said reference transmission delay sum. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A delay monitoring arrangement for measuring delay in the transmission of a predetermined number of packets each comprising arrival time signals through a packet switching network, said arrangement comprises:
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means for generating a control signal upon transmission of all of said predetermined number of packets through said network; means responsive to said arrival time signals for determining signals representing the transmission delay of each of said predetermined number of packets within said network; means responsive to said control signal and said delay signals for calculating a first set of signals representing a present transmission delay sum for all of said predetermined number of packets; means for storing a second set of signals representing a reference transmission delay sum; and means responsive to subsets of signals of said first and second sets of signals for generating a report signal indicating excursions of said present transmission delay sum from said reference transmission delay sum. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A transmission delay monitoring arrangement for measuring transmission delay of a predetermined number of packets during communication of the latter through a packet switching system and each of said packets comprising arrival time signals, said arrangement comprises:
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means responsive to a receipt of said arrival time signals of each of said predetermined number of packets and the present time for calculating present sum delay signals representing an amount of time consumed in communicating said predetermined number of packets; means for defining transmission delay thresholds; and means responsive to said transmission delay thresholds from said defining means, said present sum delay signals from said calculating means, and reference sum signals for indicating transmission delay excursions beyond said thresholds by said present sum delay signals from said reference sum delay signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of measuring delay in the transmission of a predetermined number of packets through a packet switching system comprising a packet switching network, a plurality of transmission means, and a plurality of interface facilities each interconnecting one of said transmission means and said switching network, and comprising the steps:
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ascertaining signals representing arrival time of each of said predetermined number of packets at one of said interface facilities from one of said transmission means; inserting the ascertained signals into an individual one of said predetermined number of packets; communicating each of said predetermined number of packets through said packet switching network to another one of said interface facilities; generating a control signal upon communication of all of said predetermined number of packets to said other interface facility; determining signals representing the transmission delay of each of said predetermined number of packets from said one of said interface facilities to said other one of said interface facilities; calculating a first set of signals representing a present transmission delay for all of said predetermined number of packets in response to said control signal and said delay signals; storing a second set of signals representing a reference transmission delay; and generating a report signal indicating excursions of said present transmission delay from said reference transmission delay in response to subsets of signals of said first and second sets of signals. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification