Methods and apparatus for performance monitoring using synchronized network analyzers
First Claim
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1. A network performance analyzer comprising:
- a plurality of network analyzers, each having a clock and each connected to a point in a network;
means for synchronizing the clocks of said network analyzers;
means for aggregating data captured by said network analyzers, comprising means for placing all said data in a common file and for sorting said data chronologically; and
means for analyzing said data to produce network performance information, comprising means for processing chronologically sorted data to extract desired information;
wherein the desired information comprises one or more of;
a. average packet latency between two points,b. packet latency distribution,c. packet size distribution,d. packet size minimum and/or maximum,e. minimum and/or maximum latencyf. packet fragmentation,g. packet loss,h. packet retransmissions,i. sliding window algorithm efficiency, andj. throughput.
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Abstract
A plurality of network analyzers are combined into a network performance analysis tool for analyzing complex and widely distributed networks. Each of the network analyzers is synchronized with the others to provide consistency in the application of timestamps to packets traversing the network. Data from all of the analyzers is aggregated and sorted chronically and a variety of processing performed to determine important performance information about various components of the network. This information can then be used directly in simulation of a fully deployed network environment.
196 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A network performance analyzer comprising:
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a plurality of network analyzers, each having a clock and each connected to a point in a network; means for synchronizing the clocks of said network analyzers; means for aggregating data captured by said network analyzers, comprising means for placing all said data in a common file and for sorting said data chronologically; and means for analyzing said data to produce network performance information, comprising means for processing chronologically sorted data to extract desired information;
wherein the desired information comprises one or more of;a. average packet latency between two points, b. packet latency distribution, c. packet size distribution, d. packet size minimum and/or maximum, e. minimum and/or maximum latency f. packet fragmentation, g. packet loss, h. packet retransmissions, i. sliding window algorithm efficiency, and j. throughput.
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2. A network performance analyzer comprising:
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a plurality of network analyzers, each having a clock and each connected to a point in a network; means for synchronizing the clocks of said network analyzers; means for aggregating data captured by said network analyzers, comprising means for placing all said data in a common file and for sorting said data chronologically; and means for analyzing said data to produce network performance information, comprising means for processing chronologically sorted data to extract desired information wherein comprises information about network topology.
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3. A network performance analyzer comprising:
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a plurality of network analyzers, each having a clock and each connected to a point in a network; means for synchronizing the clocks of said network analyzers; means for aggregating data captured by said network analyzers, comprising means for placing all said data in a common file and for sorting said data chronologically; and means for analyzing said data to produce network performance information, comprising means for processing chronologically sorted data to extract desired information wherein the desired information is used to drive a network simulator.
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4. A network performance analyzer comprising:
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a plurality of network analyzers, each having a clock and each connected to a point in a network; means for synchronizing the clocks of said network analyzers; means for aggregating data captured by said network analyzers, comprising means for placing all said data in a common file and for sorting said data chronologically; and means for analyzing said data to produce network performance information, comprising means for processing chronologically sorted data to extract desired information wherein the desired information is extracted from any of the physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation or application portions of a protocol utilized to format captured packets. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification