Real-time display of bandwidth utilization in a transport multiplexer

• US 6,839,070 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Issued: 01/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Meandzija, Branislav N., Tsay, Ying Ying
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thai, Cuong T.
• Application Number:
  US10/124,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20030001897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 994 Days
• Field of Search: 345/716, 345/719, 345/722, 345/726, 345/736, 345/772, 345/440.2, 715/500.1, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 : Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 : Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 : Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 : Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6433 : Digital Storage Media - Command and Control Protocol [DSM-CC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/52 : Systems for transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals, e.g. an audio signal or a synchronizing signal assembling of a multiplex stream by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, assembling of a packetised elementary stream at server side H04N21/236; disassembling of a multiplex stream, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, extraction or processing of Service Information, disassembling of packetised elementary stream at client side H04N21/434

Abstract

A feature-rich transport multiplexer and a number of associated methods, systems, subsystems, software features, graphical user interfaces and control systems are disclosed. The disclosure includes GUI'"'"'s that enable operators to easily monitor and manipulate content streams flowing through a transport multiplexer in real-time. The disclosed interfaces include screens that supply operators with identity, structure, configuration, bandwidth utilization and/or status information for system hardware and software. The disclosed features also provide computer assisted routing configuration for present and future routing events through simple manipulation, such as drag and drop operations, of graphical objects. Routing control is further simplified by permitting operators to configure routing control of individual content stream components as well as groups of such components simultaneously. Further flexibility is permitted by predetermination of future routing events, thereby enabling the automatic execution of configuration changes at a future time. Various types of content, such as video, audio, IP data can be manipulated to achieve various results such as one or more multiplexed MPEG data streams.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface for providing real-time visual display of bandwidth utilization for dynamic content streams routed through a broadband media router with an input port and an output port, wherein said dynamic content streams are received by the input port and routed to the output port, the content streams having plural attributes that include variable bit rate, type and name, and the graphical user interface comprising for each of a plurality of said content streams:

a bandwidth utilization screen for displaying graphical objects representing real-time bandwidth utilization for each content stream of said plurality of said content streams, the bandwidth utilization screen comprising for each content stream of said plurality of content streams;

an input bandwidth utilization graphical object that changes in real-time as a function of the content stream;

an output bandwidth utilization graphical object that changes in real-time as a function of the content stream;

wherein;

for each content stream of said plurality of said content streams, the input bandwidth utilization graphical object and the output bandwidth utilization graphical object are displayed as attributes of a single bandwidth bar such that a separate bandwidth bar is simultaneously displayed for each content stream of said plurality of content streams.

2. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the content stream comprises plural components, and wherein selection of the bandwidth bar displays a detailed bandwidth utilization window displaying attributes of all of the content stream components.

3. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein output bandwidth utilization is recalculated and redisplayed in real-time in response to at least one content stream attribute being modified.

4. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth utilization screen further comprises a scrolling log message window for displaying system generated log messages in real-time.

5. The graphical user interface of claim 3 wherein the broadband media router comprises a transcoder which uses a transcoder algorithm to compress the bandwidth of the content stream and wherein the display is sensitive enough to permit operators to perform a visual assessment of the transcoding algorithm efficiency.

6. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth utilization screen further comprises bandwidth minima and maxima values over a given time period.

7. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth bar is displayed in a two dimensional plane defined between a pair of scaled perpendicular axes, and wherein the axes are automatically rescaled in response to changes in the content stream attributes.

8. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth bar further comprises, for each content stream of said plurality of content streams:

a maximum input bandwidth utilization graphical object; and

a minimum input bandwidth utilization graphical object.

9. A method of displaying real-time bandwidth utilization for dynamic content streams routed through a broadband media router, the content streams having attributes that vary over time, the method comprising for each of a plurality of said content streams:

displaying a graphical object representing input bandwidth utilization that changes in real-time as a function of the content stream;

displaying a graphical object representing output bandwidth utilization that changes in real-time as a function of the content stream;

displaying a graphical object representing maximum input bandwidth utilization for the content stream; and

displaying a graphical object representing minimum input bandwidth utilization for the content stream;

wherein all of the graphical objects for each content stream of said plurality of content streams form a single bandwidth bar such that a separate bandwidth bar is displayed simultaneously for each content stream of said plurality of content streams.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising varying the height of the bandwidth bar as a function of at least one of the content stream attributes.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the content streams each comprise plural hierarchical components and wherein the method further comprises separately displaying at least one attribute of all of the plural components of one content stream in response to selection of the content stream.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein separately displaying at least one attribute of all of the plural components comprises displaying unique alphanumeric character strings obtained from the plural component streams.