System and method for determining segment and link bandwidth capacities
First Claim
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1. A method for determining segment bandwidth capacity of a test segment in a network, the method comprising:
- identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first router and a second router;
sending a plurality of packet profiles from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links, each link of the plurality of links connecting a source node with a destination node, each link including the test segment, and each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes;
manipulating start times for sending the plurality of packet profiles from the plurality of source nodes so that the plurality of packet profiles flow through the test segment simultaneously, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet profiles at specific start times; and
receiving the plurality of packet profiles at the plurality of destination nodes, wherein each of the packet profiles comprises a plurality of packets, and byte count measurements and time stamps are made at the plurality of destination nodes.
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Abstract
A method for determining bandwidth capacity of a test segment by sending one or more short packet bursts or streams from unique source smart nodes (SNs) over a link, which has the test segment, to one or more destination SNs. Selected source SNs send packet bursts or streams to other selected SNs at precise times so that the packet bursts or streams traverse the test segment simultaneously. Analyses of the traffic flow patterns at the destination SNs, including byte count measurements and time stamps, are used to determine the bandwidth capacity of the test segment.
25 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method for determining segment bandwidth capacity of a test segment in a network, the method comprising:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first router and a second router; sending a plurality of packet profiles from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links, each link of the plurality of links connecting a source node with a destination node, each link including the test segment, and each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes; manipulating start times for sending the plurality of packet profiles from the plurality of source nodes so that the plurality of packet profiles flow through the test segment simultaneously, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet profiles at specific start times; and receiving the plurality of packet profiles at the plurality of destination nodes, wherein each of the packet profiles comprises a plurality of packets, and byte count measurements and time stamps are made at the plurality of destination nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 43)
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11. A method for determining bandwidth capacity of a test segment in a time synchronized network, the method comprising:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first network device and a second network device; sending a plurality of packet bursts from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links so that the plurality of packet bursts flow through the test segment simultaneously, each link including at least the test segment, each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet bursts at specific start times; and receiving a packet burst of the plurality of packet burst at a destination node of the plurality of destination nodes, the packet burst comprising a plurality of packets, wherein a first time stamp TSfirst of the first packet of the packet burst, a last time stamp TSlast of the last packet of the packet burst and a byte count measurement measuring the bytes Bytestotal in the packet burst are made at the destination node, the bandwidth capacity of the test segment in bit per second being calculated using an expression, - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method for determining bandwidth capacity of a test segment in a non-time synchronized network, the method comprising:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first network device and a second network device; sending a plurality of packet streams from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links so that the plurality of packet streams flow through the test segment simultaneously, each link including at least the test segment, each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet streams at specific start times, the plurality of packet streams each having a length Lsingle that ensures at least two measurements for byte count measurement can be made at a destination node; receiving the packet streams at the plurality of destination nodes, the packet streams comprising a plurality of packets; taking at least two measurements MTn, MTn−
1 at each of the destination nodes while the packet streams are being received, the two measurements MTn, MTn−
1 being separated by a measurement period T; andmaking a byte count measurement measuring the bytes Bytestotal in each of the packet streams between the measurements MTn, MTn−
1 at each of the destination nodes, the bandwidth capacity for each of the packet streams of the test segment in bit per second being calculated using an expression,wherein MTn represents a measurement time when a lowest byte count is measured, MTn−
1 represents a measurement time before the lowest byte count is measured, and Bytestotal represents a byte count total during a measurement period with the lowest byte count, and the total bandwidth capacity equals a sum of all the smallest bandwidth capacities of each of the packet streams.- View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A network system for determining bandwidth capacity of a test segment in a network, comprising:
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a plurality of links interconnecting nodes residing on the edge of the network, each of the links being identified as commonly sharing the test segment; a plurality of source nodes that send a plurality of packet profiles for traveling through the plurality of links, each link including the test segment, the plurality of packet profiles being sent at specific start times so that the plurality of packet profiles flow through the test segment simultaneously; a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet profiles at the specific start times; and a plurality of destination nodes that receive the plurality of packet profiles, wherein each of the packet profiles comprises a plurality of packets, and byte count measurements and time stamps are made at the plurality of destination nodes. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 44)
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28. A computer readable medium for use in conjunction with a network system including a plurality of nodes for determining segment bandwidth capacity, the computer readable medium including computer readable instructions encoded thereon for:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first router and a second router; sending a plurality of packet profiles from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links, each link connecting a source node with a destination node, each link including the test segment, and each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes; manipulating start times for sending the plurality packet profiles from the plurality of source nodes so that the plurality of packet profiles flow through the test segment simultaneously, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet profiles at specific start times; and receiving the plurality of packet profiles at the plurality of destination nodes, wherein each of the packet profiles comprises a plurality of packets, and byte count measurements and time stamps are made at the plurality of destination nodes. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 45)
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38. A computer readable medium for use in conjunction with a time synchronized network system including a plurality of nodes for determining segment bandwidth capacity, the computer readable medium including computer readable instructions encoded thereon for:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first network device and a second network device; sending a plurality of packet bursts from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links so that the plurality of packet bursts flow through the test segment simultaneously, each link including at least the test segment, each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet bursts at specific start times; and receiving a packet burst of the plurality of packet burst at a destination node of the plurality of destination nodes, the packet burst comprising a plurality of packets, wherein a first time stamp TSfirst of the first packet of the packet burst, a last time stamp TSlast of the last packet of the packet burst and a byte count measurement measuring the bytes Bytestotal in the packet burst are made at the destination node, the bandwidth capacity of the test segment in bit per second being calculated using an expression, - View Dependent Claims (39)
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40. A computer readable medium for use in conjunction with a non-time synchronized network system including a plurality of nodes for determining segment bandwidth capacity, the computer readable medium including computer readable instructions encoded thereon for:
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identifying a plurality of links that commonly share the test segment to be tested, the test segment being directly connected to a first network device and a second network device; sending a plurality of packet streams from a plurality of source nodes to a plurality of destination nodes via the plurality of links so that the plurality of packet streams flow through the test segment simultaneously, each link including at least the test segment, each of the plurality of source nodes being under the centralized control of a central server remote to each of the plurality of source nodes, wherein the central server is utilized to command the plurality of source nodes to send the plurality of packet streams at specific start times, the plurality of packet streams each having a length Lsingle that ensures at least two measurements for byte count measurement can be made at a destination node; receiving the packet streams at the plurality of destination nodes, the packet streams comprising a plurality of packets; taking at least two measurements MTn, MTn−
1 at each of the destination nodes while the packet streams are being received, the two measurements MTn, MTn−
1 being separated by a measurement period T; andmaking a byte count measurement measuring the bytes Bytestotal in each of the packet streams between the measurements MTn, MTn−
1 at each of the destination nodes, the bandwidth capacity for each of the packet streams of the test segment in bit per second being calculated using an expression,wherein MTn represents a measurement time when a lowest byte count is measured, MTn−
1 represents a measurement time before the lowest byte count is measured, and Bytestotal represents a byte count total during a measurement period with the lowest byte count, and the total bandwidth capacity equals a sum of all the smallest bandwidth capacities of each of the packet streams.- View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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Specification