Time-based monitoring of service level agreements
First Claim
1. A network device configured for monitoring a level of network service provided by a service provider, comprising:
- a network interface;
a processor coupled to the network interface and receiving information from the network interface;
a computer-readable medium accessible by the processor and comprising one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;
receiving a schema that provides a configuration for monitoring a service level contract between the service provider and a particular customer, wherein the schema comprises;
data defining one or more metric tests for monitoring the level of network service being provided to the particular customer by the service provider, each said metric test measuring a level of service of a particular type of network operation, and including a set of one or more threshold values that define one or more particular performance metrics for the particular type of network operation, andinformation defining a specific time range for when the one or more metric tests are to be performed; and
distributing the one or more metric tests to one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents configure devices associated with the network to perform the one or more metric tests during the specific time range and receive result information from the devices performing the one or more metric tests, wherein each of the one or more metric tests is selected from the group consisting of ICMP metric test, UDP metric test, DNS metric test, HTTP metric test and VoIP metric test.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A Time-Based Service Monitoring mechanism for monitoring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) over specific time intervals is described. To provide for the time-based monitoring of service, data is received for defining one or more tests for monitoring the level of network service that is being provided to a particular customer. Based on the received data, information is created and stored that defines a specific time range for when the one or more tests are to be enforced. The one or more tests are distributed to one or more agents that are configured to communicate with devices that are associated with the network. The devices are then configured to perform the one or more tests within the specific time range. Based on the results, the customer is provided information indicating whether they are receiving the level of service that has been guaranteed by the service provider over the specific time intervals.
231 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A network device configured for monitoring a level of network service provided by a service provider, comprising:
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a network interface; a processor coupled to the network interface and receiving information from the network interface; a computer-readable medium accessible by the processor and comprising one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of; receiving a schema that provides a configuration for monitoring a service level contract between the service provider and a particular customer, wherein the schema comprises; data defining one or more metric tests for monitoring the level of network service being provided to the particular customer by the service provider, each said metric test measuring a level of service of a particular type of network operation, and including a set of one or more threshold values that define one or more particular performance metrics for the particular type of network operation, and information defining a specific time range for when the one or more metric tests are to be performed; and distributing the one or more metric tests to one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents configure devices associated with the network to perform the one or more metric tests during the specific time range and receive result information from the devices performing the one or more metric tests, wherein each of the one or more metric tests is selected from the group consisting of ICMP metric test, UDP metric test, DNS metric test, HTTP metric test and VoIP metric test. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for monitoring a level of network service provided by a service provider, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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receiving a schema that provides a configuration for monitoring a service level contract between the service provider and a particular customer, wherein the schema comprises; data defining one or more metric tests for monitoring the level of network service being provided to the particular customer by the service provider, each said metric test measuring a level of service of a particular type of network operation, and including a set of one or more threshold values that correspond to one or more particular performance metrics for the particular type of network operation, and information defining a specific time range for when the one or more metric tests are to be performed; and distributing the one or more metric tests to one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents configure devices associated with the network to automatically perform the one or more metric tests during the specific time range, and receive result information from the devices performing the one or more metric tests, wherein each of the one or more metric tests is selected from the group consisting of ICMP metric test, UDP metric test, DNS metric test, HTTP metric test and VoIP metric test. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 18)
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11. A computer readable storage medium carrying sequences of instructions for monitoring a level of network service provided by a service provider, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:
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receiving a schema that provides a configuration for monitoring a service level contract between the service provider and a particular customer, wherein the schema comprises; data defining one or more metric tests for monitoring the level of network service being provided to the particular customer by the service provider, each said metric test measuring a level of service of a particular type of network operation, and including a set of one or more threshold values that define one or more particular performance metrics for the particular type of network operation, and information defining a specific time range for when the one or more metric tests are to be performed; and distributing the one or more metric tests to one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents configure devices associated with the network to perform the one or more metric tests during the specific time range and receive result information from the devices performing the one or more metric tests, wherein each of the one or more metric tests is selected from the group consisting of ICMP metric test, UDP metric test, DNS metric test, HTTP metric test and VoIP metric test. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A network device configured for monitoring a level of network service provided by a service provider, comprising:
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means for receiving a schema that provides a configuration for monitoring a service level contract between the service provider and a particular customer, wherein the schema comprises; data defining one or more metric tests for monitoring the level of network service being provided to the particular customer by the service provider, each said metric test measuring a level of service of a particular type of network operations, and including a set of one or more threshold values that define one or more particular performance metrics for the particular type of network operation, and information defining a specific time range for when the one or more metric tests are to be performed; and means for distributing the one or more metric tests to one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents configure devices associated with the network to perform the one or more metric tests during the specific time range and receive result information from the devices performing the one or more metric tests, wherein each of the one or more metric tests is selected from the group consisting of ICMP metric test, UDP metric test, DNS metric test, HTTP metric test and VoIP metric test. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification