Method and apparatus for analysis of VoIP network performance

• US 7,746,844 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Florissi, Patricia, Vijendra, Sudhir
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao; Seema S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong; Xavier Szewai
• Application Number:
  US11/823,930
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-356, 379/219
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/142 using statistical or mathematical methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/091 Measuring contribution of individual network components to actual service level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1053 IP private branch exchange [PBX] functionality entities or arrangements circuit switched PBXs H04M3/00

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer product for modeling and analyzing performance of a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) configuration, composed of a plurality of components, is disclosed. The method comprises the step of representing selected ones of the plurality of components and relationships among the selected components, wherein said component representations are selected from the group of configuration non-specific representations consisting of: VoIP-DHCP Service, VoIP-CallOperation Service, VoIP_Signaling Service, VoIP_MediaGateway Service and VoIP_SIP Service, and wherein the representations of relationships are selected from the group of configuration non-specification representations consisting of: Hostedby/HostsServices and Integrates/IntegratedIn, providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in the selected components, the mapping representing the relationships along which the first events propagate among the selected components, and determining at least one first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events.

Claims

1. A method for modeling and analyzing performance of a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) configuration, composed of a plurality of components, said method comprising the steps of:

one or more computers generating a model representing selected ones of the plurality of components and relationships among the selected components, wherein said component representations are selected from the group of configuration non-specific representations consisting of;

VoIP-DHCP Service, VoIP-CallOperation Service, VoIP_Signaling Service, VoIP_MediaGateway Service and VoIP_SIP Service, and wherein the representations of relationships are selected from the group of configuration non-specific representations consisting of;

HostedBy/HostsServices and Integrates/IntegratedIn;

the one or more computers generating a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in the selected components, said mapping representing the relationships along which the first events propagate among the selected components, and

the one or more computers determining at least one first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

representing selected ones of the plurality of components, and associated relationships, associated with each of a plurality of domains, wherein at least one of the plurality of components is associated with at least two of the domains;

providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in components in each of the domains, wherein selected ones of the first events and second events are associated with the at least one component associated with at least two of the domains;

determining at least one first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a mismatch measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events in each domain; and

determining a likely first event by correlating the likely first events associated with each of the domains.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second events are selected from the group consisting of:

causing events, observable events, problems, symptoms.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the values are selected from the group consisting of:

deterministic and probabilistic.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said measure is a Hamming distance.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the causing events are associated with performance issues selected from the group consisting of:

jitter, Mean Opinion Score (MoS), delay and packet loss.

6. An apparatus for analyzing a Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) configuration containing a plurality of components, the apparatus comprising:

a processor in communication with a memory, the processor executing computer code for executing the steps of;

representing, in a model on one or more computers, selected ones of the plurality of components and relationships among the selected components, wherein said component representations are selected from the group of configuration non-specific representations consisting of;

VoIP-DHCP Service, VoIP-CallOperation Service, VoIP_Signaling Service, VoIP_MediaGateway Service and VoIP_SIP Service, and wherein the representations of relationships are selected from the group of configuration non-specification representations consisting of;

Hostedby/HostsServices and Integrates/IntegratedIn;

providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in the selected components, said mapping representing the relationships along which the first events propagate among the selected components, and

determining at least one first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the processor further executing code for executing the step of:

representing selected ones of the plurality of components, and associated relations, associated with each of a plurality of domains, wherein at least one of the plurality of components is associated with at least two of the domains;

providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in components in each of the domains, wherein selected ones of the first events and second events are associated with the at least one component associated with at least two of the domains;

determining at least first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events in each domain; and

determining a likely first event by correlating the likely first events associated with each of the domains.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the first and second events are selected from the group consisting of:

causing events, observable events, problems and symptoms.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

an input/output device in communication with the processor.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the values are selected from the group consisting of:

deterministic and probabilistic.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein said measure is a Hamming distance.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the causing events are associated with performance issues selected from the group consisting of:

jitter, Mean Opinion Score (MoS), delay and packet loss.

12. A computer program product for analyzing a Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) configuration containing a plurality of components, by providing instruction to a processor enabling the processor to execute the steps of:

representing, in a model on one or more computers, selected ones of the plurality of components and relationships among the selected components, wherein said component representations are selected from the group of configuration non-specific representations consisting of;

VoIP-DHCP Service, VoIP-CallOperation Service, VoIP_Signaling Service, VoIP_MediaGateway Service and VoIP_SIP Service, and wherein the representations of relationships are selected from the group of configuration non-specification representations consisting of;

Hostedby/HostsServices and Integrates/IntegratedIn;

providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in the selected components, said mapping representing the relationships along which the first events propagate among the selected components, and

determining at least one first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events.

13. The computer program product as recited in claim 12, further providing instruction for enabling the processor to execute the steps of:

representing selected ones of the plurality of components and associated relationship associated with each of a plurality of domains, wherein at least one of the plurality of components is associated with at least two of the domains;

providing a mapping between a plurality of first events and a plurality of second events occurring in components in each of the domains, wherein selected ones of the first events and second events are associated with the at least one component associated with at least two of the domains;

determining at least first event based on at least one of the plurality of second events by determining a measure between each of a plurality of relationship values associated with the plurality of first events and the plurality of second events in each domain; and

determining a likely first event by correlating the likely first events associated with each of the domains.

14. The computer program product as recited in claim 12, wherein the first and second events are selected from the group consisting of:

causing events, observable events, problems and symptoms.

15. The computer program product as recited in claim 12, wherein the values are selected from the group consisting of:

deterministic and probabilistic.

16. The computer program product as recited in claim 12, wherein said measure is a Hamming distance.

19. The computer-program product as recited in claim 12, wherein causing events are associated with performance issues selected from the group consisting of:

jitter, Mean Opinion Score (MoS), delay and packet loss.