System and method for service quality management for wireless devices

• US 7,925,740 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2006
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mformation Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Nath, Badri, Kushwaha, Rakesh, Massam, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zong, Ruolei
• Application Number:
  US11/495,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20070026854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 709/244, 709201-203, 709217-219, 709223-229, 455/67.11, 455/67.14, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/423, 370/252, 370/253, 714/47
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Abstract

A system and method for detecting and recording events related to the quality of service experienced by a wireless device in a wireless network. In one example, these events may be detected and recorded by the wireless device, without support from the network. Performance monitoring tests may be initiated by the wireless device at the direction of a management server, independent of the network in which the device may be operating. The wireless device may store the results of these tests and report the results to the management server.

Claims

1. A method of determining quality of service provided by a network to a wireless device, the method comprising acts of:

receiving, on the wireless device, a performance test command communicated to the wireless device over the network, the performance test command identifying a performance test to be conducted by the wireless device;

parsing the performance test command at the wireless device to determine at least one condition for which the performance test is to be conducted, and at least one network performance parameter to monitor during the performance test;

setting, on the wireless device, at least one trap to execute in response to occurrence of the at least one condition; and

responsive to execution of the trap, detecting, on the wireless device, the at least one network performance parameter and recording, on the wireless device, information relating to the at least one network performance parameter;

wherein the at least one condition is a connection attempt failure, and wherein the acts of detecting and recording are performed each time an attempt to establish a connection between the wireless device and a network node of the network fails over a period of time in which the wireless device is not currently connected to the network node.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one network performance parameter includes detecting a first network performance parameter of a first network, and detecting a second network performance parameter of a second network.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the act of recording further includes recording a state of at least one of the wireless device and the network at a time when the attempt to establish the connection fails.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising providing the information to a management server.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising sending the performance test command from the management server to the wireless device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising authenticating the performance test command at the wireless device prior to parsing the performance test command.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the act of parsing further comprises parsing the performance test command at the wireless device to determine a type of test to be conducted by the wireless device.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one network performance parameter includes detecting the at least one network performance parameter during a period in which the wireless device is not connected to the network.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one network performance parameter includes a type of service coverage.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the act of recording includes an act of indexing the information with at least one of a location stamp indicative of a location of the wireless device and a local time stamp indicative of a time of detection of the at least one network performance parameter.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of recording further includes recording a number of times the attempt to establish a connection between the wireless device and the network node of the network fails.

12. A system for network service quality management, the system comprising:

a wireless device capable of establishing a connection with a target server in a network; and

a device agent constructed and arranged to interface with software on the wireless device and to detect and record, on the wireless device, performance data relating to the network;

wherein the device agent is configured to receive a performance test command identifying a performance test to be conducted by the wireless device, to parse the performance test command to determine at least one condition for which the performance test is to be conducted, the at least one condition being a connection attempt failure, and to set at least one trap to be executed in response to occurrence of the at least one condition that detects and records the performance data relating to the network each time a connection attempt fails between the wireless device and the target server over a period of time in which the wireless device is not currently connected to the target server.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a management server capable of communicating with the device agent.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the management server is constructed and arranged to provide the performance test command to the device agent.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the performance test command includes instructions identifying a record format in which the device agent is to report the performance data to the management server.

16. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the performance test command specifies the at least one trap to be installed on the wireless device by the device agent to detect the performance data.

17. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the device agent is configured to provide the performance data to the management server in accordance with a policy specified in the performance test command.

18. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the device agent is further constructed and arranged to authenticate the performance test command prior to conducting the test.

19. A system for service quality management in wireless networks, the system comprising:

a management server;

a wireless device capable of establishing a connection to the wireless networks; and

a device agent coupled to the wireless device and constructed and arranged to receive instructions from the management server, to parse the instructions to determine at least one condition for which a performance test is to be conducted, to set a trap to conduct the performance test on the wireless device based on the instructions and in response to occurrence of the at least one condition, to store, on the wireless device, test results from the performance test, and to provide the test results to the management server;

wherein the at least one condition being a connection attempt failure; and

wherein the test results include a state of at least one of the wireless device and the wireless networks and a number of times an attempt to establish a connection between the wireless device and a node in at least one of the wireless networks fails over a period of time in which the wireless device is not currently connected to the node in the at least one of the wireless networks.