Fault detection in a transport network

• US 7,933,214 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Stjernholm, Paul, Zee, Oscar, Nylander, Tomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao; Kwang B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Skripnikov; Alex
• Application Number:
  US12/201,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20100054140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/507 Filtering out customers affected by service problems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route

Abstract

A device associated with a transport network generates a first traceroute through the transport network, and monitors a performance measure associated with the transport network. The device also compares the performance measure to a criterion, and determines degradation in the transport network when the performance measure matches the criterion. The device further generates a second traceroute through the transport network when the degradation occurs in the transport network, where the first and second traceroutes are used to determine a source of the degradation in the transport network.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a device associated with a transport network, comprising:

generating a first traceroute through the transport network;

monitoring a performance measure associated with the transport network;

comparing the performance measure to a criterion;

determining degradation in the transport network when the performance measure matches the criterion;

generating a second traceroute through the transport network when the degradation occurs in the transport network; and

identifying a node in the transport network that is a source of the degradation in the transport network in response to the node being common to paths of the first and second traceroutes,

wherein generating the first traceroute comprises;

in response to the transport network comprising a secure intranet portion and an unsecure Internet portion, generating the first traceroute through one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) a tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network and repeating generation of the first traceroute through the other one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a notification of degradation in the transport network to an operations support system (OSS); and

providing information associated with the first traceroute and the second traceroute to the OSS.

3. The method of claim 1, where the device comprises a base station associated with access nodes communicating with the transport network.

4. The method of claim 1, where the performance measure comprises one or more of:

packet losses associated with the transport network;

latency associated with the transport network;

or

jitter associated with the transport network.

5. The method of claim 1, where the source of the degradation in the transport network comprises one or more of:

one or more network devices associated with the transport network;

or

one or more links associated with the transport network.

6. The method of claim 1, where the criterion comprises a threshold for comparing to the performance measure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of a plurality of radio base stations carry out the generating the first traceroute through one of 1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and 2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network and repeating generation of the first traceroute through the other one of 1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and 2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network in response in response to the transport network comprising the secure intranet portion and the unsecure Internet portion.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a node in the transport network that is a source of the degradation in the transport network comprises correlating information from the first and second traceroutes within a defined time frame.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a node in the transport network that is a source of the degradation in the transport network comprises correlating information from the first and second traceroutes to a defined end point in the transport network.

10. A method, performed by a device associated with a transport network, comprising:

generating a first traceroute through the transport network;

monitoring a performance measure associated with the transport network;

comparing the performance measure to a criterion;

determining degradation in the transport network when the performance measure matches the criterion;

generating a second traceroute through the transport network when the degradation occurs in the transport network; and

identifying a node in the transport network that is a source of the degradation in the transport network in response to the node being common to paths of the first and second traceroutes,

wherein generating the second traceroute comprises;

in response to the transport network comprising a secure intranet portion and an unsecure Internet portion, generating the second traceroute through one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) a tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network and repeating generation of the second traceroute through the other one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network.

11. A device associated with a transport network, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

generate a first traceroute through the transport network,

monitor a performance measure associated with the transport network,

compare the performance measure to a criterion,

determine that degradation in the transport network has occurred when the performance measure matches the criterion,

generate a second traceroute through the transport network in response to the determined degradation in the transport network, and

provide, to an operations support system (OSS), a notification of the determined degradation in the transport network and information associated with the first traceroute and the second traceroute, where the OSS uses the information associated with the first and second traceroutes to identify a node in the transport network that is a source of the determined degradation in the transport network in response to the node being common to paths of the first and second traceroutes,

wherein, when generating the first traceroute, the processor is further configured to;

respond to the transport network comprising a secure intranet portion and an unsecure Internet portion by generating the first traceroute through one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) a tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network and repeating generation of the first traceroute through the other one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network.

12. A device associated with a transport network, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

generate a first traceroute through the transport network,

monitor a performance measure associated with the transport network,

compare the performance measure to a criterion,

determine that degradation in the transport network has occurred when the performance measure matches the criterion,

generate a second traceroute through the transport network in response to the determined degradation in the transport network, and

provide, to an operations support system (OSS), a notification of the determined degradation in the transport network and information associated with the first traceroute and the second traceroute, where the OSS uses the information associated with the first and second traceroutes to identify a node in the transport network that is a source of the determined degradation in the transport network in response to the node being common to paths of the first and second traceroutes,

wherein, when generating the second traceroute, the processor is further configured to;

respond to the transport network comprising a secure intranet portion and an unsecure Internet portion by generating the second traceroute through one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) a tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network and repeating generation of the second traceroute through the other one of

     1) the unsecure Internet portion of the transport network and

     2) the tunnel through the secure intranet portion of the transport network.

13. The device of claim 12, where the device comprises a base station associated with access nodes communicating with the transport network.

14. The device of claim 12, where the performance measure comprises one or more of:

packet losses associated with the transport network,

latency associated with the transport network, or

jitter associated with the transport network.

15. The device of claim 12, where the source of the determined degradation in the transport network comprises one or more of:

one or more network devices associated with the transport network, or

one or more links associated with the transport network.

16. The device of claim 12, where the criterion comprises a threshold for comparing to the performance measure.