System and method for communicating network performance information over a packet network

• US 8,199,653 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2007
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Embarq Holdings Company LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bugenhagen, Michael K., Morrill, Robert J., Wiley, William L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivas, Salvador E
• Application Number:
  US11/809,917
• Publication Number:
  US 20080049626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/236.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/083 for increasing network speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/34 Signalling channels for network management communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• 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 43/091 Measuring contribution of individual network components to actual service level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/26 Route discovery packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]

Abstract

A system and method for communicating network performance information of a node segment of a packet network may include generating network performance information indicative of transmission characteristics of a node segment on a packet network. The network performance information may be included in a data packet and communicated using in-band signaling to a network communications device.

Claims

1. A system for communicating network performance information of a node segment of a packet network, said system comprising:

an input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate with at least one network communications device over a packet network; and

a processing unit in communication with said I/O unit and configured to generate network performance information indicative of transmission characteristics of a node segment on the packet network, said processing unit further configured to alter an existing data packet by including the network performance information and a node segment identifier identifying the node segment in a payload of the existing data packet, the payload of the existing data packet containing existing non-network performance information data, and communicate the existing data packet containing the altered payload that includes the network performance information, the node segment identifier identifying the node segment, and the existing non-network performance information data using in-band signaling to a network communications device.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data packet is a connectivity fault data packet.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the performance information data packet is an IEEE 802.1AG data packet.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing unit is further configured to:

read ITU-T Y.1731 counters;

derive values from the counters; and

include the derived values in the network performance information.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network performance information includes network performance information of data packets including real-time content communicated via said I/O unit over a time period.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the network performance information further includes network performance information of all data packets including content communicated via said I/O unit during the time period.

7. A method for communicating network performance information of a node segment of a packet network, said method comprising:

generating, using a processor, network performance information indicative of transmission characteristics of a node segment on a packet network;

including the network performance information and a node segment identifier identifying the node segment in a payload of an existing data packet, the payload of the existing data packet containing existing non-network performance information data, the network performance information distinguishing between a network performance of real-time data and the network performance of non-real-time data; and

communicating the data packet containing the network performance information, the node segment identifier identifying the node segment, and the existing non-network performance information data in the payload of the data packet using in-band signaling to a network communications device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein including the network performance information in a data packet includes including the network performance information in a connectivity fault data packet.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein including the network performance information in the information data packet includes including the network performance information in an IEEE 802.1AG data packet.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

reading ITU-T Y.1731 counters;

deriving values from the counters; and

including the derived values in the network performance information.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein including the network performance information includes concatenating the network performance information to network performance information of other network communications devices in the data packet.

12. The method according to claim 7, further comprising including network performance information of data packets including real-time content communicated over a time period.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising including network performance information of all data packets including content communicated during the time period.

14. A method for identifying communication problems within one or more packet networks, said method comprising:

generating, at a first network communications device, a first data packet including a first node segment identifier of the first network communications device and a first network performance information generated at the first network communications device;

communicating the first data packet including the first network performance information from the first network communications device to a second network communications device;

generating, at the second network communications device, a second data packet including a second node segment identifier of the second network communications device and a second network performance information generated at the second network communications device concatenated sequentially behind the first network performance information received from the first network communications device;

communicating the second data packet including the first and second network performance information from the second network communications device to a next network communications device along a communication path from the first communication to an end network node; and

repeating steps of generating network performance information at a receiving node, concatenating the network performance information generated at the receiving node sequentially behind a network performance information generated at the immediately preceding receiving node into a performance information packet and communicating the performance information packet to an immediately subsequent network communications device along the communication path until the performance information packet is received at the end network node.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein generating the first and second data packets includes generating first and second performance information data packets.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein generating the first and second performance information data packets includes generating first and second IEEE 802.1AG data packets.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein generating network performance information includes generating network performance information for data packets including real-time content communicated between the first and second network communications devices during a time period.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein generating network performance information includes generating network performance information for data packets including content communicated between the first and second network communications devices during the time period.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein generating the first data packet includes identifying, in the first data packet, the network performance information of communicated data packets including real-time content from data packets including content during the time period.

20. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

repeatedly generating and communicating data packets including network performance information from a network communications device at a first end of a transmission path via intermediate network communications devices to a network communications device at a second end of the transmission path; and

determining if a parameter of the network performance information received at the network communications device at the second end of the transmission path is affecting transmission quality across the transmission path.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein determining if the parameter of the network performance information is performed by a controller configured to control calls on the one or more packet networks.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein communicating the data packets across the transmission path includes communicating the data packets across multiple packet networks.

23. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

including a first identifier identifying the first network communications device in association with the first network performance information in the first data packet; and

including a second identifier identifying the second network communications device in association with the second network performance information in the second data packet.

24. The method according to claim 14, wherein generating the second data packet includes concatenating the second network performance information with the first network performance information.