Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring networks

• US 8,228,818 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2005
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chase, Christopher J., Duffield, Nicholas G., Greenberg, Albert G., Spatscheck, Oliver, Van der Merwe, Jacobus E., Shackleton, Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Anh-Vu H
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M
• Application Number:
  US11/237,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20060291473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,491 Days
• Field of Search: 370/232, 370/233, 370/234
• US Class Current: 370/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• 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 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/14 using software, i.e. software packages network security related monitoring H04L63/1408
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/033 by updating distance vector protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]

Abstract

Certain exemplary embodiments comprise a method comprising: for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a dynamic tunnel, automatically diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a processing complex; and automatically forwarding the selected traffic from the processing complex toward the predetermined destination.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and that is addressed to a predetermined destination via a first route;

determining selected traffic as a subset of the traffic addressed to the predetermined destination based on the selected traffic being associated with a multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

mapping a measurement node into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to the measurement node while allowing non-selected traffic to proceed to the predetermined destination without diversion to the measurement node, wherein the diverting of the selected traffic is performed via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel from an intelligent route service control processor advertisement of a more preferred route to the predetermined destination of the measurement node;

dynamically inserting passive and active probes into the virtual private network traversed by the selected traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement node enables the active probes to be dynamically mapped into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

forwarding the selected traffic from the measurement node toward any one of a plurality of routing entities comprising the backbone network, wherein the plurality of routing entities are not the predetermined ingress point and the plurality of routing entities are adapted to forward the selected traffic to the predetermined destination; and

receiving statistical information regarding the selected traffic from the measurement node that is adapted to intermittently transmit the statistical information regarding the selected traffic.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically processing the selected traffic via the measurement node, the measurement node reachable within the virtual private network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is a multi-protocol label switching tunnel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is a generic route encapsulation tunnel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is a level-2 tunnel protocol tunnel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is an IPSec tunnel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selected traffic is carried by a virtual private network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selected traffic is carried by a virtual private network created from a virtual routing forwarding table.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the probes inserted into the virtual private network are active probes comprising predetermined bits adapted to initiate an action in return.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the probes inserted into the virtual private network are passive probes comprising predetermined bits not adapted to initiate an action in return.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically inserting probes into the backbone network.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

via an internal border gateway protocol manipulating a distribution of a plurality of border gateway protocol routes in the backbone network, the selected traffic rerouted to the measurement node responsive to;

a border gateway protocol route of the plurality of border gateway protocol routes; and

advertisement of a changed next hop address and a changed prefix length for the selected traffic, the changed next hop address determined responsive to a received classless inter domain routing block associated with the selected traffic.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating an interface between the ingress point and the measurement node.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inserting the measurement node into an existing virtual private network comprised by the backbone network.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inserting the measurement node into an existing virtual private network that comprises the predetermined ingress point.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing the predetermined ingress point to route the selected traffic through the measurement node, the predetermined ingress point adapted to automatically install a route of a border gateway protocol advertisement in a forwarding table.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

coupling a virtual private network with the measurement node.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically advertising a predetermined route associated with the measurement node to the predetermined ingress point.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

advertising a preferred route to the measurement node, wherein the preferred route comprises a longer prefix than any route determined by the predetermined ingress point.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forming a tunnel between a routing entity comprised by the measurement node and a routing entity intermediate to the predetermined destination.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a characteristic of at least a portion of the backbone network via the measurement node.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a characteristic of the selected traffic via the measurement node.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a communication from the measurement node, automatically ceasing diversion of the selected traffic to the measurement node.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer instructions for:

identifying traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and that is addressed to a predetermined destination via a first route;

determining selected traffic as a subset of the traffic addressed to the predetermined destination based on the selected traffic being associated with a multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

mapping a measurement node into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to the measurement node while allowing non-selected traffic to proceed to the predetermined destination without diversion to the measurement node, wherein the diverting of the selected traffic is performed via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel from an intelligent route service control processor advertisement of a more preferred route to the predetermined destination of the measurement node;

dynamically inserting probes into the virtual private network traversed by the selected traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement node enables the active probes to be dynamically mapped into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

forwarding the selected traffic from the measurement node toward any one of a plurality of routing entities comprising the backbone network, wherein the plurality of routing entities are not the predetermined ingress point and the plurality of routing entities are adapted to forward the selected traffic to the predetermined destination; and

receiving statistical information regarding the selected traffic from the measurement node that is adapted to intermittently transmit the statistical information regarding the selected traffic.

24. A system, comprising:

a route controller adapted to;

identify traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and that is addressed to a predetermined destination via a first route;

determine selected traffic as a subset of the traffic addressed to the predetermined destination based on the selected traffic being associated with a multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

map a measurement node into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

divert the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to the measurement node while allowing non-selected traffic to proceed to the predetermined destination without diversion to the measurement node, wherein the diverting of the selected traffic is performed via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel from an intelligent route service control processor advertisement of a more preferred route to the predetermined destination of the measurement node;

dynamically insert passive and active probes into the virtual private network traversed by the selected traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement node enables the active probes to be dynamically mapped into the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network;

forward the selected traffic from the measurement node toward any one of a plurality of routing entities comprising the backbone network, wherein the plurality of routing entities are not the predetermined ingress point and the plurality of routing entities are adapted to forward the selected traffic to the predetermined destination; and

receive statistical information regarding the selected traffic from the measurement node that is adapted to intermittently transmit the statistical information regarding the selected traffic.