Network device and method of measuring upstream bandwidth employed thereby

• US 8,289,868 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2009
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ambit Microsystems Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Ambit Microsystems Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Min, Zhen-Fa
• Primary Examiner(s): Thier, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIS, VINNCELAS
• Application Number:
  US12/551,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20100246422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,141 Days
• Field of Search: 370241-242, 370/232, 370/252, 370/352, 370/254, 370/389, 370/392, 709/224, 709/238
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route

Abstract

A network device measures upstream bandwidth of a communication network. The communication network includes a server and a plurality of communication nodes. The network device transmits a sequence of Internet control message protocol (ICMP) request datagrams corresponding to a sequence of time to live (TTL) increased from a first value to a second value to the server via the communication nodes. The network device designates the communication node that transmits an overtime datagram first as the best communication node, transmits a plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the best communication node, receives response datagrams and records receiving time thereof, and calculates the upstream bandwidth according to size of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams and the recorded receiving time of the response datagrams.

Claims

1. A network device for measuring upstream bandwidth of a communication network, the communication network comprising a server and a plurality of communication nodes configured between the network device and the server, the network device comprising a processor, a memory, and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and operable to be executed by the processor, the programs comprising:

a first transmission module operable to transmit a sequence of Internet control message protocol (ICMP) request datagrams corresponding to a sequence of time to live (TTL) to the server via the communication nodes, wherein the sequence of the TTL is increased by degrees from a first value to a second value and when one of the ICMP request datagrams reaches one of the communication nodes, the TTL of the ICMP request datagram is decreased by 1, when one of the communication nodes receives an ICMP request datagram with TTL of 1, the communication node transmits an overtime datagram to the network device, wherein the ICMP request datagrams corresponding to the sequence of TTL are transmitted to the server at the same time that the communication node transmits the overtime datagram to the network device;

a determination module operable to determine whether one of the communication nodes transmits the overtime datagram to the network device to respond one of the ICMP request datagrams transmitted by the first transmission module, and designate the communication node that transmits the overtime datagram first as the best communication node;

a second transmission module operable to transmit a plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the first responding node which is designed as the best communication node;

a receiving module operable to receive response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams from the best communication node and record receiving time of the response datagrams; and

a calculation module operable to calculate an upstream bandwidth according to size of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams and the recorded receiving time of the response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams;

wherein the first transmission module is further operable to increase the second value and transmit another sequence of ICMP request datagrams with another sequence of TTL from the first value to the increased second value when the network device does not receive the overtime datagram.

2. The network device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication network is an asymmetrical digital subscriber loop (ADSL) network.

3. The network device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams is transmitted to the best communication node at the same time.

4. The network device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the receiving time of the response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the best communication node comprises an earliest receiving time and a latest receiving time, wherein the earliest receiving time indicates the receiving time of the first received response datagram of the response datagrams, and the latest receiving time indicates the receiving time of the latest received response datagram of the response datagrams, wherein the upstream bandwidth is equal to a bit number of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the best communication node divided by a difference between the latest receiving time and the earliest receiving time, and the upstream bandwidth is obtained without utilizing roundtrip time of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams.

5. The network device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each ICMP detection datagram is of the same datagram size.

6. A method of measuring upstream bandwidth employed by a network device in a communication network comprising a server and a plurality of communication nodes configured between the network device and the server, the method comprising:

transmitting a sequence of Internet control message protocol (ICMP) request datagrams corresponding to a sequence of time to live (TTL) to the server via the communication nodes, wherein the sequence of the TTL is increased by degrees from a first value to a second value and when one of the ICMP request datagrams reaches one of the communication nodes, the TTL of the ICMP request datagram is decreased by 1, if one of the communication nodes receives an ICMP request datagram with TTL of 1, the communication node transmits an overtime datagram to the network device, wherein the ICMP request datagrams corresponding to the sequence of TTL are transmitted to the server at the same time that the communication node transmits the overtime datagram to the network device;

determining whether one of the communication nodes has transmitted the overtime datagram to the network device to respond one of the ICMP request datagrams transmitted by the first transmission module and designating the communication node that transmits the overtime datagram first as the best communication node;

increasing the second value and transmitting another sequence of ICMP request datagrams with another sequence of TTL from the first value to the increased second value when the network device does not receive the overtime datagram from the communication nodes;

transmitting a plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the first responding node which is designed as the best communication node;

receiving response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams from the best communication node and recording receiving time of the response datagrams; and

calculating the upstream bandwidth according to size of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams and the recorded receiving time of the response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communication network is an asymmetrical digital subscriber loop (ADSL) network.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams is transmitted to the best communication node at the same time.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the receiving time of the response datagrams corresponding to the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the best communication node comprises an earliest receiving time and a latest receiving time, wherein the earliest receiving time indicates the receiving time of the first received response datagram of the response datagrams, and the latest receiving time indicates the receiving time of the latest received response datagram of the response datagrams, wherein the upstream bandwidth is equal to a bit number of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams to the best communication node divided by a difference between the latest receiving time and the earliest receiving time, and the upstream bandwidth is obtained without utilizing roundtrip time of the plurality of ICMP detection datagrams.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein each ICMP detection datagram is of the same datagram size.