Method and apparatus for dial plan debugging

• US 8,484,324 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2005
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hegde, Prashant P., Shankar J., Shiva
• Primary Examiner(s): CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT B
• Application Number:
  US11/270,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,798 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/202, 709/204, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0084 Network monitoring; Error detection; Error recovery; Network testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13162 Fault indication and localisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13166 Fault prevention
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13349 Network management
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0075 Fault management techniques

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus for dial plan debugging are provided in the invention. The method includes hop-by-hop debugging of large inter-networks. Information related to a next hop is received at each hop. A set of results, based on this information, including the route pattern of a call, is displayed. The displayed information indicates nodes at which the call may fail. Back-routing of the call in case the call may fail is also described.

Claims

1. A method for dial plan debugging in a network comprising a plurality of call agents, the method comprising:

receiving, at a Network Management System (NMS), information for a source phone number and a destination phone number and an address of a first call agent, the source phone number corresponding to a source device, and the destination phone number corresponding to a destination device, wherein the first call agent is configured to receive a data packet from the source device;

sending a correspondence from the NMS to the first call agent to determine another call agent in a plurality of call agents that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

receiving information from the first call agent regarding the other call agent that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

determining whether the other call agent is the destination device;

upon determining that the other call agent is the destination, sending information from the NMS to the source device to inform the source device of a path of the data packet from the source device to the destination device, wherein sending information from the NMS to the source device regarding the path of the data packet occurs prior to the source device sending the data packet to the first call agent; and

upon determining that the other call agent is not the destination device;

performing the sending the correspondence to each call agent in the plurality of call agents and receiving information from the respective call agent in the plurality of call agents until one of the call agents indicates that a next call agent is the destination device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the other call agent comprises an Internet protocol (IP) address, a transformed source, and a destination phone number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a call is routed using a set of call routing rules, the set of call routing rules comprising a first rule for adding a first prefix and a second rule for removing a second prefix.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising back routing the call when information regarding the other call agent is not receivable.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising simulating failures of at least one of the call agents to check back routing of the call.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

upon determining that the other call agent is the destination device;

displaying, in the NMS, a set of results in response to the other call agent being the destination device, the set of results including the received information from each call agent in the plurality of call agents that forwarded the data packet.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the displaying the set of results comprises displaying details of a route pattern used for routing a call.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the displaying the set of results comprises displaying each of the call agents in a call route for a call.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the displaying the set of results comprises displaying a transformed number based on the destination phone number and a set of call routing rules, wherein the set of call routing rules is applied to a call.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the transformed number comprises the destination phone number translated into one or more Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

11. A system for dial plan debugging in a network comprising a plurality of call agents, the system comprising:

a Network Management System (NMS) connected to a plurality of call agents, a source device and a destination device, the NMS configured to;

receive, from the source device, information for a source phone number, a destination phone number and an address of a first call agent, the source phone number corresponding to a source device, and the destination phone number corresponding to a destination device, wherein the first call agent is configured to receive a data packet from the source device;

send a correspondence to the first call agent to determine another call agent in a plurality of call agents that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

receive information from the first call agent regarding the other call agent that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

determine whether the other call agent is the destination device;

upon determining that the other call agent is the destination, send information from the NMS to the source device to inform the source device of a path of the data packet from the source device to the destination device, wherein the sending of the information from the NMS to the source device regarding the path of the data packet occurs prior to the source device sending the data packet to the first call agent; and

upon determining that the other call agent is not the destination device;

performing the sending the correspondence to each call agent in the plurality of call agents and receiving information from the respective call agent in the plurality of call agents until one of the call agents indicates that a next call agent is the destination device; and

the plurality of call agents.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the display module is configured to display details of a route pattern used for routing a call.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the display module is configured to display each of the call agents in the path.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the display module is configured to display:

a transformed number based on the destination phone number and a set of call routing rules, wherein the transformed number is the destination phone number translated into one or more Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising a display module that comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) coupled to a user interface module.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the NMS further comprises:

a user interface (UI), upon determining that the other call agent is the destination device, configured to display a set of results in response to the other call agent being the destination device, the set of results including the received information from each call agent in the plurality that forwarded the data packet,

wherein the call agents are configured to;

receive the data packet;

receive the correspondence from the NMS to determine another call agent in the plurality of call agents that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

determine the other call agent in the plurality of call agents that the data packet will be forwarded; and

send information to the NMS regarding the other call agent that the data packet will be forwarded.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions executable by a processor for dial plan debugging in a network comprising a plurality of call agents, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising:

at least one instruction for receiving, at a Network Management System (NMS), information for a source phone number and a destination phone number and an address of a first call agent, the source phone number corresponding to a source device, and the destination phone number corresponding to a destination device, wherein the first call agent is configured to receive a data packet from the source device;

at least one instruction for sending a correspondence from the NMS to the first call agent to determine another call agent in a plurality of call agents that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

at least one instruction for receiving information from the first call agent regarding the other call agent that the first call agent will forward the data packet;

at least one instruction for determining whether the other call agent is the destination device;

upon determining that the other call agent is the destination, at least one instruction for sending information from the NMS to the source device to inform the source device of a path of the data packet from the source device to the destination device, wherein the sending information from the NMS to the source device regarding the path of the data packet occurs prior to the source device sending the data packet to the first call agent; and

upon determining that the other call agent is not the destination device;

instructions for performing the sending the correspondence to each call agent in the plurality of call agents and receiving information from the respective call agent in the plurality of call agents until one of the call agents indicates that a next call agent is the destination device.