Performance measurement in a network supporting multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)

• US 8,638,778 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2009
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Kwok Keung, Chen, Hsiang Ann, Chen, Jason Xiaoguang, Kumar, Rakesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): KHIRODHAR, MAHARISHI V
• Application Number:
  US12/557,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20110063988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,600 Days
• Field of Search: 370/241
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]

Abstract

A method and apparatus to provide hop-by-hop tracking for a communication network is described. In one embodiment, a router verifies that a next downstream router supports tracking and in response, adds a tracking indicator and a timestamp to the data packet. An end router provides a compilation of all the timestamps back to the originating router.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

using at least one digital processing unit;

receiving a data packet at a router, the data packet including a tracking indicator, a tracking portion, and a payload;

extracting the tracking indicator from the data packet and identifying the router as supporting hop by hop tracking;

adding a timestamp to the tracking portion to form an amended data packet;

identifying a next node in a transmission path as not supporting hop by hop tracking, the transmission path including the router among other nodes;

revising the transmission path responsive to the identifying the next node as not supporting hop by hop tracking, the revising the transmission path including generating a revised transmission path including nodes that support hop by hop tracking including the router and the next router;

transmitting the amended data packet with the added timestamp to the next router.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking indicator is a timestamp label in a multiprotocol label system network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the next router is a last router on a transmission path, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the next router, the amended data packet with the added timestamp to an originating router.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the transmission path based on a transmission policy, and wherein the transmission policy specifies a latency of transmissions on a hop-by-hop basis.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the transmission path based on a transmission policy, and wherein the transmission policy specifies a jitter range for transmission of a service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking portion includes at least one instruction that identifies a first tracking mechanism from a plurality of tracking mechanisms, wherein the first tracking mechanism includes timestamp forward equivalency tracking.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a receiver for receiving a data packet at a router, the data packet includes a tracking indicator, a tracking portion, and a payload;

a data processing unit to extract a tracking indicator from the data packet, identify the router as supporting hop by hop tracking, add a timestamp to the tracking portion to form an amended data packet, identify a next node in a transmission path as not supporting hop by hop tracking, the transmission path includes nodes the router among other nodes, the data processing unit to revise the transmission path responsive to the identification of the next node as not supporting hop by hop tracking, the revised transmission path that includes nodes that supports hop by hop tracking that include the router and the next router;

a transmitter to transmit the amended data packet with the added timestamp to the next router.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the tracking indicator comprises a memory unit to store instructions to analyze timestamp information and to compare the timestamp information to a transmission policy.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is a router in a multiprotocol label system network.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the tracking indicator is a timestamp label of a forward equivalency class.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the data processing unit is further to identify a probe packet for application of the timestamp label.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the receiver is to receive a timestamp value from a timestamp server.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which cause at least one computing device to:

receive a data payload at a router from over a network;

identify the data payload for hop-by-hop tracking;

create a tracking indicator for the data payload, the tracking indicator allowing hop-by-hop tracking of a transmission path used in transmitting the data payload;

add the tracking indicator to the data payload to form a data packet;

identify a next node in the transmission path as not supporting hop by hop tracking˜

the transmission path includes the router among other nodes;

revise the transmission path responsive to the identification of the next node as not supporting hop by hop tracking, the revision of the transmission path including a generation of a revised transmission path that includes nodes that support hop by hop tracking that includes the router and the next router; and

transmit the data packet to the next router.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the wherein the at least one computing device is to:

transmit the data packet to originating router when the next router does not support hop-by-hop tracking.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the wherein the at least one computing device is to:

terminate transmission of the data packet on the transmission path.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the at least once computing device is to compare the timestamp information to a transmission policy to identify whether a criterion is violated.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the at least once computing device is to determine whether optimization is to be implemented based on the analysis of the revised transmission path.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the at least once computing device is to alter anticipated routes for future transmission based on a transmission policy, wherein the alteration is responsive to the determination of the implementation of optimization.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the transmission policy includes a global policy for balancing transmissions within the network.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the transmission policy includes a local policy for balancing transmissions within the network.