Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring networks

• US 8,730,807 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2012
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (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): Blanton, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M
• Application Number:
  US13/553,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20120281586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/232
• 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 system for monitoring networks comprising:

a memory that stores instructions; and

a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations, the operations comprising;

identifying traffic entering a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point that is addressed to a predetermined destination;

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

mapping a measurement complex into the virtual private network;

diverting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel while allowing the traffic not in the subset to proceed to the predetermined destination without diversion to the measurement complex, wherein the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is dynamically generated in response to performance data of interest, wherein the subset of the traffic is diverted to the measurement complex based in part on receipt of a classless inter-domain routing block associated with the subset of the traffic, and wherein the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is based on an intelligent route service control processor advertisement;

inserting a passive probe and an active probe into the virtual private network traversed by the subset of the traffic and into a route traversed by the subset of the traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement complex enables the active probe to be mapped into the virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the virtual private network;

receiving statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex from a syslog and a remote procedure call, wherein the statistical information is utilized for setting a type and an amount of the traffic to be sent to the measurement complex; and

transmitting the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex to a routing entity associated with the backbone network, wherein the routing entity forwards the subset of the traffic to the predetermined destination.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise diverting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex by advertising a preferred route to the predetermined destination out of the measurement complex.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex intermittently.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing entity is not the predetermined ingress point.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise diverting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex by manipulating a border gateway protocol route by advertising one of a changed next hop address, a changed prefix length, and a change local preference.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the measurement complex transmits a signal to the electronic processor to cause the electronic processor to prevent the subset of the traffic from being diverted to the measurement complex.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex via an extensible markup language feed.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise generating an interface on a router that couples the measurement complex to the multiprotocol label switching based virtual private network.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise advertising routes associated with the measurement complex when mapping the measurement complex into the virtual private network.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the routes are distributed to route targets such that the routes can be imported into a logical table.

11. A method for monitoring networks comprising:

identifying traffic entering a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point that is addressed to a predetermined destination;

determining, by utilizing instructions stored in memory and executed by a processor, a subset of the traffic addressed to the predetermined destination based on the subset of the traffic being associated with a virtual private network;

mapping a measurement complex into the virtual private network by utilizing a processor;

transmitting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel while allowing the traffic not in the subset to proceed to the predetermined destination without being transmitted to the measurement complex, wherein the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is dynamically generated in response to performance data of interest, and wherein the subset of the traffic is transmitted to the measurement complex based in part on receipt of a classless inter-domain routing block associated with the subset of the traffic;

inserting, by utilizing the processor, a passive probe and an active probe into the virtual private network traversed by the subset of the traffic and into a route traversed by the subset of the traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement complex enables the active probe to be mapped into the virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the virtual private network;

receiving statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex from a syslog and a remote procedure call, wherein the statistical information is utilized for setting a type and an amount of the traffic to be sent to the measurement complex; and

transmitting the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex to a routing entity associated with the backbone network, wherein the routing entity transmits the subset of the traffic to the predetermined destination.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving the statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex intermittently.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex by manipulating a border gateway protocol route by advertising one of a changed next hop address, a changed prefix length, and a change local preference.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting the subset of the traffic, via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel, to the predetermined destination.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising advertising routes associated with the measurement complex when mapping the measurement complex into the virtual private network, wherein the routes are distributed to route targets such that the routes can be imported into a logical table.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating an interface on a router that couples the measurement complex to the virtual private network.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual private network is based on multiprotocol label switching.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising advertising a preferred route to the measurement complex that comprises a longer prefix than any route determined by the predetermined ingress point in communication with the backbone network.

19. A computer-readable device comprising instructions, which when loaded and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying traffic entering a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point that is addressed to a predetermined destination;

determining a subset of the traffic addressed to the predetermined destination based on the subset of the traffic being associated with a virtual private network;

mapping a measurement complex into the virtual private network by utilizing an electronic processor;

transmitting the subset of the traffic to the measurement complex via an advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel while allowing the traffic not in the subset to proceed to the predetermined destination without being transmitted to the measurement complex, wherein the advertisement-generated dynamic tunnel is dynamically generated in response to performance data of interest;

inserting, by utilizing the processor, a passive probe and an active probe into the virtual private network traversed by the subset of the traffic and into a route traversed by the subset of the traffic, wherein the mapping of the measurement complex enables the active probe to be mapped into the virtual private network and enables passive monitoring of every flow in the virtual private network;

receiving statistical information for the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex from a syslog and a remote procedure call, wherein the statistical information is utilized for setting a type and an amount of the traffic to be sent to the measurement complex; and

transmitting the subset of the traffic from the measurement complex to a routing entity associated with the backbone network, wherein the routing entity transmits the subset of the traffic to the predetermined destination.