System and method for logging traffic flow

• US 9,338,104 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2014
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bugenhagen, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Anh Ngoc
• Application Number:
  US14/196,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20140247719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/74 measures in reaction to resource unavailability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include a system, method, and computer program product for tracking conformance of user traffic with a bandwidth profile. For example, in one embodiment, throughput is measured during an observance window and an average for offered throughput is determined based on the measured throughput. A determination is made as to whether the average exceeds a bandwidth profile in response to a determination that packets are being discarded. An alarm is sent in response to a determination that the average exceeds the bandwidth profile.

Claims

1. A method for tracking conformance of user traffic with a bandwidth profile, the method comprising:

observing throughput during an observance window;

determining an average for offered throughput utilizing the observed throughput;

determining whether the average exceeds a bandwidth profile in response to a determination that packets are discarded; and

sending an alarm in response to determining the average exceeds the bandwidth profile.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

recording communications conditions at a time the packets are discarded;

indicating to a user that the average exceeds the bandwidth profile; and

sending information regarding processing of the user traffic to the user, wherein the information is used by the user to configure a shaper that adjusts the user traffic.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein indicating to the user comprises:

providing visual and audio indicators that packets are being discarded at a device performing the determining and sending.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the information is sent to one or more far ends of a communications network in an alarm indicator signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the throughput includes accepted throughput and delivered throughput.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

determining whether throughput loss is greater than a threshold, wherein the threshold is the accepted throughput minus the delivered throughput all divided by the accepted throughput; and

determining a severity of the alarm in response to the throughput loss.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the average offered throughput is an average of the throughput offered from the user.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein the average offered throughput is an average of the throughput received by a user network interface (UNI) device.

9. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing computer executable instructions for tracking conformance of user traffic with a bandwidth profile, the computer executable instructions comprises instructions for;

observing throughput during an observance window;

determining an average for offered throughput utilizing the observed throughput;

determining whether the average exceeds a bandwidth profile in response to a determination that packets are discarded; and

sending an alarm in response to determining the average exceeds the bandwidth profile.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprises instructions for:

recording communications conditions at a time the packets are discarded;

indicating to a user that the average exceeds the bandwidth profile; and

sending information regarding processing of the user traffic to the user, wherein the information is used by the user to configure a shaper that adjusts the user traffic.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein indicating to the user comprises:

providing visual and audio indicators that packets are being discarded at a device performing the determining and sending.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the information is sent to one or more far ends of a communications network in an alarm indicator signal.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the throughput includes accepted throughput and delivered throughput.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprises instructions for:

determining whether throughput loss is greater than a threshold, wherein the threshold is the accepted throughput minus the delivered throughput all divided by the accepted throughput; and

determining a severity of the alarm in response to the throughput loss.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for tracking conformance of user traffic with a bandwidth profile, the computer executable instructions when executed causes one or more machines to perform operations comprising:

observing throughput during an observance window;

determining an average for offered throughput utilizing the observed throughput;

determining whether the average exceeds a bandwidth profile in response to a determination that packets are discarded; and

sending an alarm in response to determining the average exceeds the bandwidth profile.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the operations further comprises:

recording communications conditions at a time the packets are discarded;

indicating to a user that the average exceeds the bandwidth profile; and

sending information regarding processing of the user traffic to the user, wherein the information is used by the user to configure a shaper that adjusts the user traffic.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein indicating to the user comprises:

providing visual and audio indicators that packets are being discarded at a device performing the determining and sending.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the information is sent to one or more far ends of a communications network in an alarm indicator signal.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the throughput includes accepted throughput and delivered throughput.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 19, wherein the operations further comprises:

determining whether throughput loss is greater than a threshold, wherein the threshold is the accepted throughput minus the delivered throughput all divided by the accepted throughput; and

determining a severity of the alarm in response to the throughput loss.