Method for determining VoIP gateway performance and slas based upon path measurements

• US 20050198266A1
• Filed: 02/05/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cole, Robert G., Lang, Howard L., Woerner, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,755 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5029 Service quality level-based billing, e.g. dependent on measured service level customer is charged more or less
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A system and method make quality measurements in a network to determine if a Service Level Agreement is breached. The system includes a plurality of routers for routing traffic through the network, means for taking measurements on a path between a first router and a second router, and means for charging at least one of the plurality of routers when data related to the measurements falls below a target value.

Claims

1. A system for making quality measurements in a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of routers for routing traffic through the network;

means for taking measurements on a path between a first router and a second router; and

means for charging at least one of the plurality of routers when data related to the measurements falls below a target value.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data related to the measurements is an R-Factor.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a manual mechanism for entering information into a matrix.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the information comprises at least one of:

an indication of a site where a problem occurs;

an indication of the nature of the problem;

a start time indicating when the data related to the measurements falls below the target value;

an end time indicating when the data related to the measurements rises above the target value; and

an identifier of an individual that reports the problem.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the matrix includes a matrix of source routers and destination routers.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the matrix includes set events and clear events for at least one of the source routers and at least one of the destination routers.

8. A method of making quality measurements in a network, the method comprising:

tracking at least one path that exhibits an R-Factor below a target threshold;

tracking a start time indicating when the R-Factor of a particular path falls below the target value;

tracking an end time indicating when the R-Factor of the particular path rises above the target value;

determining if an overlap exists between the start time and the end time for multiple paths connecting to a particular router;

charging the particular router with one degradation if the overlap exists; and

charging the particular router with each degradation if the overlap does not exist.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the target value is 70.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of entering the start time as a set event in a matrix.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of entering the end time as a clear event in a matrix.

12. A server for making quality measurements in a network, the server comprising:

means for taking measurements on a path between a first router and a second router; and

means for charging at least one of the plurality of routers when data related to the measurements falls below a target value.

13. The server of claim 12, wherein the network is a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) network.

14. The server of claim 12, wherein the data related to the measurements is an R-Factor.

15. The server of claim 12, further comprising a manual mechanism for entering information into a matrix.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein the information comprises at least one of:

an indication of a site where a problem occurs;

a start time indicating when the data related to the measurements falls below the target value;

an end time indicating when the data related to the measurements rises above the target value; and

an identifier of an individual that reports the problem.

17. The server of claim 15, where the information further comprises an indication of the nature of the problem;

18. The server of claim 15, wherein the matrix includes a matrix of source routers and destination routers.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein the matrix includes set events and clear events for at least one of the source routers and at least one of the destination routers.