Collecting and predicting capacity information for composite network resource formed by combining ports of an access server and/or links of wide arear network

• US 6,516,348 B1
• Filed: 05/21/1999
• Issued: 02/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Voyence, Inc. (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Donoho, David, Hardin, John Harvey, MacFarlane, Druce Ian Craig Rattray
• Primary Examiner(s): Elhady, Nabil
• Application Number:
  US09/316,251
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/229, 709/224, 702/130, 702/141, 370/232
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/022 by sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

A method of displaying capacity information relating to computer resources over a preselected period of time. The computer resource is connected to a communications network and the method includes collecting data relating to capacity of the resource by periodically sampling preselected resource elements at a preselected fixed interval to define a capacity variable for that resource. The periodic sampling takes place from a location on the network that is remote from the computer resource and over a period of time for the resource element. The capacity variable of the resource element is compared with capacity variable(s) collected immediately prior to said capacity variable. The capacity variable is stored, together with an associated timestamp, if said capacity variable falls outside a preselected margin of the average of the prior capacity variables. For each resource, the combined preselected capacity values of each preselected resource element are displayed in graphical and tabular form in reference to the total capacity of the preselected resource.

Claims

1. A method of collecting network information, comprising:

combining a set of network resources to create a composite resource corresponding to said set of network resources;

collecting network traffic utilization data for said composite resource;

identifying when said network traffic utilization data is outside a band of values associated with a recent network traffic utilization value, thereby indicating a significant change in network traffic at said composite resource; and

storing said network traffic utilization data in response to said identifying;

wherein combining said set of network resources to create said composite resource includes combining ports of an access server and/or combining Wide Area Network links.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting includes collecting network traffic utilization data at predetermined time intervals.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein storing includes assigning said network traffic utilization data as said recent network traffic utilization value.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein storing includes storing said network traffic utilization data with a time stamp.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising analyzing stored utilization data time stamps and associated network traffic utilization data to predict network resource saturation.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising displaying a time-to-saturation graph.