System and method for managing subscriber usage of a communications network

• US 7,765,294 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2007
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Embarq Holdings Company LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bugenhagen, Michael K., Morrill, Robert J., Edwards, Stephen K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu; Jinsong
• Application Number:
  US11/809,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,153 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225, 709/237, 370/230, 370/235, 370/312, 370/328, 715/206
• US Class Current: 709/224
• 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 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/304 Route determination for signalling traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0066 Details of access arrangements to the networks where the access arrangement is a PSTN/ISDN access H04M7/122
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing

Abstract

A system and method for managing subscriber usage of a packet network. The system may include at least one database configured to store network performance information of data packets including real-time content and non-real-time content communicated over a packet network. The database may further be configured to store the network performance information as related to respective subscribers of a communications carrier managing the communications network. In one embodiment, the database may include an indicia associated with each subscriber and the network performance information may be collected during communications by respective subscribers over the packet network.

Claims

1. A system for managing subscriber usage of a packet network, said system comprising:

memory that stores computer executable instructions;

a processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions to determine data packets containing real time content and data packets containing non-real time content, and to monitor the network performance of the data packets containing real time content and of the data packets containing non-real time content; and

a data storage unit, the data storage unit containing at least one database configured to store network performance information of data packets including information that distinguishes between the network performance of data packets containing real-time content and the network performance of data packets containing non-real-time content communicated over the packet network;

wherein the processor further configured to execute the computer executable instructions to bill a client at a higher rate for the communications of the data packets containing real time content, the higher rate being higher than a billing rate for the communications of the data packets containing non-real time content.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one database is configured to store the network performance information as related to respective subscribers of a communications carrier managing the communications network.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network performance information stored in the database is stored in records including respective time stamps indicative of a time at which network performance information is collected from network communications devices.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network performance information includes transmission quality of node segments on the packet network based on performance information packets communicated via the node segments.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface to view the network performance information stored in said at least one database.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising the processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions to give priority to data packets containing real time content over the data packets containing non-real time content.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network performance information includes statistics that are computed using modified Y.1731 counter bins.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one database is configured to maintain permission parameters to enable access to network performance information to users that satisfy the permission parameters.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one threshold associated with at least one respective network performance information parameter, said at least one threshold utilized to monitor the network performance information collected and stored in said at least one database.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising a message generator configured to monitor whether said at least one threshold is crossed by the respective at least one network performance information parameter.

11. A method for managing subscriber usage of a packet network, said method comprising:

determining data packets on the packet network containing real time content;

determining data packets on the packet network containing non-real time content;

monitoring, using a processor, the network performance of the data packets containing real time content;

monitoring the network performance of the data packets containing non-real time content; and

storing network performance information of data packets including information that distinguishes between the network performance of data packets containing real-time content and the network performance of data packets containing non-real-time content communicated over the packet network;

wherein the processor further configured to execute the computer executable instructions to bill a client at a higher rate for the communications of the data packets containing real time content, the higher rate being higher than a billing rate for the communications of the data packets containing non-real time content.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising storing the network performance information as related to respective subscribers of a communications carrier managing the packet network.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein storing the network performance information includes storing the network performance information in records including respective time stamps indicative of a time at which network performance information is collected from network communications devices.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein storing the network performance information includes storing transmission quality of node segments on the packet network based on performance information packets communicated via the node segments.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising providing a user interface to view the stored network performance information.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

giving priority to data packets containing real time content over the data packets containing non-real time content that are communicated over the packet network; and

billing a client at a higher rate for the communications of the data packets containing real time content, the higher rate being higher than a billing rate for the communications of the data packets containing non-real time content.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein further comprising:

generating statistics of the network performance information; and

storing the statistics with the network performance information.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein generating the statistics IS performed by modified Y.1731 counter bins.

19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

maintaining permission parameters to enable access to network performance information to users that satisfy the permission parameters; and

enabling users that satisfy the permission parameters to access network performance information associated with the permission parameters satisfied by the users.

20. The method according to claim 11, further comprising storing at least one threshold associated with at least one respective network performance information parameter, the at least one threshold utilized to monitor the network performance information stored.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising monitoring whether the at least one threshold is crossed by the respective at least one network performance information parameter.