Apparatus and method for performance measurements using local timestamp and sequency number insertion at intermediate nodes
AssigneeAvago Technologies International Sales Pte. Limited
InventorsIsrael Meilik, Assaf Shacham, Roii Werner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A communication network that includes a communication path is provided including a source node, a destination node, and a plurality of intermediate nodes that connect the source node to the destination node by corresponding network segments. The intermediate nodes are configured to perform measurements and individually generate segment performance statistics that enable a session manager to more precisely determine a network segment that is causing data traffic congestion by comparing the various segment performance statistics to each other.
Claims20
A method of evaluating a communication path having a source node, a destination node, and a plurality of intermediate nodes located between the source node and the destination node, the method comprising:
- receiving at a first intermediate node of the plurality of intermediate nodes, a number of data packets that originated from the source node, wherein the receiving includes generating a local receive timestamp TLR for each data packet in the number of data packets;
- determining, by the first intermediate node, a first set of segment performance statistics for the communication path on a packet-by-packet basis using the number of data packets, wherein the determining is based on local timestamps inserted by each prior intermediate node that the number of data packets traversed to reach the first intermediate node;
- and
- transmitting, by the first intermediate node, the number of data packets to a second intermediate node of the plurality of intermediate nodes,
- wherein each data packet of the number of data packets includes a local sequence number SLN to identify the position of the data packet in the number of data packets, and wherein the determining includes:
- examining local sequence numbers SLN of the number of data packets to determine any lost data packets in the number of data packets resulting in a first number of lost data packets for the first intermediate node,
- comparing the first number of lost data packets for the first intermediate node with a second number of lost data packets for a third intermediate node;
- and
- determining that a network segment that services the first intermediate node is congested based on the first number of lost packets exceeding the second number of lost packets by a threshold amount.
A method of evaluating a communication path having a source node, a destination node, and a plurality of intermediate nodes located between the source node and the destination node, the plurality of intermediate nodes connected by a plurality of network segments, the method comprising:
- receiving at the destination node a number of data packets that traversed the communication path, wherein each data packet includes a local receive timestamp TLR, a local transmit timestamp TLT, and a local sequence number SLN for each corresponding intermediate node in the communication path;
- determining, by the destination node, a segment delay for each network segment of a plurality of network segments on a packet-by-packet basis using the local receive timestamp TLR and the local transmit timestamp TLT respectively generated by adjacent intermediate nodes that bookend the each network segment;
- and
- determining a data rate for each intermediate node based on a combined bit length of the number of data packets and a corresponding time-of-receipt indicated by the local receive timestamps TLR.
An intermediate node configured to operate in a communication path of a communication network having a source node, a destination node, and a plurality of additional intermediate nodes, the intermediate node comprising:
- a physical layer (PHY) receiver configured to receive a number of data packets that originated from the source node, and generate a local receive timestamp TLR for each data packet in the number of data packets;
- a segment statistics processor configured to determine a set of segment performance statistics for the communication path on a packet-by-packet basis using the number of data packets, wherein the determining is based on local timestamps inserted by each prior intermediate node that the number of data packets traversed to reach the first intermediate node;
- and
- a PHY transmitter configured to transmit the number of data packets over a network segment to a subsequent intermediate node of the plurality of additional intermediate nodes, wherein the PHY transmitter is further configured to:
- generate a local transmit timestamp TLT for each data packet of the number of data packets;
- generate a local sequence number SLN for each data packet of the number of data packets;
- and
- insert a local receive timestamp TLR, local transmit timestamp TLT, and the local sequence numbers SN in each data packet of the number of data packets prior to transmission to the subsequent intermediate node of the plurality of intermediate nodes,
- wherein the segment statistics processor is further configured to determine a data rate for each prior intermediate node based on a combined bit length of the number of data packets and a corresponding time-of-receipt indicated by the local receive timestamps TLR.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.