US 5,317,563 A · Method of and system for monitoring packet rate in packet network

Abstract

In a packet communication network in which a plurality of subscriber's lines are connected with a packet switching unit via a multiplexer and each of terminal units declares the packet rate on call request, a packet rate monitoring circuit is provided between the packet switching unit and the multiplexer. The packet rate monitoring circuit includes a circuit for monitoring the cell arrival rate, a circuit for detecting a packet cell violating the declared value which is transmitted from the terminal, a circuit for adding a mark representative of the violation cell to the violation packet which is detected by the detecting circuit, and a circuit for automatically modifying the declared parameter. The modifying circuit applies the declare parameter which was automatically modified in accordance with utilization condition (the number of multiplexings and the line utilization) of the multiplexer disposed between the subscriber's terminals and the rate monitoring circuit so that the detecting circuit detects the violation packets based upon the modified declared parameter.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method of monitoring the packet rate by a monitoring system at the entrance to a packet network, said monitoring system being connected with a communication line to which a plurality of subscriber terminal devices are coupled through a connecting apparatus which fluctuates the interval of packets on a communication path between the subscriber terminal devices and the packet network, said method comprising the steps of:

presenting to a controller of the packet network from each of said subscriber terminal devices declared parameters representative of the packet rate in communication, which will be performed by the subscriber terminal device, on request of call connection for a call;
determining by said controller of said packet network which accepts the request of the call connection whether transmission of the call from the subscriber terminal device is permissive based upon utilization condition of the packet network and the declared parameters;
permitting a subscriber terminal device, by said controller, to transmit packets within a range of said declared parameters;
automatically modifying at least one of the declared parameters depending upon at least one of a status of said connecting apparatus and a transmission status of packets on the communication path between the subscriber terminal devices and the packet network monitored by said monitoring system;
transmitting packets from the subscriber terminal device;
and
monitoring by said monitoring system at the entrance to the packet network based upon the modified declared parameters whether or not transmission of excessive packets which violates the modified declared parameters is carried out.

4 more elements

A packet communication network system comprising:

a plurality of subscriber terminal devices for communicating with each other by packets, each subscriber terminal device presenting on a call request for a call to a packet network declared parameters representative of the packet rate in the call;
multiplexing means for multiplexing packets transmitted form a group of subscriber terminal devices to one of a plurality of transmission lines connected to the packet network;
control means for determining based upon available communication capacity of the packet network and the declared parameters presented by each of the subscriber terminal devices whether the call request is acceptable and for permitting the subscriber terminal device to transmit packets within a range of the declared parameters if the call request is acceptable;
and
network terminating means connected to the transmission lines on which a plurality of packets are multiplexed by said multiplexing means;
said network terminating means including:
means for automatically modifying the declared parameters presented from said subscriber terminal devices depending upon at least one of a status of said multiplexing means and a transmission status of packets on the transmission lines between said multiplexer means and said network terminating means, and
means for detecting violation packets among the packets on the transmission lines based upon the modified declared parameters.

5 more elements

A method of monitoring communication packets transmitted to a packet network from terminal devices by a monitoring unit connected at the entrance to the packet network, said method comprising the steps of:

permitting a terminal device, which is connected to the packet network through a connecting apparatus which varies the interval of packets to be relayed to a transmission line toward the packet network, to transmit packets within a predetermined transmission rate determined in accordance with declared parameters which are declared by the terminal devices to the packet network when the terminal devices request a call connection;
modifying at least one of the declare parameters depending upon the status of said connecting apparatus, the modified parameters being stored in the monitoring unit connected to the transmission line so as to detect transmission rate of communication packets on the transmission line for each terminal device;
transmitting communication packets from the terminal device to the packet network through said connecting apparatus;
and
detecting by said monitoring unit, excessive packets transmitted in violation of the transmission rate permitted to the terminal device by comparing the monitored transmission rate and a transmission rate obtained from the modified parameters.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of and system for monitoring packet rate in packet network

Life of this patent

Method of and system for monitoring packet rate in packet network

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16