US 6,308,328 B1 · Usage statistics collection for a cable data delivery system

Abstract

Apparatus for recording and collecting usage and other statistical data from components of a cable data network comprises a network manager for maintaining and collecting the statistics. Internet protocol addresses are associated with components of the network. The component maintains a software agent that manages a statistics database. Responsive to a manager request generated at a service provider defined time interval, the component software agent provides the usage statistics to the network manager in real-time during an Internet session with a host. When the host to Internet or other data connection is torn down due to failure, disconnect or inactivity time-out, remaining usage statistics data is collected and the session duration updated with the time of tear down. Usage statistics collected include the amount of data transferred to/from a host, the amount of data that is discarded due to insufficient resource capacity and amount of data that cannot be corrected despite forward error correction used in a downstream high capacity channel to the host. Data traps may be defined and downloaded to components of the network for implementation. As a result, billing of users of the cable data network can be usage sensitive and determined based on actual data transferred (including credit given for errored data) and/or time sensitive based on session duration.

Claims62

Dependent claims

In a cable data network for delivering digital data originating via the Internet to a location of a cable modem upon a request conveyed using the cable modem, an apparatus for obtaining usage statistics comprising:

a network manager including a controller and a software agent, the network manager connected over network protocol links to a plurality of network components, the plurality of network components being components of the cable data network;
and
the plurality of network components each including a software agent and a statistics database, the software agents included in the plurality of network components being responsive to the network manager controller for reporting the usage statistics to the network manager based upon an elapse of a poll interval, the cable modem being one of the plurality of network components that includes a software agent and a statistics database, the usage statistics comprising information related to historical usage of the cable data network by at least one network component of the plurality of network components.

In a cable data network for delivering digital data originating via the Internet to a location of a cable modem upon a request conveyed using the cable modem, a method for obtaining usage statistics comprising the steps of:

dynamically assigning Internet protocol addresses to at least one network component of a plurality of network components of the cable data network;
storing the usage statistics in the plurality of network components, the plurality of network components each including a software agent and a statistics database, the cable modem being one of the plurality of network components that includes a software agent and a statistics database the usage statistics being stored in the statistics databases included in the plurality of network components, the usage statistics comprising information related to historical usage of the cable data network by at least one network component of the plurality of network components;
and
collecting the usage statistics at a network manager, the network manager including a controller and a software agent, the network manager connected over network protocol links to the plurality of network components, the software agents included in the plurality of network components being responsive to the network manager controller for reporting the usage statistics to the network manager based upon an elapse of a poll interval.

1 more element

a network manager including a controller and a software agent, the network manager connected over network protocol links to a plurality of network components, the plurality of network components being components of the cable data network;
and
the plurality of network components each including a software agent and a statistics database, the software agents included in the plurality of network components being responsive to the network manager controller for reporting the usage statistics to the network manager based upon a termination of a session with the cable modem, the session employed by the cable modem for communicating on the cable data network, the cable modem being one of the plurality of network components, the cable modem being capable of only one session at a time, the usage statistics comprising information related to historical usage of the cable data network by at least one network component of the plurality of network components.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Usage statistics collection for a cable data delivery system

Life of this patent

Usage statistics collection for a cable data delivery system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims62