Method and apparatus for identifying a media path in a network
AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.
InventorsCullen Jennings, David R. Oran, Shiva J. Shankar, Vishal Kumar Singh
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Abstract
Nodes in an Internet Protocol (IP) network receive probe packets configured to travel over particular IP media paths. The probe packets cause the network nodes to send media path reports to a logging system. The media path reports contain information identifying the different nodes in the media path. The logging system can reconstruct the network topology of a particular media path from the media path reports which can then be used for debugging purposes. In one embodiment the probe packets are Resource Reservation Setup Protocol (RSVP) packets configured for media path probing.
Claims15
A method for identifying a media path in a packet switched network, comprising:
- receiving media path packets at an intermediate node located in the media path in-between a source of the media path packets and a destination for the media path packets, the media path packets configured as conventional media path reservation packets used for reserving resources along the media path and further configured to travel along the same media path as packets containing media;
- identifying the media path packets configured as media path probe packets at the intermediate node;
- sending a media path report distinct and separately from the media path probe packets directly from the intermediate node to a logging node located outside of the media path, the media path report identifying information about the media path;
- automatically sending the media path report independently from any initiation from the logging node whenever one of the media path probe packets is received by the intermediate node and sending the media path report separately from other media path reports produced and sent from other nodes forming the media path;
- monitoring the media path probe packet for a resource reservation indicator;
- forwarding the media path probe packet toward a destination endpoint without conducting a resource reservation protocol when no resource reservation indicator is identified;
- and
- conducting the resource reservation protocol before forwarding the media path probe packet toward a destination endpoint when the resource reservation indicator is identified.
A network processing device, comprising:
- a processor receiving a media path configuration packet including a reporting indicator, the processor on detecting the reporting indicator sending a message distinct from said configuration packet to a logging server to identify media path information for the media path configuration packet,
- wherein the processor sends the message to the logging server at an Internet Protocol (IP) address that is not in a media path for the media path configuration packet and not the IP address of a network device originating the media path configuration packet and wherein the processor monitors the media path configuration packet for a media reservation request and conducts a Resource Reservation Setup Protocol (RSVP) prior to forwarding the media path configuration packet toward a destination endpoint when the media reservation request is detected and does not conduct a Resource Reservation Setup Protocol (RSVP) prior to forwarding the media path configuration packet toward a destination endpoint when the media reservation request is not detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.