Protocol analyser arrangement, analyser module, and method of managing resources

Abstract

There is provided a protocol analyser arrangement, comprising: more than one analyser module (100A, 100B, 100C) including: at least a processing unit (110) for controlling functions of the analyser module in each of the analyser modules; and a data transfer unit (106) coupled to the processing unit for communicating data with a data transmission system (221) in at least one analyser module. The more than one analyser module each further include a communication unit (108) coupled to the processing unit for communicating with one or more other communication units of the more than one analyser module thus forming a cluster of the analyser modules (210); and a processing unit (110) of any analyser module of the cluster of the analyser modules is configured to share processing resources of the analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

Description

LIST OF DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows an example of a data transmission system and a protocol analyser;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a data transmission system and a protocol analyser arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a top-level structural view of conceptual analyser architecture;

FIG. 4 shows an overview of a conceptual structure of analyser architecture;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a conceptual structure of an analyser module;

FIGS. 6 to 9 show examples conceptual structures of analyser module arrangements;

FIGS. 10 to 13 show signal sequence diagrams illustrating different methods of managing resources of a protocol analyser arrangement;

FIG. 14 shows an overview of protocol layer decoding divided into multiple processes; and

FIGS. 15 and 16 show examples of a data transmission system and a protocol analyser arrangement.

Claims

1. A protocol analyser arrangement, comprising: more than one analyser module including: at least a processing unit for controlling functions of the analyser module in each of the analyser modules; anda data transfer unit coupled to the processing unit for communicating data with a data transmission system in at least one analyser module, wherein:the more than one analyser module each further includes a communication unit coupled to the processing unit for communicating with one or more other communication units of the more than one analyser module, thus forming a cluster of the analyser modules; anda processing unit of any analyser module of the cluster of the analyser modules is configured to share processing resources of the analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

2. The analyser arrangement of claim 1, wherein the more than one analyser module comprises a local analyser module and a remote analyser module, wherein the local analyser module is configured to receive subscription data from one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules, and the local analyser module is configured to process data on the basis of the received subscription data.

3. The analyser arrangement of claim 2, wherein the local analyser module is further configured to analyse data received from one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

4. The analyser arrangement of claim 3, wherein the one or more remote analyser modules are connected to the data transmission system under test by using a packet data modem, the one or more remote analyser modules being further configured to perform a quality of service measurement, and to send the result of the performed quality of service measurement via a distribution interface over a packet connection to the local analyser module.

5. The analyser arrangement of claim 4, wherein the local analyser module is further configured to measure quality of service from at least one interface of the data transmission system and is configured to combine the quality of service measurement results received from the one or more remote analyser modules with the measured quality of service for forming a quality of service value over an air interface.

6. The analyser arrangement of claim 2, wherein the local analyser module is further configured to send a request to one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules for utilizing processing resources of the one or more remote analyser modules.

7. The analyser arrangement of claim 1, wherein each analyser module further includes a synchronization unit (408) for synchronizing data communication between local and remote data sources according to message time stamps.

8. The analyser arrangement of claim 1, wherein the analyser arrangement further comprises an input subsystem, a decoding subsystem, and an analysis subsystem in one or more of the more than one analyser module.

9. The analyser arrangement of claim 8, wherein at least one of the input subsystem, the decoding subsystem and the analysis subsystem resides in a different analyser module than the other subsystems.

10. The analyser arrangement of claim 8, wherein at least part of the input subsystem, the decoding subsystem or the analysis subsystem resides in more than one analyser module.

11. The analyser arrangement of claim 1, wherein at least one analyser module in the cluster of the analyser modules comprises a user interface unit for receiving user input.

12. An analyser module for co-operation with the protocol analyser arrangement of claim 1, comprising: a processing unit for controlling functions of the analyser module, wherein the analyser module further comprises:a communication unit coupled to the processing unit for communicating with one or more other analyser modules, thus forming a cluster of analyser modules together with all the other analyser modules of the protocol analyser arrangement; andthe processing unit is configured to share processing resources of the analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

13. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module further comprises a user interface for receiving user input.

14. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module further comprises a data transfer unit coupled to the processing unit for communicating data with a data transmission system.

15. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module is configured to receive subscription data from one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules, and the analyser module is configured to process data on the basis of the received subscription data.

16. The analyser module of claim 15, wherein the analyser module is further configured to analyse data received from one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

17. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module is further configured to send a request to one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules for utilizing processing resources of the one or more analyser modules.

18. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module is connected to the data transmission system under test by using a packet data modem, and the analyser module is further configured to measure a quality of service from at least one interface of the data transmission system.

19. The analyser module of claim 18, wherein the analyser module is further configured to receive quality of service measurement results from one or more other analyser modules, and to combine the quality of service measurement results received from the one or more remote analyser modules with the measured quality of service for forming a quality of service value over an air interface.

20. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module further includes a synchronization unit (408) for synchronizing data communication between local and remote data sources according to message time stamps.

21. The analyser module of claim 12, wherein the analyser module comprises at least part of at least one of: an input subsystem, a decoding subsystem, and an analysis subsystem.

22. A method of managing resources of a protocol analyser arrangement, the method comprising: providing more than one analyser module in a protocol analyser arrangement;communicating data with a data transmission system by at least one of the analyser modules of the protocol analyser arrangement,the method further comprising:communicating, by each analyser module, with one or more other analyser modules for forming a cluster of the analyser modules; andsharing processing resources of an analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: receiving subscription data in a local analyser module of the more than one analyser module from one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules, and processing data on the basis of the received subscription data in the local analyser module.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising: analysing data received from one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules in a local analyser module.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising: sending, by a local analyser module of the more than one analyser module, a request to one or more remote analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules for utilizing processing resources of the one or more remote analyser modules.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: connecting the one or more remote analyser modules to the data transmission system under test by using a packet data modem, performing, by the one or more remote analyser modules, a quality of service measurement, and sending the result of the performed quality of service measurement via a distribution interface over a packet connection to the local analyser module.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: measuring, by the local analyser module, quality of service from at least one interface of the data transmission system and combining the quality of service measurement results received from the one or more remote analyser modules with the measured quality of service for forming a quality of service value over an air interface.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing each analyser module with a synchronization unit for synchronizing data communication between local and remote data sources according to message time stamps.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing an input subsystem, a decoding subsystem, and an analysis subsystem in one or more of the more than one analyser module.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing at least one of the input subsystem, the decoding subsystem and the analysis subsystem in a different analyser module than where the other subsystems are.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing at least part of the input subsystem, the decoding subsystem or the analysis subsystem in more than one analyser module.

32. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing a user interface unit for receiving user input in at least one analyser module in the cluster of the analyser modules.

33. A computer program product encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for managing resources of a protocol analyser arrangement, the process comprising: providing more than one analyser module in a protocol analyser arrangement;communicating data with a data transmission system by at least one of the analyser modules of the protocol analyser arrangement,the process further comprising:communicating, by each analyser module, with one or more other analyser modules for forming a cluster of the analyser modules; andsharing processing resources of an analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

34. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for managing resources of a protocol analyser arrangement, the process comprising: providing more than one analyser module in a protocol analyser arrangement;communicating data with a data transmission system by at least one of the analyser modules of the protocol analyser arrangement,the process further comprising:communicating, by each analyser module, with one or more other analyser modules for forming a cluster of the analyser modules; andsharing processing resources of an analyser module with one or more other analyser modules in the cluster of the analyser modules.

35. The computer program distribution medium of claim 34, the distribution medium including at least one of the following media: a computer readable medium, a program storage medium, a record medium, a computer readable memory, a computer readable software distribution package, a computer readable signal, a computer readable telecommunications signal, and a computer readable compressed software package.