Claims
- 1. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices carrying calls, comprising:
retrieving stored data about said network from a data store; assigning specific shapes to different types of devices and interconnections in said network; analyzing said data to determine which calls traveling through said network are bad calls; determining which devices and links are traversed by said bad calls and good calls; assigning colors to devices and links in said network based on a proportion of bad calls traversing each device; assigning colors to devices and links in said network reflecting load, utilization or error data associated with said device and link; displaying said network with devices and interconnections represented by said assigned shapes and colors; and providing a user interaction mechanism for manual intervention and requests for diagnostic visualizations.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
selecting two devices on said displayed network; detecting a path for calls between said two devices; and displaying said path by changing one of color and shading.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said display reflects a selected time interval.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, further providing a mechanism to reflect a time interval selected.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a metric used to determine bad calls is end-to-end one-way delay.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a metric used to determine bad calls is jitter.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a metric used to determine bad calls is packet loss.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a metric used to determine bad calls is packet loss burst.
- 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user interaction mechanism specifies the placement of a link or device with mouse clicks or key strokes.
- 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user interaction mechanism selects diagnostic visualizations with a mouse click or key stroke.
- 11. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining percentages of utilization for links during specified measurement intervals; and displaying a graph of inbound and outbound utilization on each interface on each device in said network separately for each measurement interval.
- 12 A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining total counts of each device variable during a specified measurement interval; and displaying a graph of counts on each device in said network separately.
- 13. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining load, utilization or error data during a measurement interval for one device; and displaying a graph of inbound and outbound load, utilization or error on each interface on said device in said network separately.
- 14. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining total counts of a load or error variable on each interface for one device during a measurement interval; and displaying a graph of counts on each interface on said device in said network separately.
- 15. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval; and displaying a graph of load, utilization or error data versus time for an interface on a device in said network separately for packets entering and packets leaving said device.
- 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the measurement interval is a series of days including weekdays and weekends.
- 17. The method according to claim 15 wherein the distribution of the load, utilization or error data over an interval is expressed plotted versus time.
- 18. A method of analyzing and displaying network data comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; summarizing QoS metric values for each call between two endpoints and for each QoS metric; displaying graphs of call metrics over a measured time period versus time of the call for both directions of the call; and displaying a shaded area that indicates a threshold of acceptable calls.
- 19. A method of analyzing and displaying network data comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining percentages of bad calls in a given path in said network over time; displaying a graph of percentages of bad calls over a measured time period versus time; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein said bad calls are determined in regard to end-to-end on-way delay.
- 21. The method according to claim 19, wherein said bad calls are determined in regard to jitter.
- 22. The method according to claim 19, wherein said bad calls are determined in regard to packet loss.
- 23. The method according to claim 19, wherein said bad calls are determined in regard to packet loss burst.
- 24. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining summary statistics for the distribution of each QoS metric for specified time intervals in each direction for all calls that took a given path in said network over time; displaying said summary statistics versus time; displaying a shaded area that indicates a threshold of acceptable calls; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to delay.
- 26. A method according to claim 24, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to jitter.
- 27. A method according to claim 24, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to packet loss.
- 28. A method according to claim 24, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to packet loss burst.
- 29. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining the exact path that a given call took through the network, including devices and interfaces; determining device or link load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval; determining device or link load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval corresponding to some period of time when the given call was in progress; displaying a graph of device or link load, utilization or error data over time for each interface on each device in said path separately for both directions of the path; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 30. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining an exact path that a given call took through the network, including devices and interfaces; determining error counts over time during a measurement interval corresponding to some period of time when the given call was in progress; displaying a graph of error counts over time for each interface on each device in said path separately for both directions of the path; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 31. A method of analyzing and displaying a data about a network of devices comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; analyzing said data to determine numbers of bad calls and levels of call metrics between different sections of said network; and displaying a graph of said numbers of bad calls and levels of call metrics for different sections of said network.
- 32. A method according to claim 31, wherein said graph is divided into section representing selected time intervals.
- 33. The method according to claim 31 where the selected time intervals are regular work hours, hours during the week outside of regular work hours, and weekends.
- 34. The method according to claim 31, wherein the graph uses a box and whisker graph.
- 35. The method according to claim 31, wherein a shaded area indicates a threshold of acceptable calls.
- 36. A method of analyzing and displaying data about a network of devices comprising:
an apparatus that displays the network; an apparatus for interacting with the network display; an apparatus for obtaining visualizations of device, link, path and call data; an apparatus for specifying the subset of calls used to produce the visualizations of device, link, and path data; an apparatus for specifying the subset of the network devices and links used to produce the visualization of the call and path data; an apparatus for specifying the periods of time for which the visualizations show the call, device, link, and path data; an apparatus for manually modifying devices and links; and an apparatus for accessing and modifying collected discovery and topology data.
- 37. A method for analyzing and reporting integrated network topology, network traffic statistics, and end-to-end quality of service (QoS) measurements comprising:
analyzing traffic statistics; analyzing end-to-end QoS measurements; relating network traffic statistics with end-to-end QoS measurements on a common timescale and across network paths; displaying network topology; displaying traffic measurements on network devices and links; displaying end-to-end QoS measurements; and navigating across relevant displays.
- 38. The method according to claim 37 for analyzing traffic statistics comprising:
retrieving stored data about said network from a data store; and determining load, utilization, and error statistics of devices and links in said network at specified times.
- 39. The method according to claim 37 for analyzing end-to-end QoS comprising:
retrieving stored data about said network from a data store; determining the source, destination, duration, and the time of end-to-end traffic associated with measurements of poor quality of service metrics; identifying said poor quality traffic in terms of calls; determining the source, destination, duration and the time of end-to-end traffic associated with measurements of acceptable quality of service metrics; and identifying said acceptable quality traffic in terms of calls.
- 40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the metric used to determine poor quality calls is end-to-end one-way delay.
- 41. The method according to claim 39, wherein the metric used to determine poor quality calls is jitter.
- 42. The method according to claim 39, wherein the metric used to determine poor quality calls is packet loss.
- 43. The method according to claim 39, wherein the metric used to determine poor quality calls is packet loss burst.
- 44. The method according to claim 37 for relating traffic statistics with end-to-end QoS measurements on a common timescale and across network paths comprising:
retrieving stored data about said network from a data store; determining simultaneous traffic and call measurements; determining network devices, links, and paths traversed by each call; determining which devices and links are traversed by poor quality calls; and determining calls traversing each network device, link and path.
- 45. The method according to claim 37 for displaying network topology comprising:
retrieving stored data about said network from a data store; assigning specific shapes to different types of devices and links in said network; and displaying said network with devices and links represented by said assigned shapes.
- 46. The method according to claim 45 for displaying network topology further comprising:
assigning colors to devices and links in said network based on a proportion of poor quality calls traversing each over a given time interval; assigning colors to devices and links in said network reflecting load, utilization, and error statistics associated with the said device and link; and displaying said network with devices and links represented by said colors.
- 47. The method according to claim 46 further comprising:
providing a mechanism to reflect the time interval selected; and providing a mechanism to change the given time interval.
- 48. The method according to claim 45, further comprising:
selecting two devices in said displayed network; detecting a path for calls between said two devices; and displaying said path by changing one of color and shading.
- 49. The method according to claim 37 for displaying traffic statistics comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining percentages of utilization for links during specified measurement intervals; and displaying a graph of inbound and outbound utilization on each interface on each device in said network separately for each time measurement interval.
- 50. The method according to claim 49, further comprising:
determining total counts of each device variable during a specified measurement interval; and displaying a graph of said counts on each device in said network separately.
- 51. The method according to claim 50, further comprising:
determining load, utilization or error data during a measurement interval for one device; and displaying a graph of inbound and outbound load, utilization or error on each interface on said device in said network separately.
- 52. The method according to claim 51, further comprising:
determining total counts of a load or error variable on each interface for one device during a measurement interval; and displaying a graph of said counts on each interface on said device in said network separately.
- 53. The method according to claim 52, further comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; determining load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval; and displaying a graph of load, utilization or error data versus time for an interface on a device in said network separately for packets entering and packets leaving said device.
- 54. The method according to claim 52, wherein the measurement interval is a series of days including weekdays and weekends.
- 55. The method according to claim 52, wherein the distribution of the load, utilization or error data over an interval is plotted versus time.
- 56. A method according to claim 37 for displaying end-to-end QoS comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; summarizing QoS metric values for each call between two endpoints and for each QoS metric; displaying graphs of call metrics over a measured time period versus time of the call for both directions of the call; and displaying a shaded area that indicates a threshold of acceptable calls.
- 57. The method according to claim 56 further comprising:
determining percentages of poor quality calls in a given path in said network over time; displaying a graph of percentages of poor quality calls over a measured time period versus time; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 58. The method according to claim 57, wherein said poor quality calls are determined in regard to end-to-end one-way delay.
- 59. The method according to claim 57, wherein said poor quality calls are determined in regard to jitter.
- 60. The method according to claim 57, wherein said poor quality calls are determined in regard to packet loss.
- 61. The method according to claim 57, wherein said poor quality calls are determined in regard to packet loss burst.
- 62. The method according to claim 57, further comprising:
determining summary statistics for the distribution of each QoS metric for specified time intervals in each direction for all calls that took a given path in said network over time; displaying said summary statistics versus time; displaying a shaded area that indicates a threshold of acceptable calls; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 63. A method according to claim 62, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to end-to-end one-way delay.
- 64. A method according to claim 62, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to jitter.
- 65. A method according to claim 62, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to packet loss.
- 66. A method according to claim 62, wherein the displayed acceptable call threshold is determined in regard to packet loss burst.
- 67. The method according to claim 62, further comprising:
determining the exact path that a given call took through the network, including devices and interfaces; determining device or link load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval; determining device or link load, utilization or error data over time during a measurement interval corresponding to some period of time when the given call was in progress; displaying a graph of device or link load, utilization or error data over time for each interface on each device in said path separately for both directions of the path; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 68. The method according to claim 67 further comprising:
determining an exact path that a given call took through the network, including devices and interfaces; determining error counts over time during a measurement interval corresponding to some period of time when the given call was in progress; displaying a graph of error counts over time for each interface on each device in said path separately for both directions of the path; and displaying the path in reference to the network.
- 69. The method according to claim 68 further comprising:
retrieving stored data from a data store; analyzing said data to determine numbers of poor quality calls and levels of call metrics between different sections of said network; and displaying a graph of said numbers of poor quality calls and levels of call metrics for different sections of said network.
- 70. A method according to claim 69, wherein said graph is divided into sections representing selected time intervals.
- 71. The method according to claim 69, wherein the selected time intervals are adjustable including regular work hours, hours during the week outside of regular work hours, and weekends.
- 72. The method according to claim 69, wherein the graph uses a box and whisker graph.
- 73. The method according to claim 69, wherein a shaded area indicates a threshold of acceptable calls.
- 74. The method according to claim 37, navigating across relevant displays comprising:
selecting a visualized item by a mouse click or a key stroke; and retrieving displays containing data pertaining to the selected item.
- 75. The method according to claim 74, wherein the selected item is a network device.
- 76. The method according to claim 74, wherein the selected item is a network link.
- 77. The method according to claim 74, wherein the selected item is an endpoint pair.
- 78. The method according to claim 74, wherein the selected item is a network path.
- 79. A system for analyzing and reporting integrated network topology, network traffic statistics, and end-to-end quality of service (QoS) measurements comprising:
an apparatus that analyzes network traffic statistics; an apparatus that analyzes end-to-end QoS measurements; an apparatus that relates network traffic statistics with end-to-end QoS measurements on a common timescale and across network paths; an apparatus that displays the network; an apparatus for interacting with the network display; an apparatus for obtaining visualizations of device, link, path and call data; an apparatus for specifying the subset of calls used to produce the visualizations of device, link, and path data; an apparatus for specifying the subset of the network devices and links used to produce the visualization of the call and path data; an apparatus for specifying the periods of time for which the visualizations show the call, device, link, and path data; and an apparatus for accessing topological discovery data.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority based on provisional application No. 60/329,569 filed Oct. 15, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60329569 |
Oct 2001 |
US |