Network device trace correlation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9237474-B2
Application number	US-201313738799-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 10, 2013
Priority date	Oct 29, 2012
Publication date	Jan 12, 2016
Grant date	Jan 12, 2016

Abstract

The techniques described herein present opportunities for service providers and/or network providers to optimize the Quality of User Experience (QoE) for data services by determining, using a broader network-based approach, the root cause of problems causing a service degradation. To determine the root cause of the problems, the techniques may collect different trace files from multiple different nodes in the telecommunications network. Each trace file includes a log of trace identifiers for numerous different data packets that have been generated, received, transmitted, relayed, and/or routed via the node in the telecommunications network, and each trace file log entry may be associated with a timestamp. Once collected, the techniques may correlate the different trace files from the multiple different nodes to identify, using a broader network-based analysis, service optimization opportunities.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
collecting a plurality of trace files from a plurality of nodes involved in communicating data packets between one or more client devices and one or more data servers, wherein individual ones of the plurality of trace files includes trace entries and at least two trace files of the plurality of trace files are respectively collected from at least two layers of a same node of the plurality of nodes for which communication functions are characterized by an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model or an Internet Protocol (IP) suite;
correlating the trace entries across the plurality of trace files;
performing, via one or more processors configured with executable instructions, a communications analysis on the correlated trace entries to determine one or more of the plurality of nodes causing a problem that degrades a level of data service; and
reporting the problem degrading the level of data service and the one or more nodes causing the problem degrading the level of data service.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising implementing one or more remedial actions to correct the problem degrading the level of data service.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein an individual trace entry includes a trace identification identifying a data packet and a timestamp representing a time when the data packet was at least one of:
received at a node;
transmitted by a node; or
communicated from one layer of a node to another layer of the node.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the communications analysis uses the respective timestamps to perform timing analysis of the communication of the respective data packets.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising creating the trace identification based on one or more fields from the data packet.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more fields are selected from a group comprising:
a PDP address for the data packet;
a checksum number for the data packet;
a source port number for the data packet; and
a destination port number for the data packet.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the problem degrading the level of data service is data packet delay.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the problem degrading the level of data service is data packet loss.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two trace files respectively collected from the at least two layers of the same node comprise a first trace file associated with a first Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer of the same node and a second trace file associated a second OSI layer of the same node.

10. One or more device memories storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, performs operations comprising:
collecting at least one trace file from individual ones of a plurality of intermediate nodes that are part of data communications between one or more client devices and one or more data servers, wherein an individual trace file includes multiple entries, each entry being associated with a data packet logged at a respective intermediate node and defining a time the entry was logged;
collecting at least two layer trace files from an individual one of the one or more client devices or the one or more data servers for which communication functions are characterized by an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model or an Internet Protocol (IP) suite, wherein an individual layer trace file includes multiple layer entries, each layer entry:
being associated with a data packet logged at a respective layer of the OSI model or of the IP suite of a client device or a data server; and
defining a time the layer entry was logged;

merging the trace files collected from the plurality of intermediate nodes and the at least two layer trace files collected from individual ones of the one or more client devices or the one or more data servers to match entries and layer entries for data packets that are related to one another;
analyzing a communication performance by evaluating times the matched entries and layer entries were logged; and
identifying, based on the analysis, a problem degrading a level of data service.

11. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein the matched entries and layer entries are associated with a same data packet.

12. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein the matched entries and layer entries are associated with a request/response packet pair.

13. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein the matched entries and layer entries are associated with an established communication session.

14. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein individual entries or individual layer entries include a trace identification identifying a data packet.

15. The one or more device memories of claim 14 , creating the trace identification based on one or more fields of the data packet.

16. The one or more device memories of claim 15 , wherein the one or more fields are selected from a group comprising:
a PDP address for the data packet;
a checksum number for the data packet;
a source port number for the data packet; and
a destination port number for the data packet.

17. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein the level of data service is associated with a Quality of User Experience (QoE).

18. The one or more device memories of claim 10 , wherein the level of data service is associated with one or more defined key performance indicators for an application executing on at least one client device of the one or more client devices.

19. A system comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more memories;
a trace file receiving module, stored on the one or more memories and operable by the one or more processors, that collects a plurality of trace files from a plurality of nodes involved in communicating data packets between one or more client devices and one or more data servers, individual trace files including multiple entries and wherein at least two trace files of the plurality of trace files are respectively collected from at least two layers of a same node of the plurality of nodes for which communication functions are characterized by an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model or an Internet Protocol (IP) suite;
a trace file correlation module, stored on the one or more memories and operable by the one or more processors, that correlates the entries from one of:
two or more trace files collected from two or more nodes of the plurality of nodes; or
the at least two trace files respectively collected from at least two layers of the same node of the plurality of nodes; and

a cross file analysis module, stored on the one or more memories and operable by the one or more processors, that analyzes the correlated entries to identify one or more of the plurality of nodes causing a problem that degrades a level of data service associated with data packet communications.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the problem degrading the level of data service comprises latency.

Assignees

• T Mobile Usa Inc

Inventors

• Hui Jie
• Bagley Himesh
• Smith Jeffery A

Classifications

• H04W24/08

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic · CPC title

• H04L41/065

  involving logical or physical relationship, e.g. grouping and hierarchies · CPC title

• H04L41/5035

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W24/10 Primary

  Scheduling measurement reports {; Arrangements for measurement reports} · CPC title

• H04L43/091

  Measuring contribution of individual network components to actual service level · CPC title