Patent EP0477448A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0477448A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Network monitoring device and system
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1990-09-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-09-28
Abstract
Abstract A network monitoring device (12) is provided for monitoring the activity on a network carrying message packets each of which contains source and destination addresses. The monitoring device (12) comprises a network interface for sending and receiving message packets carried on the network, and processing means operative to collect and process data about the packets received by the network interface. In order to minimise processor memory requirements for the monitoring device (12), only randomly selected ones of the packets detected by the network interface are processed by the processing means of the device. Preferably, the monitoring device (12) is further simplified by arranging for the data collected on the randomly sampled packets to be transmitted to a central measurement station (13) for analysis. As a result, the only processing required to be done by the monitoring device (12) is the construction of collected-data packets for transmission. A network monitoring system can advantageously be provided by using a number of such monitoring devices (12) each associated with a respective logical segment of the network and each forwarding collected-data packets to a central measurement station (13).
Inventors
- 👤 Peter Phaal
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 16:01
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L45/00; H04L45/70; H04L43/00; H04L43/02; H04L43/022; H04L45/02; H04L45/04; H04L45/42; H04L45/46; H04L43/08; H04L43/0823; H04L43/0847; H04L43/16
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
A network monitoring device for monitoring the activity on a network carrying message packets each of which contains source and destination addresses, the monitoring device comprising receive means (20) for detecting and receiving message packets carried on the network, and processing means (21) operative to collect and process data about packets received by the receive means, this data including the source and destination addresses contained in the packet, characterized in that - the monitoring device (12) further comprises sampling means (21,22) for selecting some only of the packets detected by the receive means (20), and - the processing means (21) is operative to process data collected in respect of the selected packets only.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
113 words
A network monitoring device for monitoring the activity on a network carrying message packets each of which contains source and destination addresses, the monitoring device comprising receive means (20) for detecting and receiving message packets carried on the network, and processing means (21) operative to collect and process data about packets received by the receive means, this data including the source and destination addresses contained in the packet, characterized in that - the monitoring device (12) further comprises sampling means (21,22) for selecting some only of the packets detected by the receive means (20), and - the processing means (21) is operative to process data collected in respect of the selected packets only.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A network monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling means (21,22) effects its selection of packets based on the number of packets detected by the receive means (20).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
A network monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling means (21) effects its selection of packets based on elapsed time since the previous packet selection.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
A network monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sampling means (21, 22) effects its selection of packets in a statistically random manner.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A network monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the processing means (21) is operative to process the data collected on the selected packets to construct a traffic matrix.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
90 words
A network monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device further comprises transmit means (20) operative to transmit message packets over a network, and wherein the processing means (21) is operative to process the data collected on said selected packets by forming collected-data packets (31) in each of which is included the data collected in respect of one or more of said selected packets, the processing means being operative to cause said transmit means (20) to transmit each said collected-data packet (31) for remote receipt and further processing.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
103 words
A network monitoring device according to claim 6, further comprising counter means (24) for keeping a running count in respect of at least one of the following: - the total number of packets received by the receive means (20); - the total number of errored packets received by the receive means (20); - the total number of incorrectly-sized packets received by the receive means (20); the processing means (21) being operative to include the current value of the or each count in the data collected in respect of each selected packet whereby this count data is incorporated in the corresponding collected-data packet (31).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
96 words
A network monitoring system operative to monitoring the activity on a network carrying message packets each of which contains source and destination addresses, the monitoring system comprising: - at least one network monitoring device (12) according to claim 6, with its receive means (20) connected to the network, and - a measurement station (13) connected to receive said collected-data packets (31) from the transmit means (20) of the or each said network monitoring device (12) and to extract and further process the data on the said selected packets that is contained in the collected-data packets (31
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A network monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein the measurement station (13) is operative to construct traffic matrices from the data contained in the collected-data packets (31) received by the station.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
A network monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein the network to be monitored includes one or more bridges and/or routers (14) separating the network into a plurality of logical segments and serving to restrict unnecessary packet flow between said segments, the monitoring system including a plurality of said network monitoring devices (12) each with its receive means (20) connected to a respective said segment of the network.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
52 words
A network monitoring system according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the measurement station (13) is connected to the same network (10) as the or each monitoring device (12), the transmit means (20) of each monitoring device (12) being operative to transmit said collected-data packets on said same network.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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