DSCP Preservation Test via Echo Packet Swap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IP networks face challenges in maintaining differentiated service and quality of service (QOS) due to network appliances that do not detect or respond to Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) values, leading to dropped or delayed packets, which can impair the quality of sensitive services like streaming video and industrial processes.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves forming an echo request packet with a DSCP value, transmitting it through the IP network, and comparing the DSCP value in the echo reply packet to determine if differentiated service is preserved, allowing for the identification of locations where DSCP values are not preserved and enabling remedial action to be taken.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If network appliances do not detect or respond to DSCP values, then device complexity is reduced, but differentiated service quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary testing mechanism that sends probe packets with DSCP values through the network to detect whether network appliances preserve differentiated service markers. This intermediary testing approach allows the system to identify appliances that strip DSCP values without requiring modification of the appliances themselves, thus resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and service quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the testing device receives echo reply packets and compares DSCP values between sent and received packets. This feedback loop enables the system to detect loss of differentiated service markers and trigger remedial actions, maintaining reliability without increasing the complexity of network appliances.
2Reliability
If DSCP values are preserved through the network, then quality of service for sensitive services is improved, but packet processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring probe packets with specific DSCP values before transmission. This allows the testing device to proactively detect DSCP preservation status without requiring network appliances to perform complex real-time analysis, thus improving QOS detection while minimizing processing complexity at network devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The testing device performs self-service by autonomously generating probe packets, transmitting them through the network, receiving echo replies, and analyzing DSCP value preservation. This self-contained testing approach eliminates the need for external monitoring infrastructure or complex processing at network appliances, maintaining low processing complexity while ensuring QOS.
3Measurement precision
If multiple probe packets are sent to test DSCP preservation, then measurement accuracy is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by sending a limited number of probe packets (e.g., three packets per destination) rather than continuous monitoring. This partial sampling approach provides sufficient measurement accuracy to detect DSCP preservation status while minimizing time consumption. The system balances thoroughness with efficiency by using just enough packets to reliably detect the presence or absence of DSCP value preservation.
Data Source
AI summary
Measuring a quality of service in an Internet protocol network includes forming no more than one echo request packet in an originating device; transmitting the echo request packet to a destination device; swapping the source and destination addresses in the received echo request packet to form an echo reply packet without allocating memory for a new packet; receiving at the originating system the echo request packet repurposed as the echo reply packet; comparing a DSCP value in the echo request packet to a DSCP value in the echo reply packet; and when the DSCP values from the two packets are the same, asserting a prediction that the network will deliver a preferred quality of service for a streaming message service.