Forking Media Traffic to DSP for SBC Statistics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Session border controllers (SBCs) in VoIP communications lack the capability to generate media statistics without introducing significant delay, as they conventionally do not include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is necessary for analyzing media traffic, leading to suboptimal voice quality in real-time communications.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced where media traffic is forked to a DSP for analysis without inserting it directly into the media stream, allowing for the generation of media statistics like quality of service (QoS) and service level agreement (SLA) statistics without causing substantial delay by creating a copy of the media traffic and processing it separately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a DSP is inserted into the media traffic for generating media statistics, then media statistics can be generated, but the media must go through coding and decoding twice which causes delay
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media processing into two independent paths: the original media stream passes through the SBC with minimal processing, while a forked copy is sent to the DSP for statistics generation. This segmentation allows statistics generation without delaying the main media flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary forked media path that connects the SBC to the DSP. The forked media acts as an intermediate carrier that enables statistics generation without requiring the original media to be delayed or reprocessed through coding/decoding.
2Measurement precision
If a DSP is inserted into the media traffic for analysis, then media statistics can be generated, but it affects the performance of real-time communication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides media processing into separate functional segments: the SBC handles media forwarding with minimal processing, while the DSP handles analysis on a forked copy. This segmentation ensures that analysis operations do not impact the performance-critical media forwarding path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the media traffic that is forked to the DSP for analysis. This copying approach allows the DSP to perform comprehensive analysis without affecting the original media stream that must maintain real-time performance requirements.
3Measurement precision
If the media goes through two DSPs or two DSP channels for statistics generation, then media statistics can be generated, but substantial delay is introduced to the packet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the statistics generation function from the main media processing path and places it on a separate forked path. This extraction eliminates the need for media to pass through multiple DSPs in sequence, thereby removing the associated delays while still enabling comprehensive statistics generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs statistics generation on a forked copy of the media that is processed independently and in parallel with the main media flow. This preliminary action on the copy does not delay the main media packets, as the statistics are generated ahead of time on the separate path.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for determining media statistics for a communication from a first device to a second device are provided. The techniques include receiving media traffic for the communication at a network device configured to receive the media traffic from the first device. The network device is also configured to transmit the media traffic to the second device. A copy of the received media traffic is also forked to a processor. The received media traffic is sent to the second device while the forked copy of the media traffic is analyzed at the processor to generate media statistics about the media traffic.