IP Gateway Timestamping for Individual Network RTD Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems lack an effective method to measure individual network round-trip delays in IP gateways, which is crucial for ensuring the quality of multimedia services over IP networks.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize application-level control messages to time stamp and calculate individual network round-trip delays by timestamping application-level control messages at both the source and destination client devices and the IP gateway, allowing for the determination of end-to-end and network-specific delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If application-level control messages are timestamped at multiple points (source, gateway, destination) to measure individual network round-trip delays, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for coordinated timestamping across multiple devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the end-to-end delay measurement into individual network segment measurements by placing timestamps at specific points (source client, IP gateway, destination client). This allows the total delay to be divided into manageable components (source-to-gateway delay and gateway-to-destination delay) that can be measured and analyzed separately, improving measurement precision without requiring all devices to implement complex measurement logic simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring timestamp insertion points and formats before actual delay measurement begins. The IP gateway is pre-configured to insert gateway timestamps in a standardized format within application-level control messages, and the measurement system is pre-established with known timestamp locations, eliminating the need for real-time coordination during actual measurements
2Productivity
If existing application sessions are utilized for delay measurement rather than separate measurement protocols, then productivity is improved by avoiding additional signaling overhead, but difficulty of detecting and measuring worsens due to the need to extract and process timestamps from existing message formats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the delay measurement function with existing application-level control message flows. Instead of creating separate measurement protocols or dedicated test messages, the system inserts timestamps into control messages (such as SIP messages) that are already part of the application session, thereby combining measurement functionality with existing communication operations and eliminating additional signaling overhead
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the IP gateway as an intermediary that automatically inserts and processes timestamps within the existing message flow. The gateway acts as a mediator between the application layer and the measurement function, handling timestamp insertion and extraction without requiring the application endpoints to implement complex measurement logic, thus simplifying the overall measurement process
Data Source
AI summary
An IP gateway, attached to a source network and a destination network, handles an application session between a source client device and a destination client device. Application-level control messages in the existing application session may be time stamped by the IP gateway. Individual network round-trip delays (RTDs) associated with the attached networks may be calculated or determined utilizing the resulting time stamps. The IP gateway may time stamp one or more of the application-level control messages in the existing application session whenever transmission and/or reception of the application-level control messages occurs at the IP gateway. The resulting gateway related time stamps such as the gateway-to-source receive time stamp and the gateway-to-destination transmit time stamp may be stored. An individual RTD associated with the destination network may be calculated or determined utilizing the stored gateway related time stamps and processing delay measurement extracted from one of the application-level control messages from the destination client device.