Mediatrace Protocol One-Way Latency Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for measuring latency in computer networks rely on synthetic traffic, which can impact network performance and require resource-intensive pre-planning, limiting their implementation for troubleshooting and network investigation.
Innovation Solution
The use of mediatrace protocol with dynamic pathing communications to measure latency on user traffic, allowing for flexible and lightweight calculations of one-way delay and round-trip time without the need for a separate off-flow collector, enabling per-hop performance monitoring and reducing deployment overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If synthetic traffic methods (ICMP pings, IPSLA probes) are used to measure latency, then latency measurement capability is provided, but network performance is impacted and resource-intensive pre-planning is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables latency measurement using actual user traffic packets that already traverse the network for their intended purpose. The system self-services by utilizing existing traffic flows rather than requiring separate synthetic test traffic, thereby eliminating the performance impact and pre-planning requirements while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes user traffic packets serve dual functions: their primary function for data transmission and a secondary function for latency measurement. By embedding timestamps and packet identifiers in actual user traffic, the system achieves measurement capability without requiring dedicated measurement traffic, thus avoiding performance degradation
2Measurement precision
If NetFlow collector with pre-planning is used for latency measurement, then measurement infrastructure is established, but deployment complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the latency measurement function from complex centralized NetFlow collector infrastructure and distributes it to individual network devices along the traffic path. Each device independently timestamps packets and contributes to latency calculation, eliminating the need for centralized collection infrastructure and reducing deployment complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces timestamps and packet identifiers as intermediary elements that enable latency measurement without requiring complex infrastructure. These simple data elements are embedded in user traffic and exchanged between network devices, providing a lightweight mechanism for measurement that avoids the complexity of dedicated monitoring systems
3Measurement precision
If per-hop latency measurement is implemented using traditional methods, then granular performance data is obtained, but infrastructure overhead and deployment complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the latency measurement process into individual hop contributions along the traffic path. Each network device independently timestamps packets at its location, and the source device calculates per-hop latency by comparing timestamps from different hops. This segmentation enables granular measurement without requiring complex centralized coordination or dedicated per-hop monitoring infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
Each network device along the path self-services by independently timestamping packets and contributing its measurement data. The devices autonomously perform their portion of the measurement function without requiring centralized control or specialized monitoring infrastructure, thereby achieving per-hop granularity with minimal overhead
Data Source
AI summary
In one implementation, data is communicated along a communications route in a network. A mediatrace request is generated for the communications route. Responses to the mediatrace request are received from along the communications route. The hop-by-hop latency is passively measured, from the responses, with one-way delay along the communications route in the network.