Packet Flow Time Measurement Using Block Averaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for measuring delay and interarrival jitter in packet-switched communication networks provide limited insights into the behavior of all packets and are susceptible to packet loss and reception sequence errors, leading to inaccurate measurements.
Innovation Solution
A method that calculates a medium transmission time parameter and a medium reception time parameter for each block period, averaging the timestamps of multiple packets to determine a medium time measurement, which is more robust against packet loss and sequence errors, and reduces the amount of data needed for transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single predetermined data unit is used for delay measurement in each block period, then the measurement process is simple, but the measurement is inaccurate and susceptible to packet loss and sequence errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the packet flow into multiple packets within each block period, using several packets (e.g., first, second, third packets) instead of a single predetermined packet for delay measurement. This segmentation allows the system to calculate multiple delay values and derive a more accurate average delay, reducing the impact of packet loss and sequence errors on measurement accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If timestamps of multiple packets are transmitted for accurate time measurement, then measurement accuracy improves, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential timestamp information needed for delay calculation from the packet data. Instead of transmitting complete packet information or excessive data, the system transmits only the relevant transmission and reception timestamps of selected packets, thereby achieving accurate time measurement while minimizing bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a selective approach by monitoring only specific packets (e.g., first, second, third packets) within each block period rather than all packets. This partial action provides sufficient data for accurate delay measurement without the overhead of processing and transmitting information from every packet, thus balancing measurement accuracy with bandwidth efficiency.
3Measurement precision
If detailed packet-level time measurement is performed, then measurement precision is high, but the complexity of the measurement system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the measurement process into discrete segments: selecting specific packets within block periods, recording their timestamps, calculating individual delays, and computing average delay. This segmented approach maintains high measurement precision while organizing the complexity into manageable, systematic steps that reduce overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs detailed time measurement on only a selected subset of packets (e.g., first, second, third packets) rather than all packets in the flow. This partial measurement approach achieves sufficient precision for QoS monitoring while significantly reducing the computational and operational complexity compared to analyzing every packet.
Data Source
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AI summary
It is disclosed a method for performing a time measurement on a packet flow to be transmitted from a first node to a second node of a communication network. The method comprises: calculating a medium transmission time parameter indicative of an average of transmission time parameters relating to packets transmitted during a given block period; calculating a medium reception time parameter indicative of an average of reception time parameters relating to the same packets; and calculating a medium time measurement indicative of an average performance of the packet flow during the block period using the medium transmission time parameter and the medium reception time parameter.