Patent ID: 7610327
Filing Date: 2009-10-27
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for use in a global network comprising two or more networks, wherein information is communicated via packets of one or more types associated with a corresponding application, each packet of the packets of the one or more types having a corresponding header with at least one portion of said header indicative of business bandwidth of the corresponding application, each of said two or more networks having various devices operating as sources of packets, destinations for packets, or both, each of said two or more networks interconnected to one or more other networks via at least one switch fabric, said method for providing on a run-time bases an indication of an actual service level in at least a portion of said global network for comparison with a service level agreement for at least said portion of said global network, said method comprising the steps of: on a run-time basis intercepting packets traversing said at least one switch fabric; on a run-time basis extracting information indicative of business bandwidth, including information concerning any new connection, break/disconnect, abort or timeout on a connection between a source of packets and a destination of packets, of said corresponding application from said at least one portion of said header of each of said intercepted packets as well as component modeling of components that make up an end-to-end path of said intercepted packets and returning each said intercepted packet to the switch fabric from which each intercepted packet was intercepted so as to allow the packet to continue to a destination associated with each said intercepted packet; on a run-time basis determining from said extracted information, information about application business bandwidth between a source and a destination of said intercepted packets; on a run-time basis providing said indication of the actual service level in said at least a portion of the global network according to the determined application bandwidth for comparing said indication to said service level agreement; utilizing the actual service level to determine if repartitioning of end-to-end metrics are required; and recommending a change in network service offering including a change in partitioning of end-to-end metrics to a user of the global network if said repartitioning is required.