Patent ID: 7689857
Filing Date: 2010-03-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for preventing degraded quality of service at a user computer coupled to a communications network, comprising: gathering a plurality of system parameters from a plurality of devices within the communications network, wherein the plurality of system parameters gathered from the plurality of devices within the communications network relate to one or more occurrences of degraded quality of service perceived by a user at the user computer; identifying one or more system phenomena that occur within the communications network based on the plurality of system parameters gathered from the plurality of devices within the communications network, wherein the identified system phenomena coincide with the one or more occurrences of degraded quality of service previously perceived by the user at the user computer; monitoring one or more of the plurality of system parameters on one or more of the plurality of devices within the communications network to detect a trend towards an occurrence of the identified system phenomena within the communications network, wherein one or more monitors installed in the communications network perform the monitoring remotely from the user computer; inferring an impending onset of degraded quality of service at the user computer in response to the one or more monitors detecting the trend towards the occurrence of the identified system phenomena from the monitored system parameters; and raising an alarm in response to the one or more monitors detecting the trend towards the occurrence of the identified system phenomena from the monitored system parameters, wherein the alarm alerts a network management system of the inferred impending onset of degraded quality of service at the user computer, whereby the network management system can prevent the inferred impending onset of degraded quality of service from occurring at the user computer.