Methods and systems for monitoring a service provided over a packet-switched network

Methods and systems for monitoring a service provided over a packet-switched network, such as an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service, an Internet access service, or a voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) telephony service. Various parameters related to the service (e.g., parameters indicative of packet loss, packet corruption or other packet error) are determined and used to assess various aspects of the service and/or network over which the service is delivered, including a quality of experience (QoE) of subscribers.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to services delivered over packet-switched networks, such as Internet Protocol television (IPTV), Internet access, and voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) telephony services, and more particularly to methods and systems for monitoring such services.

BACKGROUND

Various services, including Internet access, voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) telephony, and Internet Protocol television (IPTV), are now being provided over packet-switched networks.

Subscribers to such services enjoy certain advantages, such as interactive features and/or other additional functionality, which they may not find in corresponding services provided over traditional networks (e.g., the public switched telephone network (PSTN), cable television, etc.). However, these services are also susceptible to various issues which can create service impairments affecting a subscriber's quality of experience (QoE). For example, a subscriber to an IPTV service may experience pixelation, screen freezing, set-top box crashes, outages, or other impairments, a subscriber to a VoIP telephony service may experience poor voice quality, dropped calls, or other impairments, etc.

While certain techniques have been used by service providers in an attempt to mitigate such service impairments, there remains a need for solutions directed to monitoring these services, including monitoring a subscriber's quality of experience and/or a network's performance in respect of such services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of upstream packets intended for an access network having been discarded by the gateway without having been sent to the access network; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of gaps between downstream packets received by the media application from the gateway; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a likelihood that a request for retransmission issued by the media application will not reach the head-end server; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet unless the missing downstream packet falls within a gap that exceeds a threshold size. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets intended for the media application having been discarded by the gateway without having been sent to the media application; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of gaps between downstream packets received by the media application from the gateway; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a likelihood that a gap detected by the media application will have a size exceeding the threshold size; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet unless the missing downstream packet falls within a gap that exceeds a threshold size. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of gaps between downstream packets received by the media application from the gateway; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a likelihood that a gap detected by the media application will have a size exceeding the threshold size; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to at least one appliance running a plurality of applications including a media application and at least one second application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for re-transmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of gaps between downstream packets received by the media application from the gateway; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a degree to which packets related to the at least one second application are corrupted; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of upstream packets sent from the gateway to an access network having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of gaps between downstream packets received by the media application from the gateway; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a likelihood that a request for retransmission issued by the media application will not reach the head-end server; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of fixed-duration intervals containing at least one downstream packet detected as corrupted; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a rate at which requests for retransmission are issued by the media application; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of severely errored intervals, a severely errored interval being a fixed-duration interval containing more than a threshold number of downstream packets that are detected as corrupted; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been corrupted outside the severely errored intervals; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of upstream packets sent from the gateway to an access network having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of fixed-duration intervals containing at least one upstream packet sent from the gateway that is detected as corrupted; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a time taken to service an interactive command provided by a user of the media application; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of upstream packets sent from the gateway to an access network having been detected as corrupted; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of severely errored intervals, a severely errored interval being a fixed-duration interval containing more than a threshold number of upstream packets sent from the gateway that are detected as corrupted; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of an incidence of upstream packets having been corrupted outside the severely errored intervals; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of missing downstream packets having been retransmitted by the head-end server; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of missing downstream packets for which a request for retransmission has been issued; determining, based on at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a compound parameter indicative of a success rate of the head-end server in handling requests for retransmission issued by the media application; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of monitoring performance of a system that comprises a gateway connected to an appliance running a media application. The media application is configured to detect gaps between downstream packets received from the gateway and to issue to a head-end server a request for retransmission of a missing downstream packet. The method comprises: determining a first parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets not reaching the media application in time for a content of the media packets to be delivered to a user of the media application; determining a second parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets having been detected as corrupted; determining a third parameter indicative of an incidence of downstream packets intended for the media application having been discarded by the gateway without having been sent to the media application; determining, based on at least the first, second and third parameters, a compound parameter indicative of a faultiness of a connection between the gateway and the appliance; and recording a log of the compound parameter on a storage medium.

These and other aspects of the invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments of the invention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1shows an example of a network10for providing services to subscribers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, one of these services is a television-containing multimedia service which is provided by a service provider (e.g., a telecommunications company, a cable company, etc.) that controls at least part of a packet-switched network13over which this service is delivered to subscribers. This control helps to ensure a desired level of quality of service, security, interactivity and reliability for the subscribers. The service provider thus has a relationship with each subscriber of the television-containing multimedia service in order for that subscriber to have the service it provides. Other services which may be provided over the network10may include, for example, an Internet access service and a telephone service.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the television-containing multimedia service is an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service delivered over the packet-switched network13which employs Internet Protocol (IP) routing to convey audio, video and control data. The IPTV service includes delivery of television (TV) content comprising TV programs (e.g., live or recorded drama, comedy, news, reality or other TV shows, movies, sporting events, etc.) currently broadcast on various TV channels. In this case, the IPTV service also provides time-shifted TV programming allowing the subscribers to watch TV programs in a time-shifted manner (e.g., a “catch-up” TV feature which replays a TV program broadcast hours or days ago, or a “start-over” TV feature which replays a current TV program from its beginning). In addition to delivery of currently-broadcast TV content, in this case, the IPTV service also includes delivery of other audio/video (A/V) content on-demand, such as movies, TV shows, etc., which are not part of scheduled TV programming but can be selected by the subscribers using a video-on-demand (VOD) feature.

The network10comprises an IPTV system11which acquires TV and other A/V content, processes (e.g., encodes and/or stores) the acquired content, and distributes the content to the subscribers via packets conveyed over the packet-switched network13. In this embodiment, the IPTV system11comprises a network apparatus20that will be referred to as a “super head-end” (SHE) and that is connected to a core network22, which is also connected to a plurality of network apparatuses241-24Rthat will be referred to as “video hub offices” or “video head-end offices” (VHOs), each of which is also connected to an access network26that is also connected to end-user equipment, including, in this example, end-user equipment301-30Nlocated at subscriber premises281-28Nof the subscribers (sometimes referred to as “customer premises equipment” (CPE)).

The SHE20comprises suitable hardware and/or software for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity32and a routing entity33.

The processing entity32is configured to acquire TV and/or other A/V content and process this content for distribution to the subscribers. More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity32comprises a content acquisition entity36which performs a content ingestion process to acquire TV and other A/V content from a plurality of sources of content341-34C. For example, a source of content34xmay comprise an antenna receiving radio broadcast content (e.g., TV programs on national broadcast channels), a cable (e.g., fiber-optic or coaxial) conveying broadcast content (e.g., TV programs on specialty channels), a satellite dish receiving content conveyed by a satellite signal, storage media (e.g., magnetic or optical disks) storing recorded content (e.g., movies or TV shows), or any other source of content (e.g., a wired or wireless link conveying content taken from a live studio). The content acquisition entity36may comprise one or more encoders (e.g., for MPEG or WM compression) and one or more servers to acquire the content and put it in a format for distribution to the subscribers. For instance, in this embodiment, IPTV system11is implemented using a Microsoft IPTV™ platform and the content acquisition entity36comprises one or more acquisition servers, referred to as “A-servers”. In other embodiments, the IPTV system11may be implemented using any other suitable platform.

The processing entity32may perform other operations in addition to its content acquisition operation. For example, in this embodiment, the processing entity32comprises a digital rights management (DRM) entity42for encrypting or otherwise processing the acquired content to prevent unauthorized access, copying or conversion to other formats by end-users. As another example, in this embodiment, the processing entity32comprises an advertisement entity43for inserting advertisements in some of the content distributed to the subscribers. As yet another example, in this embodiment, the processing entity32comprises an applications entity44for implementing applications that may be invoked by the subscribers (e.g., an electronic program guide (EPG) displaying scheduling information for current and upcoming programming, games or other interactive features, etc.)

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, and as further discussed later, the processing entity32comprises a service monitoring entity45configured to collect and analyze data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers in order to assess various aspects of the IPTV service, including a quality of experience (QoE) of the subscribers.

In some embodiments, the processing entity32, including the content acquisition entity36, the DRM entity42, the advertisement entity43, the applications entity44and the service monitoring entity45, may be part of a content management system (CMS) used by the service provider. In other embodiments, one or more components of the processing entity42may be part of one or more other systems used by the service provider. For instance, in some cases, the service monitoring entity45may be part of a network management system (e.g., Operations Support Systems/Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS)) used by the service provider.

The routing entity33is configured to transmit and receive packets pertaining to the IPTV service over the core network22. For instance, the routing entity33may comprise one or more routers or switches. Packets transmitted by the routing entity33in a downstream direction (i.e., towards the end-user equipment301-30N) may include packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content for distribution to the subscribers. For example, packets conveying TV content currently being broadcast may be transmitted as multicast streams, while packets conveying content selected on-demand may be transmitted as unicast streams. Packets received by the routing entity33in an upstream direction (i.e., towards the SHE20) may include packets conveying requests or commands made by the subscribers via the end-user equipment301-30N(e.g., TV channel changes, movie selections from the VOD feature, etc). Packets received by the routing entity33in the upstream direction may also include packets which convey data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers and which are destined for the service monitoring entity45.

The SHE20may serve a relatively large geographical area. For instance, in some embodiments, the SHE20may serve at a national level, in which case the broadcast content from the sources of content341-34Cmay include broadcast content on national TV channels and/or the advertisements inserted by the advertisement entity43may be national ads.

The core network22comprises high-capacity communication links (e.g., optical fiber links, etc.) which interconnect different components of the network10, including in this case the SHE20and the VHOs241-24R.

The VHOs241-24Rare geographically distributed in order to deliver the IPTV service to subsets of the subscribers in different regions. In that sense, the VHOs241-24Rcan viewed as “regional head-ends” acting as relay points between the SHE20and the subscribers. For instance, in some embodiments, each of the VHOs241-24Rmay be used to deliver the IPTV service to between 100,000 and 1,000,000 subscribers.

Each VHO24xcomprises suitable hardware and/or software for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity46and a routing entity47.

The processing entity46of the VHO24xis configured to distribute TV and/or other A/V content to the subscribers. More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity46comprises a content distribution entity48for delivering content to respective ones of the subscribers over the access network26. Some content distributed by the content distribution entity48is received from the SHE20over the core network22. In addition, in this embodiment, some content distributed by the content distribution entity48may be acquired at the VHO24xfrom a plurality of sources of content491-49Fsuch that the VHO24xcomprises a content acquisition entity53. For example, a source of content49xmay comprise an antenna receiving regional radio broadcast content (e.g., TV programs on regional TV channels), a cable conveying regional broadcast content (e.g., TV programs on specialty channels targeted to the regional audience), storage media storing recorded content (e.g., movies or TV shows targeted to the regional audience), or any other source of content. The content acquisition entity53may comprise one or more encoders and one or more servers to acquire the content and put it in a format for distribution to the subscribers. For instance, in this embodiment where the IPTV system11is implemented using a Microsoft IPTV™ platform, the content acquisition entity53comprises one or more “A-servers”.

The content distribution entity48comprises one or more distribution servers to distribute the content to the subscribers. More particularly, in this embodiment, the content distribution entity48comprises one or more distribution servers configured to distribute TV content received from the SHE20and/or acquired by the VHO24xto the subscribers. For instance, in this embodiment where the IPTV system11is implemented using a Microsoft IPTV™ platform, each of these one or more distribution servers is a “D-server”. Also, in this embodiment, the content distribution entity48comprises one or more on-demand servers configured to distribute on-demand content selected by the subscribers (e.g., VOD servers for delivering movies, TV shows or other content on-demand).

The processing entity46of the VHO24xmay perform other operations in addition to its content distribution operation. For example, in this embodiment, the processing entity46comprises a DRM entity62for encrypting or otherwise processing the content acquired at the VHO24xto prevent unauthorized access, copying or conversion to other formats by end-users. As another example, in this embodiment, the processing entity46comprises an advertisement entity60for inserting advertisements in some of the content distributed to the subscribers. As yet another example, in this embodiment, the processing entity46comprises an applications entity61for implementing applications that may be invoked by the subscribers (e.g., an electronic program guide (EPG) displaying scheduling information for current and upcoming programming, games and/or other interactive features, etc).

The routing entity47of the VHO24xis configured to route packets pertaining to the IPTV service over the access network26x. For instance, the routing entity33may comprise one or more routers or switches. Packets transmitted by the routing entity47in the downstream direction may include packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content for distribution to the subscribers. Packets transmitted by the routing entity47in the upstream direction may include packets conveying requests or commands made by the subscribers (e.g., TV channel changes, movie selections from the VOD feature, etc.). Packets transmitted by the routing entity47in the upstream direction may also include packets conveying requests for retransmission of certain packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content that were missing, discarded, corrupted or otherwise not properly received by pieces of equipment of the end-user equipment301-30Nat the subscriber premises281-28N. Packets transmitted by the routing entity47in the upstream direction may also include packets which convey data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers and which are destined for the service monitoring entity45of the SHE20.

As mentioned above, the VHO24xmay be used for delivering the IPTV service to subscribers in a particular region. For instance, in this embodiment, while the SHE20is used at a national level, the VHO24xis used at a regional level such that the broadcast content from the sources of content491-49Fmay include broadcast content on regional TV channels and/or the advertisements inserted by the advertisement entity60may be regional ads.

The access network26(sometimes referred to as the “last mile”) forms a final leg delivering connectivity to subscribers and comprises a plurality of communication links that connect end-user equipment of subscribers to a remainder of the network10, including, in this example, a plurality of communication links631-63Nthat reach the end-user equipment301-30Nlocated at the subscriber premises281-28N. In this embodiment, the communication links631-63Nare connected to an access network apparatus64. In this example, the access network apparatus64is an access multiplexer. More particularly, in this embodiment, each of the communication links631-63Ncomprises a metallic twisted-pair cable (e.g., a copper twisted-pair cable) and the access multiplexer64is a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM). For instance, in some embodiments, the access network26may implement a fiber-to-the-node or -neighborhood (FUN) architecture such that the DSLAM64comprises a FTTN platform (e.g., an Alcatel 7330 Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) Fiber to the Node (FTTN) platform).

The access network26also comprises a monitoring entity58configured to perform measurements of certain parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers and to report data regarding these parameters to the service monitoring entity45, as further discussed later. In some embodiments, the DSLAM64and the monitoring entity58may be implemented by a common network component. In other embodiments, the DSLAM64and the monitoring entity58may be implemented by distinct network components linked together by one or more physical links.

The access network26may be implemented in various other ways in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the access network26may be based on another type of fiber-to-the-x (FTTx) architecture, such as a fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) architecture, or a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) architecture (e.g., fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) or fiber-to-the-house (FTTH) infrastructures) in which case the access multiplexer64may be omitted and the communication links631-63Nmay comprise optical fiber cables leading to optical network terminals (ONTs) that may be part of the end-user equipment301-30Nat the subscriber premises281-28N. As another example, in some embodiments, each of the communication links631-63Nmay comprise a coaxial cable instead of a metallic twisted-pair cable or optical fiber cable.

Various network apparatuses of the network10, including those of the IPTV system11(e.g., the SHE20and the VHOs241-24R), thus implement a head-end system for communicating with the end-user equipment301-30Nat the subscriber premises281-28Nto provide the IPTV service and possibly one or more other services (e.g., an Internet access service, a telephone service, etc.). Various servers of the network10which communicate with the end-user equipment301-30Nat the subscriber premises281-28(e.g., a D-server of the content distribution entity48) may thus be referred to as “head-end servers”.

While the network10has a certain configuration in this embodiment, the network10may have various other configurations in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, one or more additional network apparatuses, such as a Video Serving Office (VSO), may be provided between the VHO24xand the access network26.

The end-user equipment301-30Nlocated at the subscriber premises281-28Nenable the subscribers at these premises to have the IPTV service and possibly one or more other services (e.g., an Internet access service, a telephone service, etc.).

The end-user equipment30xlocated at the subscriber premises28xis configured to receive and transmit packets pertaining to the IPTV service over the access network26xto allow a user65at the subscriber premises28xto be presented with TV content and/or other A/V content on a TV set66. The TV set66may be based on any suitable display technology, including cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid-crystal display (LCD), plasma, or any other type of TV display technology (e.g., Digital Light Processing (DLP) or organic light emitting diode (OLED)). In this embodiment, the end-user equipment30xcan also receive and transmit packets pertaining to an Internet access service over the access network26xto allow the user65to browse the Internet on a personal computer67(e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, etc.), as well as packets pertaining to a voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony service over the access network26to allow the user65to engage in telephone calls using a telephone68(e.g., a VoIP phone, a a Plain Old Telephony System (POTS) phone equipped with an analog terminal adapter (ATA), or a softphone).

More particularly, in this embodiment, the end-user equipment30xcomprises a gateway69connected to a set-top box (STB)70which is connected to the TV set66. The STB70is an example of an appliance running a media application, namely an IPTV application. In this embodiment, the gateway69is also connected to the personal computer67and the telephone68. The personal computer67is another example of an appliance running a media application, namely an Internet browser application. The telephone68is yet another example of an appliance running a media application, namely a telephony application.

With additional reference toFIG. 2, the gateway69comprises suitable hardware and/or software for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity71and a routing entity72. The processing entity71comprises a modem73for modulating analog carrier signals to encode digital information and to demodulate analog carrier signals to decode information they convey. For example, in this embodiment where the communication links63xcomprises a metallic twisted-pair cable, the modem73is a DSL modem. The modem73may be of another type in other embodiments (e.g., a cable modem) depending on the nature of the communication link63x.

The processing entity71of the gateway69also comprises a monitoring entity74configured to perform measurements of certain parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscriber at the subscriber premises28xand to report data regarding these parameters to the service monitoring entity45, as further discussed later.

The routing entity72of the gateway69is configured to route packets pertaining to the IPTV service to and from the STB70over a physical communication link (i.e., a wired link or wireless link). For instance, the routing entity72may comprise a router, switch or other data forwarding component. Packets transmitted by the routing entity72to the STB70may include packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content for presentation on the TV set66. Packets transmitted by the routing entity72over the access network26may include packets conveying requests or commands made by the user65(e.g., TV channel changes, selections of movies from the VOD feature, etc.). Packets transmitted by the routing entity72over the access network26may also include packets conveying requests for retransmission of certain packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content that were missing, discarded, corrupted or otherwise not properly received by the STB70. Packets transmitted by the routing entity72over the access network may also include packets which convey data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscriber at the subscriber premises28xand which are destined for the service monitoring entity45.

In this embodiment, the routing entity72of the gateway69is also configured to route data pertaining to the Internet access service to and from the personal computer67, as well to route signals pertaining to the telephone service to and from the telephone68(e.g., via a suitable connector depending on whether the phone68is a wired POTS equipped with an ATA, a VoIP phone, etc.)

Thus, in this embodiment, the gateway69acts as a center or hub for end-user devices at the subscriber premises28x. More particularly, in this embodiment the subscriber premises28xis a residence and the gateway69is a residential gateway (RG) whose functional entities, including the processing entity71and the routing entity72, are integrated into a terminal installed at a suitable location at the residence. In other embodiments, the functional entities of the gateway69may be part of two or more distinct devices interconnected to one another via one or more physical links.

The STB70comprises suitable hardware and/or software for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity75and a routing entity76. The processing entity75is configured to process a stream of packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content and received via the routing entity76in order to generate A/V signals transmitted to the TV set66for presenting the TV and/or other A/V content to the user65. More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity75comprises a decoder77for decoding packets in the received stream of packets. Also, in this embodiment, the processing entity75comprises a DRM entity78to decrypt or otherwise process the received packets to undue the effects of the DRM entity42of the SHE20and/or the DRM entity62of the VHO24x. A program selector79extracts a selected program stream corresponding to a selection made by the user65and provides the packets of the selected program stream to a demultiplexer80, which divides them into elementary streams (voice, audio and control) that are supplied to a compositor81creating A/V signals transmitted to the TV set66.

The processing entity75of the STB70is also configured to detect defects, such as corrupted packets, in the received stream of packets. When possible, the processing entity75may correct some of the detected defects in the received stream of packets. For example, in this embodiment, these detection and correction functions may be implemented by the decoder77of the processing entity75.

The processing entity75of the STB70also comprises a monitoring entity82configured to perform measurements of certain parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscriber at the subscriber premises28xand to report data regarding these parameters to the service monitoring entity45, as further discussed later.

The routing entity76of the STB70is configured to route packets pertaining to the IPTV service to and from the gateway69over the physical communication link linking these components. For instance, the routing entity76may comprise a receiver and a transmitter. Packets received by the routing entity76in the downstream direction may include packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content for presentation on the TV set66. Packets transmitted by the routing entity76in the upstream direction may include packets conveying requests or commands made by the user65(e.g., TV channel changes, movie selections from the VOD feature, etc.). Packets transmitted by the routing entity76in the upstream direction may also include packets conveying requests for retransmission of certain packets conveying TV and/or other A/V content that were missing, discarded, corrupted or otherwise not properly received by the STB70. Packets transmitted by the routing entity76in the upstream direction may also include packets which convey data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscriber at the subscriber premises28xand which are destined for the service monitoring entity45.

Although in this embodiment the STB70is connected to the TV set66, in other embodiments, functional entities corresponding to the processing entity75and the routing entity76of the STB70may be integrated into the TV set66.

As mentioned previously, in this embodiment, the service monitoring entity45is configured to collect and analyze data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers in order to assess various aspects of the IPTV service, including the QoE of the subscribers.

Referring additionally toFIG. 4, the service monitoring entity45comprises an interface57and a processing entity59. The interface57of the service monitoring entity45allows data, including data regarding parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers, to be received and transmitted by the service monitoring entity45. The processing entity59is configured to process data received or to be transmitted via the interface57. More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity59comprises an analysis entity56for analyzing the data to derive information indicative of the QoE of the subscribers, as well as a database83for storing the data and the derived information indicative of the QoE of the subscribers, as further discussed below.

The parameters related to the IPTV service provided to the subscribers, which will be referred to as “IPTV service parameters”, can take on various forms. For instance, Table 1 presents examples of IPTV service parameters that may be considered in this embodiment. Various other examples of IPTV service parameters may be considered in other embodiments.

In Table 1, each line corresponds to a respective IPTV service parameter related to the IPTV service provided to the subscriber at the subscriber premises28x. The first column indicates a name of the respective IPTV service parameter. The second column indicates one or more sources from which the value of the respective IPTV service parameter is determined. Generally, the value of the respective IPTV service parameter may be determined on a basis of measurements performed by the monitoring entity82of the STB70, the monitoring entity74of the residential gateway69, the monitoring entity58of the access network26, and/or other components (e.g., a D-server of the content distribution entity48of the VHO24x). In some embodiments, the value of the respective IPTV service parameter may be obtained from a network management system (e.g., an OSS/BSS) used by the service provider and collecting data regarding such measurements. For instance, in this embodiment, the value of the respective IPTV service parameter may be obtained from: a Component Management System (CMS) which collects data regarding measurements performed by components at the subscriber premises28x, namely the residential gateway69and the STB70(e.g., a “Snapshot” application on the STB70); an access network system, in this case an Access Care™ (AC) system by Nortel, which collects data regarding measurements performed by the access network26and possibly the end-user equipment30xat the subscriber premises28x(e.g., the modem73(“far end”—FE) may report on packets received, errors, etc., through a communication channel to the DSLAM64for record keeping and the DSLAM64may perform data reporting and recording for its side (“near end”—NE), and the Access Care system may collect the data from the DSLAM64related to the NE and FE and provide it to the service monitoring entity45); and/or a D-server of the content distribution entity48of the VHO24x. In other embodiments, the value of the respective IPTV service parameter may be obtained based on data polled directly from one or more components, such as the residential gateway69, the STB70, etc. The second column may also indicate a frequency at which the value of the respective IPTV service parameter is obtained. For instance, in this case, the value of the respective IPTV service parameter may be obtained every fifteen minutes (i.e., the value is for a period of fifteen minutes) or daily (i.e., the value is for a period of one day). The third column provides a definition of the respective IPTV service parameter. The fourth column provides a technical description of the respective IPTV service parameter. The fourth column indicates an importance of the IPTV service parameter for the IPTV service or insight that the IPTV service parameter can give about the IPTV service.

For example, the IPTV service parameter “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” refers to the number of packets intended to be sent by the residential gateway69to the STB70but that have been discarded by the residential gateway69instead of being sent to the STB70. The discarded packets may be packets which have been delayed long enough to be useless. This may be caused, for instance, by shortage of resources or buffer overflow at the residential gateway69. In this embodiment, the value of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter is obtained every fifteen minutes by the residential gateway69.

As another example, the discarded packets may result in “gaps”, which can also be referred to as “holes, in the stream of packets received at the STB70where the discarded packets would normally have been. At least some of these holes may result in the STB70issuing requests for retransmission of the discarded packets by a D-server of the content distribution entity48of the VOH24x. In this example, this applies to a hole at the STB70that is not larger than a threshold size (e.g., an interval of time corresponding to a number of consecutive missing packets which would normally occupy the hole). This size may be determined, for instance, by evaluating a maximal number of consecutive packets that can be retransmitted to the STB70in time to be reinserted in the stream of packets by the STB70(e.g., based on processing speeds of the STB70and the residential gateway69, transmission characteristics of the communication link63x, and/or any other relevant factor). For example, in this case, a request for retransmission may be issued by the STB70when encountering a hole with a size not greater than about 150 ms. For holes greater than 150 ms, the STB70does not issue requests for retransmission. When there is a request for retransmission, failure of the D-server to retransmit the discarded packets to the STB70in a timely manner may lead to pixilation, screen freeze, etc. In this embodiment, the IPTV service parameter “RETRY_NUMBER”, which refers to the number of holes smaller than 150 ms encountered by the STB70during a 15-minute interval, is measured by the D-server as the number of retransmission requests every 15 minutes and is used as the number of holes (“HOLES”) in other IPTV service parameters. In other embodiments, the number of holes (“HOLES”) may be determined from measurements performed by the STB70itself. For instance, in some cases, a diagnostic tool implemented by the service monitoring entity45may query the STB70to obtain the number of holes (“HOLES”) as measured by the STB70.

As yet another example, error conditions may occur in the downstream direction from the access network26to the residential gateway69that can cause packets to be corrupted. For instance, packets can be determined to be corrupted when they are determined to have failed an error check performed by the residential gateway69. In this case, the error check is a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Other error checking techniques may be used in other cases. In this embodiment, the IPTV service parameter “FE_CV” refers to far end code violations, which is a count of CRC anomalies received by the residential gateway69during a 15-minute interval. Depending on their severity, code violations can lead to errored seconds or severely errored seconds and result in retransmission of IPTV packets from a D-Server of the content distribution entity48of the VOH24xto the STB70. A high “FE_CV” parameter may lead to visual artifacts such as pixilation or screen freeze and audio impairments such as clipping.

A similar discussion can be made in respect of other ones of the IPTV service parameters listed in Table 1.

In this embodiment, the IPTV service parameters may be categorized in different ways.

For example, in this embodiment, one way in which the IPTV service parameters may be categorized is based on where they are measured (e.g., in the subscriber premises28x, in the access network26, etc.). In particular, in this embodiment, some of the IPTV service parameters which are used by the service monitoring entity45to assess the QoE of the subscribers are measured in the access network26. More specifically, in this embodiment, these parameters may be measured by the monitoring entity58of the access network26. This is particularly useful as it can provide insight that could not be otherwise achieved when considering IPTV service parameters only measured by the end-user equipment30xat the subscriber premises28x. For example, in this case, the “NE_CV” parameter, which refers to near end code violations reflecting a measure of errors conditions of the DSL connection in the upstream direction (i.e., towards the DSLAM64), is based on measurements performed by the monitoring entity58of the access network26.

As another example, in this embodiment, another way in which the IPTV service parameters may be categorized is by categorizing them as “independent” IPTV service parameters and “compound” IPTV service parameters.

An independent IPTV service parameter can be viewed as a metric which is directly measured and does not depend on another IPTV service parameter. For instance, one example of an independent IPTV service parameter that is listed in Table 1 is the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter, which refers to the number of packets intended to be sent by the residential gateway69to the STB70but that have been discarded by the residential gateway69instead of being sent to the STB70. Another example of an independent IPTV service parameter that is listed in Table 1 is the “PACKETS_REQUESTED” parameter, which refers to the number of packets requested to be retransmitted in requests for retransmission issued by the STB70.

A “compound” IPTV service parameter can be viewed as a metric which is a function of a plurality of IPTV service parameters. A compound IPTV service parameter may provide insight that cannot be obtained when considering individually the IPTV service parameters on which it depends. For instance, one example of a compound IPTV service parameter that is listed in Table 1 is the “DISC_SENT/REQ” parameter, which refers to a ratio of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter (i.e., the number of packets intended to be sent by the residential gateway69to the STB70but that have been discarded by the residential gateway69) and the “PACKETS_REQUESTED” parameter (i.e., the number of packets requested to be retransmitted in requests for retransmission issued by the STB70). A ratio of 1:1 would strongly suggest that the holes encountered at the STB70are likely caused by the packets being discarded before being sent by the residential gateway69. A high ratio may be an indication that the holes caused by the packets being discarded are larger than 150 ms (i.e., they are too large such that no request for retransmission is issued by the STB70).

The function defining a given compound IPTV service parameter may take on various forms. In the examples of compound IPTV service parameters listed in Table 1, the function defining each compound parameter is purely arithmetic. More particularly, in these examples, the function defining a given compound IPTV service parameter is a division of one parameter by another or a subtraction of one parameter from another. Thus, in these examples, a given compound IPTV service parameter may be determined by determining an arithmetic difference between, or a quotient of, a first operand that comprises a first IPTV service parameter on which the given IPTV service compound parameter depends and a second operand that comprises a second IPTV service parameter on which the given IPTV service compound parameter depends, as the case may be. Instead of a quotient, a logarithmic difference may be equivalently used in some cases. The function defining a given compound IPTV service parameter may be more complex in other examples.

In this embodiment, a given compound IPTV service parameter may be a function of two or more other IPTV service parameters which gives an indication of a likelihood of a situation affecting QoE of the subscriber, possibly causing a service impairment for the subscriber (i.e., video and/or audio impairment, such as pixelation, screen freezing, etc.).

For example, when packets are dropped and the STB70encounters, the STB70issues requests for retransmission of the dropped packets for holes no greater than 150 ms. Based only on the number of retransmission requests received at a D-server of the content distribution entity48(the IPTV service parameter “RETRY_NUMBER”), one does not know whether some requests for retransmission sent to the D-Server get dropped before reaching the D-Server or whether packets retransmitted by the D-server get dropped before reaching the STB70. However, a higher value of the IPTV service parameter “DISC_RCVD/HOLES” can indicate a higher likelihood of requests for retransmission from the STB70failing to reach the D-Server and resulting in visual and/or audio impairment for the subscriber.

As another example, requests for packet retransmission received by a D-server of the content distribution entity48indicate that packets are dropped before reaching the STB70. Based on the number of retransmission requests alone, one cannot know whether the dropped packets are causing a service impairment for the subscriber. However, a higher value of the IPTV service parameter “DISC_SENT/REQ” can indicate that the holes caused by the packets being discarded are larger than 150 ms (i.e. they are too large so that no request for retransmission is issued), thus causing video and/or audio impairment for the subscriber.

Other examples of IPTV service parameters which give indications of likelihood of situations affecting QoE of the subscribers are presented in Table 1. Yet other examples may be envisaged in other embodiments.

The service monitoring entity45of the SHE20collects and processes the values of the IPTV service parameters to provide insight into the QoE of each of the subscribers. More particularly, based on the values of the IPTV service parameters for the subscriber at the subscriber premises28x, the service monitoring entity45derives information indicative of the QoE of the subscriber. This information, which will be referred to as “QoE information”, can be derived in various ways.

For example, in this embodiment, the QoE information for the subscriber comprises a plurality of levels of QoE of the subscriber for different periods of time (e.g., a fraction of an hour, an hour, a day, a week, a month) which provide insight into the QoE of the subscriber at different degrees of temporal resolution or granularity. These levels of QoE are attributed by the service monitoring entity45based on the values of the IPTV service parameters. Since they can be viewed as basically rating the QoE of the subscriber, the levels of QoE of the subscriber that are determined by the service monitoring entity45can be viewed as “ratings of QoE”. More particularly, in this embodiment, the QoE information comprises a QoE rating for every interval of fifteen minutes (hereinafter referred to as a “15-min QoE rating”), a QoE rating for every day (hereinafter referred to as a “daily QoE rating”), a QoE rating for every week (hereinafter referred to as a “weekly QoE rating”), and a QoE rating for every month (hereinafter referred to as a “monthly QoE rating”).

The QoE ratings can be derived in many different ways based on the values of the IPTV service parameters for the subscriber. An example of how the QoE ratings for the subscriber may be derived in this embodiment will now be discussed, with additional reference toFIGS. 5 and 6.

The values of the IPTV service parameters which are measured every 15 minutes are rated to obtain ratings for these parameters. These ratings, which will be referred to as “parameter ratings”, are taken from a set of potential parameter ratings which constitute a parameter rating scale. The parameter rating scale can take on various forms. For example, as shown in Table 2, in this embodiment, the parameter rating scale includes three potential parameter ratings, namely “green”, “yellow”, and “red”. The value of a given IPTV service parameter for a particular 15-min interval may be attributed: the “green” parameter rating when it is considered to be in a normal or standard range for this parameter; the “yellow” parameter rating when it is considered to be outside the normal or standard range for this particular parameter by a degree which is unlikely to be indicative of a problem affecting the subscriber's QoE; and the “red” parameter rating when it is considered to be so outside the normal or standard range for this particular parameter that it likely indicates a problem affecting the subscriber's QoE.

In this embodiment, a parameter rating is attributed to the value of a given IPTV service parameter for a particular 15-min interval by comparing this value to one or more thresholds. Such thresholds may be determined by the service provider (e.g., based on conditions which clearly demonstrate impairments of the IPTV service to the subscriber). Examples of such thresholds are provided in Table 2.

For example, in this case, the value of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter for a particular 15-min interval is compared to a first threshold of 200 discarded packets and a second threshold of 9000 discarded packets. If the value of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter is less than or equal to 200, it is attributed the “green” parameter rating. If the value of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter is greater than or equal to 9000, it is attributed the “red” parameter rating. If the value of the “DISCARD_PKTS_SENT” parameter is between 200 and 9000, it is attributed the “yellow” parameter rating.

The 15-min QoE rating for the subscriber for a particular 15-min interval is derived on a basis of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval. Specifically, in this example, the 15-min QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular 15-min interval is taken from a set of potential 15-min QoE ratings which forms a 15-min QoE rating scale or range. For example, in this embodiment, the 15-min QoE rating scale or range includes four potential 15-min QoE ratings, namely “green”, “yellow”, “red”, and “blue” (which are represented by different cross-hatching patterns inFIGS. 5 and 6). A “green” 15-min QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be normal or standard for the particular 15-min interval. A “yellow” 15-min QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be affected by a relatively minor issue during the particular 15-min interval. A “red” 15-min QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be affected by a relatively major issue during the particular 15-min interval. A “blue” 15-min QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be affected by an issue during a primetime viewing period, which is determined by the service provider (e.g., 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Eastern and Pacific and 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Central and Mountain from Monday to Saturday, and 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Eastern and Pacific and 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Central and Mountain on Sunday).

The 15-min QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular 15-min interval is determined based on criteria defined in terms of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval. For instance, in this example:If every one of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval is the “green” parameter rating, then the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval is the “green” QoE rating.If any of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval is the “red” parameter rating, then the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval is the “red” QoE rating.If any of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval is the “yellow” parameter rating but none of these parameter ratings is the “red” parameter rating, then the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval may be the “yellow” QoE rating or the “red” QoE rating, depending on the number of “yellow” parameter ratings for the particular 15-min interval. For instance, if the number of “yellow” parameter ratings for the particular 15-min interval is below a threshold (e.g., 4 or any other number), the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval may be the “yellow” QoE rating; otherwise, if the number of “yellow” parameter ratings for the particular 15-min interval is at or above the threshold, the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval may be the “red” QoE rating.If the particular 15-min interval falls within a primetime viewing period determined by the service provider and any of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular 15-min interval is the “yellow” or “red” parameter rating, then the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval is the “blue” QoE rating.

Various other criteria may be applied in other embodiments to attribute the 15-min QoE rating for the particular 15-min interval.

This approach is applied to each of the ninety-six 15-min intervals in a day in order to obtain ninety-six 15-min QoE ratings for the subscriber for that day.

The 15-min QoE ratings for the subscriber are examples of intraday ratings for periods of time shorter than one day that can be attributed. In other embodiments, intraday ratings for longer or shorter periods of time can be used (e.g., 5-min QoE ratings, 30-min QoE ratings, 1-hour QoE ratings, 3-hour QoE ratings, etc.).

The daily QoE rating for the subscriber for a particular day is determined on a basis of the ninety-six 15-min QoE ratings for the subscriber for that day. Specifically, in this example, the daily QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular day is taken from a set of potential daily QoE ratings which forms a daily QoE rating scale or range. For example, in this embodiment, the daily QoE rating scale includes four potential daily QoE ratings, namely “green”, “yellow”, “red”, and “blue”. A “green” daily QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be normal or standard for the particular day. A “yellow” daily QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by a relatively minor issue on the particular day. A “red” daily QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by a relatively major issue on the particular day. A “blue” daily QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by an issue during a primetime viewing period on the particular day.

The daily QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular day is determined based on criteria defined in terms of the ninety-six 15-min QoE ratings for the subscriber for that day. For instance, in this example:If the number of “yellow” and “red” 15-min QoE ratings for the particular day is less than or equal to a first threshold, in this case five, then the daily QoE rating for the particular day is the “green” daily QoE rating.If the number of “yellow” and “red” 15-min QoE ratings for the particular day is greater than the first threshold but less than or equal to a second threshold, in this case twenty, then the daily QoE rating for the particular day is the “yellow” daily QoE rating.If the number of “yellow” and “red” 15-min QoE ratings for the particular day is greater than the second threshold, then the daily QoE rating for the particular day is the “red” daily QoE rating.If the number of “blue” 15-min QoE ratings for the particular day is greater than or equal to a given threshold, in this case 10, then the daily QoE rating for the particular day is the “blue” daily QoE rating.

The criteria on which the daily QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular day is determined may also take into account the values of the IPTV service parameters which are measured every day. For instance, the value of a given IPTV service parameter which is measured every day is rated to obtain a parameter rating. As discussed above, and as shown in Table 2, in this embodiment, the “green”, “yellow”, and “red” parameter rating is attributed to the value of the given IPTV service parameter for a particular day by comparing this value to one or more thresholds, which are determined by the service provider. As an example, in this case, the value of the “ERRORS_SENT” parameter for a particular day, which refers to the number of errors in the IPTV packets detected by the residential gateway69, is compared to a first threshold number of 200 errors and a second threshold of 150000 discarded packets. If the value of the “ERRORS_SENT” parameter is less than or equal to 200, it is attributed the “green” parameter rating. If the value of the “ERRORS_SENT” parameter is greater than or equal to 150000, it is attributed the “red” parameter rating. If the value of the “ERRORS_SENT” parameter is between 200 and 150000, it is attributed the “yellow” parameter rating. In such cases, if any of the parameter ratings of the values of the IPTV service parameters for the particular day is the “red” parameter rating, then the daily QoE rating for the particular day is the “red” daily QoE rating, regardless of what are the 15-min QoE ratings for the particular day.

Various other criteria may be applied in other embodiments to attribute the daily QoE rating for the particular day.

This approach is applied to each of the seven days in a week in order to obtain seven daily QoE ratings for the subscriber for that week.

The weekly QoE rating for the subscriber for a particular week is obtained on a basis of the seven daily QoE ratings for the subscriber for that week. Specifically, in this example, the weekly QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular week is taken from a set of potential weekly QoE ratings which forms a weekly QoE rating scale or range. For example, in this embodiment, the weekly QoE rating scale includes four potential weekly QoE ratings, namely “green”, “yellow”, “red”, and “blue”. A “green” weekly QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be normal or standard for the particular week. A “yellow” weekly QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by a relatively minor issue on the particular week. A “red” weekly QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by a relatively major issue on the particular week. A “blue” weekly QoE rating may be attributed when the subscriber's QoE is deemed to be detrimentally affected by an issue during a primetime viewing period during the particular week.

The weekly QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular week is determined based on criteria defined in terms of the seven daily QoE ratings for the subscriber for that week. For instance, in this example:If the number of “red” daily QoE ratings for the particular week is less than or equal to a first threshold, in this case one, then the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “green” weekly QoE rating.If the number of “red” daily QoE ratings for the particular week is greater than the first threshold but less than or equal to a second threshold, in this case three, then the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “yellow” weekly QoE rating.If the number of “red” daily QoE ratings for the particular week is greater than the second threshold, then the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “red” weekly QoE rating.If the number of “blue” daily QoE ratings for the particular week is greater than or equal to a given threshold, in this case 3, then the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “blue” weekly QoE rating.

The criteria on which the weekly QoE rating for the subscriber for the particular week is determined may also take into account the parameter ratings of certain IPTV service parameters. For instance, the parameter rating of a given IPTV service parameter may be considered to be of sufficient importance that, if it is “red” parameter rating, the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “red” weekly QoE rating, regardless of what are the daily QoE ratings for the particular week. As an example, in this case, if the “REBOOT” parameter, which refers to the number of reboots of the residential gateway69, was attributed the “red” parameter rating anytime during the particular week, the weekly QoE rating for the particular week is the “red” weekly QoE rating, regardless of what are the daily QoE ratings for the particular week.

Various other criteria may be applied in other embodiments to attribute the weekly QoE rating for the particular week.

The monthly QoE rating for the subscriber for a particular month is obtained on a basis of the daily QoE ratings for the subscriber for that month, in a manner similar to that discussed above in respect of the weekly QoE ratings.

The QoE information for each of the subscribers, including the QoE ratings for each of the subscribers, is recorded and stored in the database83of the service monitoring entity45. The database83is implemented by data storage media, which may store data optically (e.g., an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or a DVD), magnetically (e.g., a hard disk drive, a removable diskette), electrically (e.g., semiconductor memory, floating-gate transistor memory, etc.), and/or in various other ways.

By including the 15-min, daily, weekly, and monthly QoE ratings for the subscribers, the QoE information stored in the database83maintains a history of each subscriber's QoE which spans several weeks or months (e.g., a rolling period of six months or more) and which can be analyzed on a 15-min, daily, weekly or monthly basis. This archive can allow the service provider to identify issues or trends with respect to each subscriber's QoE. For example, the historical QoE information can allow the service provider to identify recurring issues or patterns experienced by individual subscribers. In order to optimize data storage efficiency, in some embodiments, the historical QoE information stored in the database83may be pruned to retain only items of information pertaining to issues experienced by the subscribers. For instance, only the QoE information reflecting “yellow”, “red” or “blue” QoE ratings may be retained.

The QoE information derived by the service monitoring entity45can be used in various ways. Generally, based on the QoE information, the service monitoring entity45provides a service assurance capability to enable the service provider to know how each subscriber is doing, know where and when trouble or issues arise, and therefore reduce the time and cost to resolve such trouble or issues.

For example, in this embodiment, a user86may use a monitoring tool provided by a user device87to gain insight into the QoE of the subscribers based on the QoE information derived by the service monitoring entity45. For instance, in various cases, the user86may be a helpdesk agent or other customer service representative, a technician, a network engineer, an executive or other manager, or some other employee of the service provider. The user device87comprises an input portion (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen, and/or a mouse or other pointing device), an output portion comprising a display and possibly other output components (e.g., a speaker), and a processing portion to process data allowing the monitoring tool to be used by the user86. In this embodiment, the user device87is a personal computer (e.g., a workstation, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, etc.). In other embodiments, the user device87may take on other forms (e.g., a mobile phone, a portable technician terminal, etc.).

The monitoring tool is implemented by a monitoring tool application85. In this embodiment, the monitoring tool application85is executed by the processing entity59of the service monitoring entity45. The monitoring tool comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) implemented on the user device87. The user device87is connected to the service monitoring entity45via a communications link55, which may be a wired or wireless link.

The monitoring tool enables the user86to interact with its GUI in order to request and be presented with meaningful representations of the QoE information stored in the database83. The GUI may provide charts, tables, lists and/or any other graphical representation of selected portions of the QoE information stored in the database83that are to be presented to the user86.

For instance,FIGS. 7 to 11show examples of manifestations of the GUI on the computer86in this embodiment. InFIG. 7, a set of tables presents the daily, weekly, and monthly QoE ratings for the subscribers in terms of proportions of the subscribers which had “green”, “yellow”, “red” and “blue” QoE ratings for particulars days, weeks and months. For instance, the table indicates that, on May 18, 2010, 84.05% of the subscribers had “green” daily QoE ratings, 2.45% of the subscribers had “yellow” daily QoE ratings, 6.86% of the subscribers had “red” daily QoE ratings, and 6.63% of the subscribers had “blue” daily QoE ratings. InFIG. 8, the daily, weekly, and monthly QoE ratings for a given subscriber are presented by a calendar which conveys the daily QoE rating for each particular day, a list which conveys the weekly QoE rating for each particular week, and another list which conveys the monthly QoE rating for each particular month. For instance, the calendar and the lists indicate that the subscriber had “red” daily QoE ratings from Apr. 18 to Apr. 21, 2010, a “green” daily QoE rating on Apr. 22, 2010, and a “yellow” daily QoE rating on Apr. 23, 2010, the subscriber had “red” weekly QoE ratings for the weeks of Apr. 4 and Apr. 11, 2010, and the subscriber had a “red” monthly QoE rating for the month of April 2010. InFIGS. 9 to 11, different performance charts are presented.

Various other charts, tables, lists and/or other graphical representations of selected portions of the QoE information stored in the database83may be presented to the user86via the GUI of the monitoring tool (e.g., representations of the 15-min QoE ratings for a given subscriber, representations of individual ones of the IPTV service parameters for a given subscriber, etc.).

Based on the QoE information stored in the database83, the user86may be alerted to situations affecting the QoE of subscribers. For example, when a particular IPTV service parameter (e.g., a given compound IPTV service parameters indicative of a likelihood of a situation affecting the QoE of a subscriber) is attributed a “red” parameter rating or a particular period of time (e.g., a 15-min interval, a day, a week, or a month) is attributed a “red” QoE rating, output of the “red” parameter rating or “red” QoE rating on the GUI of the computer86provides an alert alerting the user86to the fact that a situation is potentially affecting the QoE of the subscriber. Other forms of alerts (e.g., pop-up windows, email messages, etc.) may be issued in other embodiments.

The user86can use the monitoring tool provided by the user device87in order to assess the quality of the IPTV service provided to the subscribers in general or to specific subscribers, to identify issues in connection with this service, and establish corrective actions to resolve these issues.

For example, in cases in which the user86is a helpdesk agent or technician who is handling a subscriber's complaint about the IPTV service being poor, the QoE information accessible via the monitoring tool provided by the user device87may help the helpdesk agent or technician diagnose the trouble the subscriber is experiencing and be able to fix it as quickly and efficiently as possible. For instance,FIG. 12shows how the user86can use the monitoring tool via the user device87to identify the root cause of a subscriber's issue as likely being a particular STB at the subscriber's premises. In particular, since the QoE information reflects the status of the access network26, the user86can exclude the DSL connection as the root cause of the subscriber's issue.

As another example, in some cases, the user86may proactively review the QoE information accessible via the monitoring tool provided by the user device87to identify specific subscribers experiencing poor service quality (e.g., subscribers having a “red” weekly QoE rating) and reach out to them to resolve the issues before these subscribers notice the poor service or contact the service provider. For instance, the user86may contact a given subscriber identified as experiencing poor service to explain the situation and provide a solution to the problem (e.g., instruct the given subscriber to change a cable between the STB70and the residential gateway69, advise the given subscriber that a technician can stop by to resolve the problem, etc.).

Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the processing entity59of the service monitoring entity45may proactively analyse the QoE information for the subscribers in order to identify specific subscribers experiencing poor service quality (e.g., subscribers having a “red” weekly QoE rating) and automatically take actions to resolve the issues before these subscribers notice the poor service and contact the service provider. For instance, the service monitoring entity45may send a communication (e.g., an email, a voice mail, an internal log communication etc.) to a helpdesk agent or a technician to advise of a given subscriber identified as experiencing poor service to explain the situation and provide a solution to the problem. As another example, the service monitoring entity45may send a communication (e.g., an email, a voice mail, etc.) to the given subscriber identified as experiencing poor service to explain the situation and provide a solution to the problem (e.g., advise the given subscriber that a technician can stop by to resolve the problem, etc.).

While in the examples considered above the user86is an employee of the service provider, in other examples, the user86may be the subscriber, who can use the monitoring tool provided by the user device87to access the QoE information pertaining to his/her subscription.

Another way in which the QoE information derived by the service monitoring entity45can be used is to assess performance of the network10. Such assessments can give insight into how well the IPTV service is provisioned by the service provider, isolate chronic issues, serve to develop better provisioning standards/guidelines and training programs for technicians, and/or rationalize added investments in connection with the IPTV service. For example, this may be used to isolate problems by identifying which network components (e.g., in the SHE20, in the core network22, in the access network26or in the end-user equipment30x) are causing these problems. For instance,FIG. 13shows an example of a more detailed architecture over which the IPTV service may be delivered, with rectangular boxes illustrating potential areas where issues affecting delivery of the IPTV service may be encountered.

Although in embodiments discussed above the service monitoring entity45and the QoE information that it derives pertain to an IPTV service, in other embodiments, principles discussed herein may apply to other services that can be provided over the packet-switched network13. For example, in other embodiments, principles discussed herein may apply to an Internet access service and/or a VoIP service provided over the packet-switched network13. For instance, in such embodiments, a service monitoring entity similar to the service monitoring entity45may derive QoE information for subscribers of the Internet access service and/or the VoIP service on a basis of parameters similar to the IPTV service parameters discussed above (e.g., with different thresholds being used in attributing QoE ratings to the parameter values).

While in embodiments considered above, the end-user equipment301-30Nof the subscribers is located at the subscriber premises281-28Nand the communication links631-63Nof the access network26include wired links leading to the end-user equipment301-30N, in other embodiments, the end-user equipment301-30Nof the subscribers may include mobile wireless devices (e.g., cellular phones) and the communication links631-63Nmay include wireless links (e.g., cellular links) over which the services are delivered.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, a given component described herein (e.g., the service monitoring entity45) may comprise one or more pre-programmed hardware or firmware elements (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc.) or other related elements to implement at least some functionality of that given component. In other embodiments, a given component described herein (e.g., the service monitoring entity45) may comprise a processor having access to a memory which stores program instructions for execution by the processor to implement at least some functionality of that given component. The program instructions may be stored on data storage media that is fixed, tangible, and readable directly by the processor. The data storage media may store data optically (e.g., an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or a DVD), magnetically (e.g., a hard disk drive, a removable diskette), electrically (e.g., semiconductor memory, floating-gate transistor memory, etc.), and/or in various other ways. Alternatively, the program instructions may be stored remotely but transmittable to the given component via a modem or other interface device connected to a network over a transmission medium. The transmission medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a medium implemented using wireless techniques (e.g., microwave, infrared or other wireless transmission schemes).

Although various embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.