Patent ID: 7573831

Claim:
A method for analyzing billing packets transmitted, the method comprising: receiving a first packet of data being transmitted from a billing collector to a billing converter through a first transmission port, wherein said first packet comprises billing data and a current transmission time; determining whether the first packet has been previously transmitted from the billing collector to the billing converter, and if so, determining a previous transmission time for the first packet; determining a first time difference between the previous transmission time of the first packet and the current transmission time of the first packet; receiving a second packet of data being transmitted from the billing collector to the billing converter through the first transmission port, wherein the second packet comprises billing data and a second current transmission time; determining whether the second packet has been previously transmitted from the billing collector to the billing converter, and if so, determining a previous transmission time for the second packet; determining a second time difference between the previous transmission time of the second packet and the second current transmission time of the second packet; and storing the first time difference and the second time differences with indications that the first time difference and the second time difference are related to packets transmitted through the first transmission port.