Patent ID: 7860965

Claim:
A system for synchronized monitoring of traffic on a communications network, the system comprising: a plurality of data collection sources connected at predetermined connection points on the network, for generating a plurality of synchronized descriptors, the synchronized descriptors being representative of at least one characteristic of the network traffic traversing the corresponding connection point; wherein each of the data collection sources comprises: an internal clock, a time synchronization function for aligning a plurality of fixed time intervals, a plurality of data banks, a link engine for collecting a plurality of data intervals from traffic traversing the corresponding connection point during the fixed time intervals, and, a frame engine for generating the plurality of synchronized descriptors from the data intervals; wherein the link engine comprises an oscillator, distinct from the internal clock, that generates time-stamps; wherein the frame engine fills the data banks with the synchronized descriptors at the fixed time intervals, wherein the data banks output the synchronized descriptors at the fixed time intervals; wherein at the fixed time intervals, the time synchronization function analyzes time-stamps on the descriptors from an outputting data bank in relation to the internal clock, wherein when a time-stamp on a descriptor indicates that the descriptors are not aligned with the fixed time intervals according to the internal clock, the time synchronization function adjusts the timing of the oscillator to synchronize the fixed time intervals with the internal clock; a data portal connected to the plurality of data collection sources, the data portal comprising: a data portal clock for use by a synchronization process that causes synchronization of the internal clocks of the data collection sources with the data portal clock, thereby synchronizing the fixed time intervals of the plurality of data collection sources, and a secondary data generator for receiving the plurality of synchronized descriptors, and for generating a secondary data from the synchronized descriptors corresponding to a predetermined time interval; and, a monitoring client including: a communication interface configured to selectively request the secondary data, which correlates measurements simultaneously taken at the plurality of the data sources and to receive the secondary data formed of the data intervals collected at the plurality of data sources during the predetermined time interval, and a user interface capable of selectively displaying network information derived from the secondary data related to measurements taken at the plurality of data sources during the predetermined time interval.