Patent ID: 8208389

Claim:
A method for providing network metrics, the method comprising: receiving a metric measurement message at an ingress port associated with a network device, the metric measurement message including a plurality of timestamps, wherein the plurality of timestamps are generated by a plurality of network devices using Layer 2 applications and wherein the metric measurement message is a Layer 2 message and is encapsulated in a Layer 3 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packet; inserting a first timestamp into the metric measurement message after the metric measurement message is received at the ingress port, the first timestamp generated using a hardware clock associated with the network device; inserting a second timestamp into the metric measurement message after the first timestamp is inserted and before the metric measurement message is transmitted at an egress port associated with the network device, the second timestamp generated using the hardware clock associated with the network device, wherein the first and second timestamps are generated by a Layer 2 application.