Patent ID: 8223761

Claim:
A computer implemented method for diagnosing a router which supports policy-based routing, which is applied in a network including a router supporting policy-based routing, and a router which is independent of the policy-based routing, the method comprising: adding stream description information in an Internet control message protocol (ICMP) diagnosis-protocol-message and containing a router warning option which is used to inform the router supporting policy-based routing to check and process the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message, in an Internet Protocol (IP) header of the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message; routing, by the router support policy-based routing, according to the stream description information in the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message; and processing, by the router which is independent of the policy-based routing, the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message according to ICMP; wherein the stream description information employs the coding format of “type-length-parameter value,” the steam description information comprises one or more of protocol type, requirement of type of service, source address, source port, target address, target port, authentication information, and extensible sign of the service stream; the method further comprising, receiving, by a service classification entity in the router supporting policy-based routing, the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message carrying the added stream description information; analyzing, by a service classification entity in the router supporting policy-based routing, the stream description information of the ICMP diagnosis-protocol-message received; determining, by a service classification entity in the router supporting policy-based routing, whether the stream description information comprises the requirement of type of service; if the stream description information comprises the requirement of type of services, amending a value of the requirement of type of service of the stream description information into a value of the requirement of type of service carried by the service stream after it passes through the service classification entity; and if the stream description information does not comprise the requirement of type of service, adding, into the stream description information, a value of the requirement of type of service carried by the service stream after it passes through the service classification entity.