Patent ID: 7151819

Claim:
A method for testing a communication network, comprising: transmitting at least a first signal from a first point to at least a second point of said communication network, wherein said first and said second points of the communication network are remotely located from one another; recording a first time value of said transmitting using a first clock; obtaining a first measurement of at least one performance characteristic of the first signal at the first point of the communication network; correlating the first measurement with the first time value; receiving the first signal at said second point of said communication network; recording, at the second point of said communication network, at least a second time value of said receiving using at least a second clock, wherein said first clock and said second clock respectively operate locally from a substantially similar reference; obtaining at least a second measurement of the performance characteristic of the first signal as received at the second point of the communication network; correlating the second measurement with the second time value; comparing said first measurement and said second measurement of the performance characteristic as a function of said first and second time values; and determing at least one end-to-end performance characteristic of said communication network based on said comparing.