Patent ID: 7529247

Claim:
A method of transmitting packets over an Internet Protocol (IP) or Ethernet packet-switched network, comprising the steps of: (1) transmitting from a network endpoint a plurality of test packets over the network during a plurality of different time slots, wherein each test packet has a priority level that is lower than a priority level assigned to data packets that are to be transmitted between endpoints on the network, and wherein the test packets are transmitted so as to emulate data packets that are to be transmitted between the endpoints on the network; (2) on the basis of step (1), evaluating which of the plurality of different time slots corresponds to favorable network traffic conditions; and (3) transmitting a plurality of data packets comprising one or more of voice data, video data, and TDM-over-IP data over the network at a priority level higher than the test packets using one or more favorable time slots evaluated in step (2).