Patent ID: 7568045

Claim:
In a packet switched computer network, a method of estimating periodic worst-case delay for a class of traffic having an associated rate, the method comprising: collecting traffic data at a queue of a router over a time interval, said queue associated with the class of traffic, the traffic data comprising packet size and arrival time of each packet arriving at the queue during the time interval; calculating at a hardware processor, a burst-rate traffic profile responsive to the traffic data collected at said queue over the time interval and the associated rate, wherein the associated rate is a specified bandwidth for the class of traffic and calculating the burst-rate traffic profile comprises calculating a burst parameter based on the associated rate; calculating at the hardware processor, a periodic worst-case delay for the burst-rate traffic profile by dividing the calculated burst parameter by a share of output link bandwidth allotted to said queue; and transmitting said calculated periodic worst-case delay to a central device that collects said calculated periodic worst-case delay from the router and other routers along a path in the computer network and adds up said calculated periodic worst-case delays; wherein the associated rate is set to a rate negotiated between a customer and a provider for the class of traffic.