Methods and apparatus for sharing counter resources between CoS/priority or/and between EVC/VLAN to support frame loss measurement

摘要

Embodiments including methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for calculating frame parameters for the purpose of measuring performance in a network based on the calculated frame parameters are disclosed. By automatically or manually provisioning at least two network elements in a star or other network topology to transmit and receive service frames (e.g., Loss Measurement Messages or Loss Measurement Responses), the embodiments enable network elements to share network resources, such as frame counters, thereby decreasing the number of frame counters needed to perform frame parameter measurements and increasing scalability for a given counter resource supported by a low cost network processor units.

主权项

1. A method of measuring performance in a network, the method comprising:
enabling a first network element to transmit and receive information regarding counter resources to and from a second network element, the counter resources being shared among a plurality of Class of Service (CoS) of a virtual local area network (VLAN) or Ethernet Virtual Connection (EVC), each of the plurality of CoS at least used to determine which outbound queue an outbound packet uses; for each CoS, (i) transmitting, from the first network element to the second network element, first counter resources information determined at the first network element, and (ii) receiving at the first network element, second counter resources information determined at the second network element; calculating frame parameters for each CoS at the first network element as a function of the first and second counter resources information; and measuring for each CoS the performance in the network based on the calculated frame parameters.