A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING NETWORK PERFORMANCE AND STRESS ANALYSIS

摘要

A method and apparatus for measuring network performance and performing stress analysis are disclosed. The disclosed method and apparatus measure system delays through a network while selectively placing loads on nodes in the network. Each node in the network recognizes and processes a directed load/performance message (DLP) that travels along a specified route and measures the delays within the network. The directed load/performance message (DLP) is a self guided packet that traverses the network along a path specified by the initiator of the message. Each node inserts its current (local) time into the directed load/performance message (DLP) as the node processes the DLP message on both the forward and reverse legs of the specified path. The delay seen by each node in the network can be obtained by subtracting the time-stamps inserted in the message by each node as the node processes the message in each direction. The "round trip time" is the time it takes the message to leave and return to the same node in the round trip path. The round trip time provides the delay seen by a given node. The incremental delay time is the time it takes for the message to travel between two adjacent nodes on a given leg of the path. Various load conditions can be simulated on specific nodes in the network, to observe the behavior of the node under stress. The DLP message can optionally indicate a predefined number of CPU cycles that each node should burn (or consume) in order to simulate a load.