PATH DISCOVERY IN DATA TRANSPORT NETWORKS BASED ON STATISTICAL INFERENCE

摘要

A method and network management node for determining the managed nodes on a path from a given source node to a given destination node based on a statistical inference of traffic volume reports available from the nodes. Traffic counts from Performance Management (PM) counters are collected from all managed transport nodes including the source and destination nodes. Based on the observed pattern of traffic volume received from the PM counters, the most likely matching path from a given source to a given destination is selected. If the traffic counts are insufficient to establish a path with adequate certainty, the method may optionally generate additional traffic from the source node to the destination node to increase the reliability of the path determination.

主权项

1. A method in a network management node for determining a path followed by traffic through a communication network between a source node and a destination node, wherein the communication network includes a plurality of intermediate nodes, and the traffic passes through at least one of the intermediate nodes between the source and destination nodes, the method comprising:
collecting by a path analysis unit, traffic-volume information from the source node, the plurality of intermediate nodes, and the destination node; and determining by the path analysis unit, a best matching path utilizing a statistical inference from the collected traffic-volume information.