Determining an average effective data through-put as corresponds to a network-served end user

摘要

A network monitoring apparatus in a communications network detects TCP data flows (to at least one network-served end user) to provide corresponding detected data flows. This apparatus then measures data throughput to this (or these) end user(s) via the TCP data flows and during the TCP data flows and calculates an average effective data throughput to this end user. This calculation can be based, by one approach, upon use of time variables that represent the detected data flows (to effectively gamer a beginning-to-end view oft be various TCP data flows while avoiding inclusion of periods that represent no (or possibly only a little) volume in these regards as may be due to application idle time or end-user idle time while including periods that represent no (or possibly only a little) volume due to network buffering, device performance problems, and so forth).

主权项

1. A method comprising:
at a network monitoring apparatus in a communications network: detecting a plurality of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) data flows in the communications network to at least one network-served end user, which TCP data flows are not instigated by the network monitoring apparatus, to provide detected data flows; measuring data throughput to the at least one network-served end user via the TCP data flows during the TCP data flows, wherein the measuring comprises aggregating data volume metrics for each of the plurality of TCP data flows; detecting uplink TCP acknowledgement packets from the at least one network-served end user; determining time variables that represent the detected TCP data flows by, at least in part, timestamping the detected uplink TCP acknowledgement packets; and calculating an average effective data throughput to the at least one network-served end user using the time variables, wherein the calculating comprises dividing the aggregated data volume metrics by an aggregated amount of time during which at least one of the plurality of TCP flows is flowing.