Granted Patent B2

US 8,913,506 · App. 13/872,681 · Granted Dec 16, 2014

Abstract

Claims (42)

1. A method of monitoring quality of a telephone call transmitted over a network, the method comprising:

performing a traceroute at a first frequency through the network;

obtaining a metric associated with the telephone call using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, the metric being based on data packets that are transmitted during the telephone call;

determining whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds a threshold;

performing the traceroute at a second frequency through the network if the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds the threshold, the second frequency being a higher frequency than the first frequency;

obtaining the metric using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency;

determining whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency, is below the threshold;

performing the traceroute at a third frequency if the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency, is determined to be below the threshold, the third frequency being a lower frequency than the second frequency;

receiving information from nodes of the network;

routing subsequent telephone calls based on the information; and

using the information and other information relating to routing of other telephone calls through the network to locate a problem on the network;

wherein the subsequent telephone calls are routed to attempt to avoid the problem.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining a metric comprises obtaining plural metrics associated with the telephone call;

wherein determining whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds a threshold comprises determining whether the plural metrics exceed corresponding plural thresholds.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metric comprises at least one of data packet loss and jitter of the data packets.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing the following actions at least until the metric is below the threshold:

obtaining the metric periodically; and

each time the metric is obtained, determining whether the metric exceeds the threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises records associated with telephone calls routed through different paths of the network.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metric relates to a degradation in call quality, the degradation represented by the metric not being detectable by a human ear.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metric is weighted, the weight corresponding to a system that initiates the telephone call.

8. One or more non-transitory machine-readable media for storing instructions that are executable to monitor quality of a telephone call transmitted over a network, the instructions for causing one or more processing devices to:

perform a traceroute at a first frequency through the network;

obtain a metric associated with the telephone call using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, the metric being based on data packets that are transmitted during the telephone call;

determine whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds a threshold;

perform the traceroute at a second frequency through the network if the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds the threshold, the second frequency being a higher frequency than the first frequency;

obtain the metric using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency;

determine whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency, is below the threshold;

perform the traceroute at a third frequency if the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the second frequency, is determined to be below the threshold, the third frequency being a lower frequency than the second frequency;

receive information from nodes of the network;

route subsequent telephone calls based on the information; and

use the information and other information relating to routing of other telephone calls through the network to locate a problem on the network,

wherein the subsequent telephone calls are routed to attempt to avoid the problem.

9. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein obtaining a metric comprises obtaining plural metrics associated with the telephone call;

wherein determining whether the metric, obtained using the traceroute being performed at the first frequency, exceeds a threshold comprises determining whether the plural metrics exceed corresponding plural thresholds.

10. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the metric comprises at least one of data packet loss and jitter of the data packets.

11. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the one or more processing devices to perform the following actions at least until the metric is below the threshold:

obtain the metric periodically; and

each time the metric is obtained, determine whether the metric exceeds the threshold.

12. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the information comprises records associated with telephone calls routed through different paths of the network.

13. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the metric relates to a degradation in call quality, the degradation represented by the metric not being detectable by a human ear.

14. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the metric is weighted, the weight corresponding to a system that initiates the telephone call.

Assignments (19)