Methods, systems and computer program products for determining a point of loss of data on a communication network

1. A method for determining a point of loss for data records to be communicated between a source and a destination on a communication network, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a topology of the communication network between the source and the destination, the topology including a plurality of connecting nodes;

determining for respective ones of the connecting nodes a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing into the respective ones of the connecting nodes during a determined period of time, and a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing out of the respective ones of the connecting nodes during the determined period of time; and

identifying at least one of the connecting nodes as the point of loss based on the determined topology and a comparison of a determined count of data records passing into the at least one of the connecting nodes with a determined count of data records passing out of the at least one of the connecting nodes;

wherein a plurality of network appliances configured to obtain a count of data records passing between a pair of connecting nodes during a time period are positioned between respective ones of the connecting nodes, and

wherein determining for respective ones of the connecting nodes a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing into the respective ones of the connecting nodes and a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing out of the respective ones of the connecting nodes further comprises:

identifying at least one of the network appliances on the topology; and

obtaining the count of data records obtained by the identified at least one network appliance during the determined period of time.

2. A system for determining a point of loss for data records to be communicated between a source and a destination on a communication network, the system comprising:

a memory including a topology of the communication network between the source and the destination, the topology including a plurality of connecting nodes;

a receiver that receives, from each of a plurality of network appliances monitoring data records passing between respective ones of the connecting nodes at determined locations on the communication network, a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing between the respective ones of the connecting nodes during a determined period of time; and

a comparison circuit that identifies at least one of the connecting nodes as the point of loss based on the locations of the network appliances, the topology, and a comparison of a received count of data records passing between the at least one of the connecting nodes and a connecting node upstream of the at least one of the connecting nodes with a received count of data records passing between the at least one of the connecting nodes and a connecting node downstream of the at least one of the connecting nodes.

3. The system of claim 2 further comprising the plurality of network appliances wherein pairs of the connecting nodes define segments of the topology between the source and the destination and wherein at least one of the network appliances is coupled between each of the pairs of the connecting nodes.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein at least one of the network appliances further comprises:

a timer;

a filter that identifies ones of a plurality of data records detected by the at least one of the network appliances that are being transmitted from the source to the destination on the communications network;

a counter that counts filtered one of the plurality of data records, the counter being configured to be reset responsive to the timer; and

a transmitter that transmits counts from the counter to the receiver.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the filter is configured to identify ones of the plurality of data records based on the source Internet Protocol (IP) address and destination IP address of a data packet containing data records detected by the at least one of the network appliances.

6. A system for determining a point of loss for data records to be communicated between a source and a destination on a communication network, the system comprising:

means for determining a topology of the communication network between the source and the destination, the topology including a plurality of connecting nodes and a plurality of network appliances configured to obtain a count of data records passing between a pair of connecting nodes during a time period, ones of the network appliances being positioned between respective ones of the connecting nodes;

means for determining for respective ones of the connecting nodes a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing into the respective ones of the connecting nodes during a determined period of time, and a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing out of the respective ones of the connecting nodes during the determined period of time, the means for determining further comprising means for identifying at least one of the network appliances on the topology, and means for obtaining the count of data records obtained by the identified at least one network appliance during the determined period of time; and

means for identifying at least one of the connecting nodes as the point of loss based the determined topology and a comparison of a determined count of data records passing into the at least one of the connecting nodes with a determined count of data records passing out of the at least one of the connecting nodes.

7. A computer program product for determining a point of loss for data records to be communicated between a source and a destination on a communication network based on a topology of the communication network between the source and the destination, the topology including a plurality of connecting nodes and a plurality of network appliances configured to obtain a count of data records passing between a pair of connecting nodes during a time period positioned between respective ones of the connecting nodes, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code comprising: computer-readable program code which determines for respective ones of the connecting nodes a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing into the respective ones of the connecting nodes during a determined period of time, and a count of data records from the source directed to the destination passing out of the respective ones of the connecting nodes during the determined period of time, the computer-readable program code further comprising computer-readable program code which identifies at least one of the network appliances on the topology, and computer-readable program code which determines the count of data records obtained by the identified at least one network appliance during the determined period of time; and

computer-readable program code which identifies at least one of the connecting nodes as the point of loss based on the determined topology and a comparison of a determined count of data records passing into the at least one of the connecting nodes with a determined count of data records passing out of the at least one of the connecting nodes.