Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for analyzing networks

US5247517A · kind A · utility

168Cited by
7References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 2, 1992
Grant dateSep 21, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 2, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04Q9/00
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for analyzing and monitoring network activity. The present invention provides one-hundred percent data capture for complete monitoring capability. The present invention also permits the simulated generation of traffic up to network capacity. The method and apparatus of the present invention allows for the use of pre-defined or custom-designed network tests so that users can analyze protocols and trouble-shoot network problems at various levels. Although one-hundred percent data capture is possible, the user may also customize the system to capture only certain packets of information. For example, the present invention can be implemented to capture errors, collisions and short-length packets. The present invention accesses the token ring network through a ring interface. The output of the ring interface is coupled to a media access control (MAC) block. The MAC block includes a memory for packet buffering and is coupled to the primary memory, which is coupled to the host interface. The output of the ring interface is also coupled to a serial state machine. The serial state machine is used for high speed decoding of packet informat…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.