Abstract: A packet communications network includes a centrally controlled route testing system in which each node includes test results tables containing the results of all path tests originated at that node. A centralized route management facility initiates a path test originating at any node by remotely altering a trigger value in a trigger data object at that node. A general results table contains general test results for an entire path between the local node and a remote node while a detailed test results table contains detailed, hop-by-hop test results for each transmission leg of a multi-leg path. The general results table contains a name trigger field for identifying a point-to-point path to be tested, and a connection trigger field for identifying a link-by-link path to be tested.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 10, 1995
Date of Patent:
March 9, 1999
Assignee:
International Business Machines
Inventors:
Andrew Hilliard Arrowood, Charles A. Carriker, Jr., Jia-bing Robin Cheng, Anne Siegman Magnuson, Sharon Marie McClernan, John Mark Pechacek, Leo Temoshenko, Laura Marie Petri