Abstract: The invention relates to methods and systems for detecting periodic impairments of media streams of real-time communication sessions within a packet-switched network. The invention is performed in a passive monitoring system monitoring a plurality of media streams providing quality data records for each monitored media stream and for predefined time intervals. For each media stream a frequency distribution is generated, which is indicative of the number of good quality data records between two quality data records indicative of impairment. If a maximum exists in the media stream's frequency distribution for a given number of consecutive good quality data records, the stream is determined to be periodically impaired and said given number of consecutive good quality data records for which the maximum exists indicates the periodicity in the impairment of the media stream.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods and an apparatus for detecting quality induced terminations of media streams of real-time communication sessions within a packet-switched network. To enable the determination of the quality of live media streams passing by the tapping points in a network, and to use this information to determine media transmissions being aborted due to bad quality the invention evaluates quality data records of a terminated media stream to detect, whether the media stream was terminated due to bad quality or another reason. Advantageously, a threshold number of quality data records that were generated for the media stream just before termination thereof are considered in the evaluation. In case each of this threshold number of quality data records yields a bad quality of the media stream, the termination of the media stream may be judged or assumed to be induced due to bad quality.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods for correlating at least one media path and a signaling session of a packet-switched network and to an implementation of these methods in hardware and software. To overcoming one or more of the limitations and challenges on the correlation of signaling plane and media plane of services, the invention defines a key, which can be used for correlation of media streams and signaling sessions. The invention is based on a signaling probe identifying new services and associated media paths of the media plane by detecting their corresponding signaling sessions and determining for each service a signaling session identifier. The signaling probe registers the signaling sessions and their media paths at a correlation unit using the signaling session identifiers as a key, which allows a media probe to query the correlation unit for respective signaling session identifiers that correspond to media paths detected in the media plane traffic.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for analyzing errors of a data stream, particularly a real-time data stream, in a data network (100). According to said method, a time stamp and/or a sequence number is/are determined from or for each data packet transmitted between two communication terminals (10, 12) of the data network (100), a history (diagram) and/or a frequency distribution (histogram) of at least one data transmission parameter determined from the plurality of time stamps and/or sequence numbers of the data packets of the data stream is generated, and a pattern of the history and/or the frequency distribution of the at least one data transmission parameter is identified in order to determine the location and/or the cause of an error during the transmission of the data stream in the data network.

Abstract: A VoIP-aware device generates data structures that include diagnostics data. The diagnostics data of each data structure identifies at least one of sender and network problems that degrade VoIP voice quality.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods for correlating at least one media path and a signaling session of a packet-switched network and to an implementation of these methods in hardware and software. To overcoming one or more of the limitations and challenges on the correlation of signaling plane and media plane of services, the invention defines a key, which can be used for correlation of media streams and signaling sessions. The invention is based on a signaling probe identifying new services and associated media paths of the media plane by detecting their corresponding signaling sessions and determining for each service a signaling session identifier. The signaling probe registers the signaling sessions and their media paths at a correlation unit using the signaling session identifiers as a key, which allows a media probe to query the correlation unit for respective signaling session identifiers that correspond to media paths detected in the media plane traffic.