Abstract: A system containing a visualization application which enables the user or other user to obtain information about various types of transactions involving the respective activities of the components. The user selects filtering criteria that identify various types of transactions performed on each network component from the visualization application and the visualization application uses these criteria in compiling the appropriate records from the network information files. The visualization application then forms the data that represent the records that meet each selected criterion and stores the data in a local file. Thereafter, the user may view the network activity through the visualization application which displays a map of the network and overlays the map with graphical moving images that represent the data for each selected criterion. The graphical images change with time to reflect changes in the underlying data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for an improved Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) system for traffic engineering is described. The improved MPLS system determines the actual traffic flow within a traffic engineering (TE) tunnel and dynamically adjusts the bandwidth to reflect the actual traffic flow. The actual traffic flow may be ascertained by accessing an average byte counter, which keeps track of the traffic flowing through the TE tunnel. Once the actual traffic flow is known the bandwidth is updated in accordance with the actual traffic flow. This allows the MPLS system to automatically maximize the bandwidth resources while minimizing operator intervention.

Abstract: An intermediate station produces, for an altered packet that includes multiple cells from a received packet and one or more altered cells that are substituted for the corresponding cells of the received packet, a .DELTA.-CRC remainder that is combined with the CRC remainder included in the received packet to produce a CRC remainder for the altered packet. The station first produces for each altered cell a bit pattern that has zeros in the bit positions in which the bits of the altered cell and the corresponding received cell match and ones in the bit position in which the two cells do not match. The station next encodes the bit patterns in accordance with the CRC code and produces corresponding .DELTA.-CRC values. It then manipulates the .DELTA.-CRC values to produce the .DELTA.-CRC remainder, and combines the .DELTA.-CRC remainder with the CRC remainder in the received packet. The result is the CRC remainder for the altered packet.