Abstract: A system and method for managing a network apparatus of a communication network. The system includes a network management center including a management-on-board manager MoB-M and a management-on-board agent MoB-A executed at the network apparatus. During its execution, the agent MoB-A performs at least part of a management task on the network apparatus. Besides, during its execution the agent MoB-A retrieves at least one instruction from the manager MoB-M, and executes it for completing the management task. This way, the manager MoB-M may dynamically adapt the behavior of the agent MoB-A to unforeseen events or changes occurring in the network, without the need to rewrite the whole agent logic.

Abstract: A control system managing data flows between a sender data processor and a recipient data processor. The data flows originate at the recipient data processor and pass through at least one telecommunications network gateway.

Abstract: A method for performing a performance measurement of a link between two nodes of a communication network. Before starting a measurement, measurement mode information including start time and packet transmission rate are provided to both nodes. At the start time, a first node generates and transmits to the other node a packet flow including packets with transmission times determined by the start time and packet transmission rate. The packet flow is divided into alternating blocks transmitted during even and odd block periods. At each block period, while the packet flow is received, a variable indicative of its behaviour is updated by using the measurement mode information and detected information on reception of the packet flow. Then, a parameter indicative of a performance of the packet flow during the block period is calculated using the value reached by the variable at the end of the block period.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for performing a measurement (namely, a data loss measurement and/or a time measurement) on a data flow to be transmitted in a communication network. The method includes: upon transmission of the data flow, during first block periods that alternate in time with second block periods, marking each data unit of the data flow by setting a feature thereof to a first value and updating a first parameter; upon reception of the data flow, checking the feature for each received data unit and updating a second parameter when the feature is equal to the first value; while transmission and reception are performed, processing a timer for determining whether a current block period is one of the second block periods and, in the affirmative, providing current values of the first and second parameters; and performing a measurement using the current values of the first and second parameters.

Abstract: A method is provided for performing a time measurement on a packet flow to be transmitted from a first node to a second node of a communication network. The method includes calculating a medium transmission time parameter indicative of an average of transmission time parameters relating to packets transmitted during a given block period; calculating a medium reception time parameter indicative of an average of reception time parameters relating to the same packets; and calculating a medium time measurement indicative of an average performance of the packet flow during the block period using the medium transmission time parameter and the medium reception time parameter.

Abstract: A control system managing data flows between a sender data processor and a recipient data processor. The data flows originate at the recipient data processor and pass through at least one telecommunications network gateway.

Abstract: A method for performing a measurement on data traffic at a node of a communication network. The node includes an input interface and an output interface. The input interface receives first packets and checks whether they are marked. If a first packet is marked, a global input parameter is updated. A partial input parameter is also updated, provided the first packet is addressed to the output interface. The output interface receives second packets, which include at least part of the first packets, and checks whether they are marked. If a second packet is marked, a partial output parameter is updated, provided the second packet is received from the input interface. Further, a global output parameter is updated. The method further performs a measurement on the data traffic based on: global input parameter, partial input parameter, global output parameter, and partial output parameter.

Abstract: A method for performing a time measurement on a data flow transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver of a communication network is provided. The method comprises: at the transmitter, dividing the data flow in first and second time alternating blocks of data units, transmitting them, increasing a transmission counter while the first blocks are transmitted and setting a transmission timestamp to a current time when a predetermined data unit of each first block is transmitted; at the receiver, receiving the first and second blocks, increasing a reception counter while the first blocks are received and setting a reception timestamp to a further current time when the predetermined data unit of each first block is received; and at a management server, periodically detecting values of the transmission counter, the reception counter, the transmission timestamp and the reception timestamp, and using them for performing the time measurement.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for performing a measurement (namely, a data loss measurement and/or a time measurement) on a data flow to be transmitted in a communication network. The method includes: upon transmission of the data flow, during first block periods that alternate in time with second block periods, marking each data unit of the data flow by setting a feature thereof to a first value and updating a first parameter; upon reception of the data flow, checking the feature for each received data unit and updating a second parameter when the feature is equal to the first value; while transmission and reception are performed, processing a timer for determining whether a current block period is one of the second block periods and, in the affirmative, providing current values of the first and second parameters; and performing a measurement using the current values of the first and second parameters.

Abstract: A method for measuring data loss of a data flow in a communication network is provided. The method includes, at a transmitting node: marking each data unit of the data flow for dividing the data flow in blocks so that: data units of a same block have a feature with a same value, while data units of contiguous blocks have the feature with different values; increasing a first counter when the feature has the first value, and a second counter when the feature has the second value; and transmitting the data flow to a receiving node. The method includes, at the receiving node, for each data unit: checking the feature, increasing a third counter when the feature has the first value, and increasing a second counter when the feature has the second value. The method includes calculating data loss based on detected values of first, second, third and fourth counters.

Abstract: A method for performing a time measurement on a data flow transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver of a communication network is provided. The method comprises: at the transmitter, dividing the data flow in first and second time alternating blocks of data units, transmitting them, increasing a transmission counter while the first blocks are transmitted and setting a transmission timestamp to a current time when a predetermined data unit of each first block is transmitted; at the receiver, receiving the first and second blocks, increasing a reception counter while the first blocks are received and setting a reception timestamp to a further current time when the predetermined data unit of each first block is received; and at a management server, periodically detecting values of the transmission counter, the reception counter, the transmission timestamp and the reception timestamp, and using them for performing the time measurement.

Abstract: A system for access to multimedia structures has telephone sets capable of connecting to a telephone network, a storage device capable of storing a plurality of multimedia structures representing messages and/or data and/or commands, and a network access server that can be associated with the telephone sets and is capable of selectively instantiating the multimedia structures via an interconnection network. There is also a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that can be associated with the network access server and that comprises modules for reading files in XML format and for processing the files so as to obtain files in a format that can be synthesized by a speech synthesizer.

Abstract: A method for measuring data loss of a data flow in a communication network is provided. The method includes, at a transmitting node: marking each data unit of the data flow for dividing the data flow in blocks so that: data units of a same block have a feature with a same value, while data units of contiguous blocks have the feature with different values; increasing a first counter when the feature has the first value, and a second counter when the feature has the second value; and transmitting the data flow to a receiving node. The method includes, at the receiving node, for each data unit: checking the feature, increasing a third counter when the feature has the first value, and increasing a second counter when the feature has the second value. The method includes calculating data loss based on detected values of first, second, third and fourth counters.

Abstract: A system for access to multimedia structures has telephone sets capable of connecting to a telephone network, a storage device capable of storing a plurality of multimedia structures representing messages and/or data and/or commands, and a network access server that can be associated with the telephone sets and is capable of selectively instantiating the multimedia structures via an interconnection network. There is also a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that can be associated with the network access server and that comprises modules for reading files in XML format and for processing the files so as to obtain files in a format that can be synthesized by a speech synthesizer.

Abstract: A system for access to multimedia structures has telephone sets capable of connecting to a telephone network, a storage device capable of storing a plurality of multimedia structures representing messages and/or data and/or commands, and a network access server that can be associated with the telephone sets and is capable of selectively instantiating the multimedia structures via an interconnection network. There is also a voice-recognition and speech-synthesis system that can be associated with the network access server and that comprises modules for reading files in XML format and for processing the files so as to obtain files in a format that can be synthesized by a speech synthesizer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system (10) in which a telephone set (16) is capable of using access devices or apparatuses (12) and a network such as the Internet (80) to access multimedia structures consisting for example of automatic answering messages or of messages that can be interpreted by a speech synthesis device, said structures being stored in a storage device (15). The invention also relates to the method for implementing the system (10) and to the generation equipment (14) capable of producing the multimedia structures to be instantiated by means of the telephone set (16) and the access device (12). In particular, the system (10) and method make it possible to implement universal automatic answering machines, i.e., answering machines that are capable of managing a plurality of answer message structures stored in a single device (15) and accessible by means of access devices (12) distributed on the network (80) or in the telephone sets (16).