Patent attributes
Conventional network packet traffic loss/drop monitoring mechanisms, such as that employed for pseudowire, IP flow and tunnel traffic monitoring, do not process or diagnose the aggregate counts from both endpoints of a particular pseudowire. A packet loss and detection mechanism periodically exchanges traffic packet counts to maintain an accurate diagnosis of the pseudowire health from either endpoint. Further, the raw packet counts are analyzed to identify misrouted and lost packets, as both should be considered to assess network health and congestion. The pseudowire statistics are maintained for each pseudowire emanating from a particular edge router, providing a complete view of pseudowire traffic affecting a particular edge router. Such statistics are beneficial for problem detection, diagnosis, and for verification of throughput criteria such as those expressed in Quality of Service (QOS) terms and/or SLAs (service level agreements).