US Patent 9769044 Internet protocol service performance monitoring

In some examples, a router comprising a control unit comprising a processor, the control unit configured to receive configuration data defining a measurement endpoint for measuring performance of a layer 3 (L3) service and associating the measurement endpoint with a remote measurement endpoint of a remote router. The control unit is further configured to encapsulate, to generate a flow measurement packet, a layer 2 (L2) measurement packet in a layer 4 (L4) header and an L3 header that identify a measurement flow. The control unit is further configured to output the flow measurement packet to the remote router.