CPC H04L 43/0817 (2013.01) [H04L 43/04 (2013.01); H04L 43/06 (2013.01); H04L 43/10 (2013.01)] | 15 Claims |
1. A method of analyzing performance of a local area network (LAN) by processing LAN diagnostic data obtained in respect of the LAN, the LAN having at least one user-device located therein operable to communicate via a LAN gateway device with one or more remote devices in a communications network outside the LAN, the LAN diagnostic data comprising a plurality of data units carrying data relating to performance characteristics of the LAN, the plurality of data units comprising fields having field-values stored therein, the method comprising:
calculating, using the LAN gateway device, a data-unit-value for each of the plurality of data units, the data-unit-value for a data unit being calculated according to a predetermined function of one or more field-values stored in one or more of the fields in the data unit;
identifying, using the LAN gateway device, a first data unit and a second data unit from the plurality of data units as being similar according to predetermined criteria in dependence on a comparison of respective data-unit-values, the second data unit having at least one field-value stored in at least one field which differs from a corresponding field-value stored in at least one corresponding field of the first data unit;
in response to such an identification, creating, using the LAN gateway device, a third data unit comprising at least one field containing a field-value indicative of the first data unit and at least one field containing an indication of the at least one field-value which differs from the corresponding field-value stored in the corresponding field of the first data unit; and then
sending, using the LAN gateway device, the first data unit and the third data unit from the LAN for LAN performance analysis by a remote network diagnostic device in the communications network outside the LAN.
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