Agent Message Spooling for Fair Delivery Under Network Delays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compliance and security systems for enterprise environments are limited by monolithic Java agents that require continuous connection to a server, lack plugins, and do not allow for prioritization or disconnected operation, leading to inefficiencies in monitoring system integrity and reporting changes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of autonomous or semi-autonomous agents with flow control mechanisms, on-demand plugins, and message spooling to enhance data collection and reliability, allowing for disconnected operation and improved scalability in network environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If monolithic Java agents are used for monitoring system integrity, then system security can be maintained, but agent complexity and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monolithic agent into separate components: a lightweight agent process and independent plugin modules. Each plugin handles specific monitoring tasks (file integrity, registry monitoring, etc.), allowing the core agent to remain simple while maintaining comprehensive security monitoring capabilities through modular extensions.
2Reliability
If agents continuously connect to servers for real-time monitoring, then monitoring reliability improves, but network bandwidth consumption and server load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic monitoring and batch reporting mechanisms where agents collect data locally over time intervals and transmit aggregated results to servers, rather than maintaining continuous real-time connections. This reduces network traffic while maintaining effective monitoring coverage through scheduled data synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
Agents perform preliminary data collection and processing locally before transmitting to servers. Data is spooled and prepared in advance, allowing agents to operate independently for extended periods and only communicate with servers when necessary, reducing continuous network dependency and bandwidth consumption.
3Reliability
If agents spool data locally before transmission, then data collection reliability improves during network outages, but local storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements selective spooling where agents store only essential monitoring data locally with configurable retention policies. Not all collected data is spooled indefinitely - instead, agents prioritize critical security events and maintain manageable local storage by periodically clearing non-essential data, balancing reliability with storage constraints.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods are disclosed for generating, sending, and receiving messages in a networked environment using autonomous (or semi-autonomous) agents. In one example of the disclosed technology, a method of controlling message flow in a computer network comprising a plurality of agents, agent data consumers, and an agent message bridge configured to send messages by receiving a set of messages, at least some of the messages including a message type, queuing the set of messages in a spooler that includes an indication of the respective message type for each of the messages, receive an indication that sending some of the messages queued in the spooler should be delayed for one or more indicated message types, and sending at least one of the messages to a selected one or more of the agent data consumers, the sent messages not being of the indicated message types.