Autonomous Agent Messaging Spooling for Disconnected Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compliance and security systems for enterprise environments lack flexibility, scalability, and reliability in monitoring system integrity and reporting changes due to limitations in existing compliance agents, such as requiring continuous connection, lack of plugin support, and inability to operate disconnectedly.
Innovation Solution
The development of autonomous or semi-autonomous agents with flow control mechanisms for data spooling, on-demand plugin capabilities, and unique identifiers to enhance data reliability and scalability, allowing for disconnected operation and improved network resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If agents continuously connect to servers for monitoring system integrity, then data transmission reliability improves, but network dependency increases and disconnected operation becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a spooler that pre-collects and buffers data locally on the agent before transmission is needed. This preliminary data collection and local storage capability allows the agent to operate independently when disconnected from the server, then transmit the accumulated data once connectivity is restored, resolving the contradiction between continuous connection requirements and disconnected operation capability
2Loss of information
If agents send all collected data continuously, then data freshness improves, but network bandwidth consumption increases and system resources are overwhelmed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a spooler lag indicator that provides feedback about the current state of the data buffer. This feedback mechanism allows the system to monitor data accumulation rates and transmission rates, enabling dynamic adjustment of data collection and transmission timing to optimize the balance between data freshness and network bandwidth consumption
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous data transmission, the patent implements periodic batch transmission through the spooler. Data is collected continuously in the background and transmitted in periodic batches when appropriate, reducing network bandwidth consumption while maintaining acceptable data freshness through controlled intervals
3Measurement precision
If agents implement comprehensive monitoring capabilities, then system integrity detection improves, but agent footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the agent into a core lightweight process and separate spooler component for data buffering. This segmentation allows the monitoring agent to maintain a small footprint while the spooler handles the heavier data storage and management functions, enabling comprehensive monitoring capabilities without significantly increasing the agent's memory and resource requirements
4Reliability
If agents store large amounts of data locally, then data availability for retransmission improves, but local storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a configurable spooler with adjustable buffer size parameters. By allowing dynamic adjustment of storage capacity parameters, the system can adapt local storage requirements to match actual needs for data retransmission, optimizing the balance between data availability and storage consumption based on network conditions and data generation rates
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 collecting data from an agent executing on a host computer connected to one or more agent data consumers via a network connection includes collecting host data, the collecting occurring whether or not the agent can currently send data via the network connection. When the agent cannot send data via the network connection, the agent spools at least a portion of the collected host data in a spooler. When the agent can send data via the computer network, the agent sends at least a portion of the spooled host data to at least one of the agent data consumers.