Aggregator for Unified Trace Data in Multi-Core Network Appliances
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-core network appliances face challenges in efficiently managing and consolidating performance and trace data from multiple packet engines, making it difficult to provide unified performance and trace data as if the appliance were a single processor.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a plurality of packet engines operating on multiple cores of a multi-core appliance, with an aggregator that collects, stores, and consolidates performance and trace data from each packet engine to provide unified data, masking the presence of multiple cores and engines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple packet engines operate on multiple cores to improve processing capacity, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases and unified data management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an aggregator as an intermediary component that collects, consolidates, and manages trace data from multiple packet engines. This aggregator acts as a mediator between the distributed packet engines and the external monitoring systems, providing a unified interface that simplifies data management while allowing multiple engines to operate independently on multiple cores, thus resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and increased device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the trace data from multiple independent packet engines into a single unified data structure through the aggregator. By combining data from multiple sources into a consolidated format, the system maintains the processing benefits of multiple cores while presenting a simplified unified view to external systems, thereby reducing the perceived device complexity for data management purposes
2Ease of operation
If trace data from multiple packet engines is consolidated to provide unified data, then ease of operation improves, but loss of information may occur during aggregation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the aggregation process into distinct functional components within the aggregator: data collection from multiple packet engines, consolidation into unified structures, and selective filtering. This segmentation allows the system to maintain ease of operation through structured consolidation while preserving detailed trace information by organizing it in a hierarchical manner where both summary and detailed data are retained in appropriate formats
3Ease of operation
If unified performance and trace data are provided to mask multiple cores, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases internally
Solution Approach 1:
The aggregator serves as an intermediary that handles the complexity of data collection and consolidation from multiple packet engines, while presenting a simplified unified interface to external monitoring systems. This mediator approach allows the internal device complexity to be encapsulated within the aggregator, improving ease of operation for external users without exposing the underlying complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a unified copy or representation of trace data that consolidates information from multiple packet engines into a single standardized format. This copied unified view is presented to external systems, allowing them to operate with simplified data structures while the actual complex multi-engine system continues to operate internally, thus improving ease of operation while managing device complexity through abstraction
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
Described herein are systems and methods for aggregating performance data or trace data for a multi-core, multi-packet-engine networked appliance. A plurality of packet engines operate on the appliance and manage network traffic between a plurality of clients and a plurality of servers. In various embodiments, the system comprises a plurality of packet engines and an aggregator communicating with the packet engines through shared memory allocations. Each packet engine can write performance data or trace data to the a shared memory allocation. The aggregator can obtain the performance data or trace data and consolidate the data to provide unified performance data or unified trace data representative of the appliance.