Antivirus File Scanning Parallel Processing Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Scanning multiple files using antivirus software is resource-intensive and results in latency due to sequential processing, leading to inefficiencies and increased wait times, as well as potential false negatives and false positives in malware detection.
Innovation Solution
A file analysis system that distributes processing across multiple computing units, where files are grouped into batches and scanned using multiple antivirus programs in parallel, with each unit generating and replicating batches to reduce latency and overhead, and requesting the next batch during ongoing scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If files are scanned sequentially using multiple antivirus programs, then detection reliability is improved, but processing time and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file scanning process by dividing files into batches and assigning different antivirus programs to different computing units. Each computing unit processes a subset of files in parallel, allowing multiple antivirus programs to scan multiple files simultaneously rather than sequentially, thus reducing latency while maintaining detection reliability through multi-program analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces parallelism as a new dimension to the scanning process by deploying multiple computing units that operate simultaneously. Instead of a single-threaded sequential approach, the system creates a multi-dimensional processing space where files are distributed across multiple antivirus programs and computing units, enabling concurrent execution and reducing overall processing time
2Reliability
If multiple antivirus programs are used to scan each file, then detection accuracy improves, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the workload by distributing files across multiple computing units, where each unit handles a specific subset of files with assigned antivirus programs. This segmentation prevents any single computing unit from being overwhelmed by resource-intensive multi-program scanning of all files, thereby reducing overall resource consumption while maintaining detection accuracy through distributed multi-program analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the scanning operations of multiple antivirus programs across multiple computing units to process batches of files simultaneously. By combining the computational resources of multiple units working in parallel on different file subsets, the system achieves efficient resource utilization where the total resource consumption is distributed and optimized across the computing infrastructure
3Productivity
If batches of files are processed with replication for each antivirus program, then processing efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-dividing files into batches and pre-assigning antivirus programs to computing units before the actual scanning begins. This upfront organization of batches and program assignments simplifies the management complexity during execution, as the parallel processing framework is already established and files can be processed immediately without dynamic allocation overhead
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by replicating batches of files to multiple computing units, where each unit receives a copy of the batch assigned to it. This copying approach enables parallel processing without requiring complex inter-unit communication during scanning, as each unit independently processes its copied batch with assigned antivirus programs, thereby improving productivity while managing complexity through simple replication
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, a method includes receiving files provided for analysis by users, generating, from the received files, a batch including multiple files, and scanning each of the files in the batch using each of multiple different antivirus software programs to generate an antivirus output for each of the files. The scanning includes, for each of multiple computing units, generating a replica of the batch for the computing unit, and scanning, by the computing unit, each file in the replica of the batch using an antivirus software program assigned to the computing unit to generate a respective program-specific antivirus output for the antivirus software program for each file of the batch of files. The method includes generating, for each file in the batch, the antivirus output for the file from the program-specific antivirus outputs for the file, and outputting the generated antivirus outputs for presentation to the users.