Bandwidth Discovery Packets for Multi-Hop Network Bottleneck Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bandwidth estimation methods, such as the probe gap technique, are affected by packet queuing and cross traffic, leading to under- or over-estimation of bottleneck bandwidth due to encryption boundaries in communication networks, which hinder accurate throughput assessment across encrypted network endpoints.
Innovation Solution
A method involving probe packets and bandwidth discovery packets is used to measure and adjust delays across multi-hop paths, allowing nodes to determine and relay bottleneck bandwidth accurately, even across encrypted network endpoints, by comparing measured and recorded bandwidths and adjusting probe packet delays based on routing protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If probe gap technique is used for bandwidth estimation, then bandwidth can be measured, but packet queuing and cross traffic cause under- or over-estimation of bottleneck bandwidth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces bandwidth discovery packets as intermediary elements that travel through the network path and collect bandwidth information from intermediate nodes. These packets act as mediators between the probe packets and the bandwidth estimation process, enabling accurate bottleneck bandwidth measurement by gathering actual link bandwidth data from each hop without being affected by packet queuing or cross traffic at the endpoints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the bandwidth measurement process into multiple independent components: probe packets for triggering measurements, bandwidth discovery packets for collecting data, and intermediate nodes for actual bandwidth measurement. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, improving overall measurement accuracy by isolating the bottleneck bandwidth measurement from the effects of packet queuing and cross traffic.
2Reliability
If encryption boundaries are added at network edges, then network security is improved, but bandwidth estimation becomes more difficult due to hidden network state information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses bandwidth discovery packets as intermediaries that can traverse the encrypted network boundary and carry bandwidth information from intermediate nodes back to the source. These packets serve as a communication channel that bypasses the encryption boundary's information hiding effect, allowing bandwidth state information to be transmitted without compromising network security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts bandwidth measurement functionality from the encrypted communication channel by using separate bandwidth discovery packets that carry only bandwidth information. This extraction allows bandwidth estimation to occur independently from the encrypted data traffic, enabling hosts on the red side to obtain network state information without breaking encryption or security boundaries.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, a network node, a router, a method and a program used to determine a bottleneck bandwidth on a multi-hop path between a source and destination node is presented. The method comprises receiving probe packets by a first hop node in the multi-hop path, measuring a bandwidth on a link between the first hop node and a next hop node in the multi-hop path, generating a bandwidth discovery packet including the measured bandwidth, transmitting the BDP to the next hop node, relaying the probe packets to the next hop node, and determining if the next hop node is a last-hop node on the multi-hop path. A last hop node records the measured bandwidth from the BDP, adjusts the delay between the probe packets based upon the bandwidth and relaying the probe packets to the destination node. The destination node determines the bottleneck bandwidth based on the delay between the probe packets.