Branch Gateway Availability Monitoring via Peer Keep-Alive Relay
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for determining branch gateway device availability in computer networks are ineffective due to issues like packet loss and delayed transmission, especially in lossy or congested networks, leading to unreliable keep-alive messages.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where peer branch gateway devices can send keep-alive messages on behalf of unresponsive devices and route network traffic intended for unavailable devices, with the cloud management service monitoring and logging availability status and issuing alerts for unavailability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If keep-alive messages are sent periodically to monitor branch gateway device availability, then device availability can be monitored, but packet loss and delayed transmission occur in lossy or congested networks leading to unreliable monitoring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a peer branch gateway device as an intermediary to send keep-alive messages on behalf of the monitored device. Instead of relying solely on the monitored device to send messages (which may be lost), the peer device acts as a mediator that can transmit messages through alternative network paths, thereby improving delivery reliability in lossy or congested networks
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by having peer devices ready to send keep-alive messages on behalf of unresponsive devices. The cloud management service proactively identifies when a device has stopped sending messages and immediately engages peer devices to send messages beforehand, rather than waiting for the monitoring to fail completely
2Measurement precision
If probing or polling methods are used to detect unresponsive devices, then device status can be checked, but these solutions are ineffective in production environments due to network issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses peer branch gateway devices as intermediaries to perform the detection function. Instead of the cloud management service directly probing devices (which may fail due to network issues), the peer devices act as local intermediaries that can reliably detect and report on the status of their peers through direct peer-to-peer communication that is less susceptible to network problems
3Adaptability or versatility
If redundancy peers are configured for high availability, then service continuity can be maintained, but determining which peer is available becomes unreliable when keep-alive messages are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces peer devices as intermediaries that can send keep-alive messages on behalf of unavailable devices. This creates a cross-verification mechanism where multiple peers can confirm the availability status of each other, making the availability determination more reliable even when some message paths are lost
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where peer devices monitor each other's keep-alive message reception and report status back to the cloud management service. This feedback loop allows the system to dynamically adjust and accurately determine which peers are available, even in the presence of message loss
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides an effective solution to accurately determine branch gateway device availability within a computer network. The present disclosure can be employed to accurately determine branch gateway device availability when branch gateway devices are configured in a high-availability peer configuration state and managed by a cloud management service. In some implementations, when branch gateway devices are in a high-availability peer configuration state, they send status messages to their peers which in turn can forward to a cloud management service such that the availability of each branch gateway device on a network can be readily obtained.