Centralized Controller Bandwidth Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network bandwidth management is inefficient as network devices manage bandwidth independently, leading to resource wastage and traffic outages due to lack of centralized control, resulting in inefficient allocation and utilization of network resources.
Innovation Solution
A centralized dynamic network bandwidth allocation and management system that receives topology and path data to determine planned bandwidths for new paths, ranks them, and reserves bandwidths across network devices to optimize traffic routing and prevent outages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If network devices manage bandwidth independently in a distributed manner, then each device can autonomously control its own bandwidth allocation, but this leads to inefficient resource utilization, resource wastage, and traffic outages due to lack of centralized coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized controller as an intermediary between network devices and bandwidth management functions. The controller receives bandwidth requests, computes optimal paths considering current network state, and allocates bandwidth across multiple devices coordinate dly. This mediator resolves the contradiction by maintaining autonomous device operation while achieving centralized coordination for efficient resource utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments bandwidth management into distinct functional components: a centralized controller for global optimization and local network devices for execution. This segmentation allows each device to maintain operational autonomy while the controller provides coordinated resource allocation, resolving the efficiency problem of distributed management without sacrificing device independence.
2Device complexity
If a single route is used for bandwidth allocation, then the routing path is simple and easy to manage, but this may not provide sufficient bandwidth capacity or reliability when the single path is congested or fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic path selection where the controller computes routes based on real-time network conditions. When a single path is insufficient, the system dynamically switches to alternative paths or combines multiple paths. This dynamic approach maintains simple routing when possible while providing complex multi-path solutions when needed for reliability or capacity, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller performs preliminary computation of multiple candidate paths and their available bandwidth capacities before making allocation decisions. By pre-calculating alternative routes and their capacities, the system can quickly switch to backup paths when congestion or failures occur, ensuring reliability without requiring complex real-time path finding during failures.
3Productivity
If centralized bandwidth management is implemented, then resource allocation efficiency and reliability improve, but the system complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex bandwidth management functions from individual network devices and consolidates them into a separate centralized controller. This extraction places computational complexity in a dedicated control plane entity while keeping the data plane devices simple. The controller handles path computation, bandwidth allocation, and coordination, while network devices simply execute the controller's decisions, resolving the contradiction between efficient centralized management and system complexity.
4Reliability
If bandwidth is reserved for multiple routes, then path failure resilience improves, but the amount of reserved bandwidth increases leading to potential resource wastage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts bandwidth reservation parameters based on network conditions, path characteristics, and traffic demands. Rather than reserving fixed bandwidth for all backup paths, the system modifies reservation levels according to actual needs, utilizing available capacity more efficiently. This parameter adaptation allows the system to maintain path failure resilience while minimizing unnecessary bandwidth consumption through intelligent resource allocation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device receives topology data and path data associated with a network that includes network devices. The device determines planned bandwidths for new paths through the network based on the topology data and the path data, and ranks the new paths, based on the planned bandwidths, to generate a ranked list. The device selects information identifying a first new path from the ranked list, wherein the first new path includes a first planned bandwidth. The device determines whether the first new path can be provided via a single route through the network based on the first planned bandwidth, and identifies two or more routes through the network for the first new path when the first new path cannot be provided via the single route. The device causes the first planned bandwidth to be reserved by two or more of the network devices for the two or more routes.