Content Filtering Node Placement and Routing Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

In telecommunications networks, random placement of content-filtering nodes leads to inefficient routing of packets, resulting in increased bandwidth usage and lower network throughput, as content filtering requires complete examination of each packet's contents to identify worm signatures, making it an expensive operation in terms of network resource use.

Innovation Solution

A method for optimizing content-filtering node placement and routing in networks by formulating a routing-with-content-filtering problem (RCFP) as a linear programming problem, ensuring that all traffic passes through specified content-filtering nodes, using a primal-dual algorithm to generate a routing solution that maximizes network capacity and minimizes bandwidth usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If content filtering is applied to all network traffic, then network security is improved, but network resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork securityVSAvoidnetwork resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies content filtering selectively at specific network nodes rather than uniformly across all nodes. The routing algorithm directs traffic through strategically chosen content-filtering nodes based on traffic characteristics and network conditions, ensuring that filtering resources are concentrated where they provide maximum security benefit while minimizing overall network resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of manufacture

If content-filtering nodes are placed randomly, then deployment complexity is reduced, but network throughput decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedeployment complexityVSAvoidnetwork throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary optimization of content-filtering node placement using a routing algorithm that analyzes network topology and traffic patterns before deployment. The system pre-computes optimal routing paths that pass through content-filtering nodes, allowing operators to deploy nodes at convenient locations while the software optimization compensates for any suboptimal placement, thus maintaining both ease of deployment and high network throughput.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If content filtering examines all packets, then filtering effectiveness is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefiltering effectivenessVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a routing strategy where content filtering is applied to all packets at selected nodes, but the routing algorithm optimizes the distribution of filtering tasks across multiple nodes. By strategically selecting which nodes perform filtering based on their capacity and current load, the system ensures comprehensive filtering effectiveness while preventing any single node from becoming a processing bottleneck, thus reducing overall processing time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS7394763B2Routing for networks with content filtering

Publication Date: 2008.07.01 LUCENT TECH INC

AI summary

A network of nodes interconnected by links has content filtering specified at certain nodes, and routing of packet connections through the network is generated based on the specified content-filtering nodes. The network is specified via a content-filtering node placement method and a network-capacity maximization method so as to apply content filtering to packets for substantially all traffic (packet streams) carried by the network.