Distributed TCP SYN Flood Protection via Segmented Gateways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network security gateways face scalability limitations in protecting against large-scale TCP SYN flood attacks, as they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of attack traffic and are constrained by memory and CPU resources, limiting their ability to verify senders and forward data effectively.
Innovation Solution
A distributed mechanism utilizing multiple security gateways that separate sender verification and data forwarding operations across different devices, allowing for the combination of computation resources and memory storage to enhance scalability and efficiency in defending against TCP SYN flood attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single network security gateway is used to perform both sender verification and data forwarding, then device complexity is reduced, but scalability is limited by memory and CPU resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the security gateway functionality into separate components: verification functions (sender verification) and forwarding functions (data forwarding) are performed by different devices. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables horizontal scaling by adding more verification or forwarding devices as needed, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and scalability.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple security gateways are combined to form a distributed system that handles TCP SYN flood attacks collectively. The verification devices and forwarding devices work together in coordination, merging their capabilities to provide enhanced scalability while maintaining functional separation, thus resolving the contradiction between device complexity and adaptability.
2Ease of operation
If a single security gateway handles all verification and forwarding operations, then ease of operation is maintained, but productivity decreases under large attack traffic volumes
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting verification and forwarding operations into separate devices, the system can handle larger volumes of attack traffic through parallel processing. Multiple verification devices can simultaneously verify different connection requests, and multiple forwarding devices can handle data forwarding in parallel, significantly increasing productivity while maintaining operational simplicity through standardized interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-device vertical architecture to a multi-device horizontal architecture. This dimensional change from one gateway handling all operations to multiple gateways working in parallel enables the system to scale productivity linearly with the number of devices, while ease of operation is maintained through consistent verification and forwarding protocols.
3Device complexity
If memory and CPU resources are concentrated in one gateway, then device complexity is minimized, but reliability decreases when overwhelmed by attack traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the concentration of memory and CPU resources across multiple independent devices rather than concentrating them in a single gateway. This distribution of computational resources ensures that if one verification device or forwarding device is overwhelmed or compromised, other devices continue to operate, thereby improving reliability while maintaining manageable system architecture through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributed architecture provides beforehand cushioning against resource exhaustion by having multiple verification and forwarding devices available. When attack traffic volume exceeds the capacity of individual devices, the system can distribute the load across multiple devices, preventing any single device from being overwhelmed and ensuring continued operation and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for TCP SYN flood protection. In one embodiment, a TCP SYN flood protection arrangement comprises a first device operable to process packet input and output functions, including performing sender verification with respect to a connection initiation from a sender for a first TCP connection between the sender and a destination server and a second device, separate from the first device, to perform one or more security processing operations on packets of the first TCP connection from the sender after the first device verifies the sender is legitimate.