Dynamic Conduit Creation for WAN Traffic Threshold Optimization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wide area networks (WANs) face inefficiencies due to statically configured communication paths, which lead to bandwidth congestion, quality issues like latency and jitter, and high costs for reconfiguration, as data flow patterns change over time, especially in globally distributed sites.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of dynamic conduits that can be created and adjusted based on real-time traffic thresholds, allowing direct communication between sites without intermediate nodes, thereby optimizing network performance and capacity without requiring hardware upgrades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If static network configuration is used, then network reliability is maintained, but bandwidth efficiency deteriorates due to congestion and suboptimal paths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic conduit creation that automatically establishes direct network paths between sites based on real-time traffic thresholds. When traffic between two sites exceeds a predefined threshold, the system dynamically creates a direct conduit without manual reconfiguration, allowing the network to adapt to changing traffic patterns and optimize bandwidth utilization automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The network system performs self-configuration by automatically detecting when traffic thresholds are exceeded and initiating conduit creation between the appropriate sites. The system monitors its own traffic patterns and autonomously optimizes its topology without requiring external intervention or complex manual reconfiguration processes.
2Speed
If direct connections between sites are statically configured, then communication speed is improved, but network resource reservation causes bandwidth waste when traffic patterns change
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically creates direct conduits between sites only when traffic thresholds are exceeded, rather than pre-configuring all possible direct connections. This allows the network to provide high-speed direct communication only when needed, while automatically adapting to changing traffic patterns and releasing resources when direct connections are no longer necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses traffic threshold parameters as triggers for conduit creation. When traffic volume between sites exceeds the configured threshold, the system changes the network topology parameter by creating a direct conduit, thereby optimizing communication speed only when the traffic conditions justify the resource allocation.
3Productivity
If network reconfiguration is performed manually, then optimal paths are achieved, but time loss and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The network system automatically monitors traffic patterns and initiates conduit creation when thresholds are exceeded, eliminating the need for manual reconfiguration. The system performs self-optimization by detecting changing traffic patterns and automatically establishing direct connections, thereby achieving optimal paths without human intervention or time loss associated with manual reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors traffic volume between sites and uses this feedback to trigger automatic conduit creation when thresholds are exceeded. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the network automatically adapts to changing conditions and optimizes its topology in real-time without requiring manual assessment or reconfiguration.
4Reliability
If intermediate sites are used for communication, then network coverage is extended, but latency and jitter increase for time-sensitive applications
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between indirect routing through intermediate sites and direct conduits based on traffic thresholds. When traffic between two sites exceeds the threshold, a direct conduit is created that bypasses intermediate sites, thereby reducing latency and jitter for time-sensitive applications while maintaining extended network coverage through the intermediate site infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques, including special messages and state machines, are described that configures an intermediate site to dynamically trigger creation of and removal of a dynamic conduit between two sites based on usage that is tracked at the sites. The intermediate site providing WAN-to-WAN forwarding between the two sites, monitors throughput statistics on each local WAN link (LWL) associated with the two sites. If traffic between the two sites passes a configured first threshold or if LWL usage passes a configured second threshold, the intermediate site sends a message to the two sites to set up a dynamic conduit directly coupling the two sites. Busy lists are used to keep track of eligible site pairs. Once a dynamic conduit is set up between two sites, a grow technique tests the dynamic conduit increasing communication flows between the two sites each configured sampling period before putting the conduit in normal use.