Dynamic Flow Entry Management for Network Traffic Statistics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional communication statistic information collection systems face challenges in dynamically selecting packet flows for data collection and efficiently managing flow identification entries, leading to increased costs and limited flexibility in adapting to changing traffic conditions.
Innovation Solution
A communication statistic information collection apparatus that includes a flow table and a statistics function control table, allowing for dynamic selection of packet flows and flexible registration of flow identification entries, enabling selective use of cache-type or sampling-type statistic information collection based on packet flow attributes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cache-type flow statistics technology is used to collect statistics information for all packet flows, then comprehensive flow monitoring is achieved, but the number of flow entries increases leading to higher memory requirements and processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic flow entry management where the flow table is periodically pruned to remove entries that have not been updated within a specified time period. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain only active and relevant flow entries, reducing the overall number of entries while preserving monitoring capability for currently active packet flows.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of collecting statistics for all packet flows uniformly, the patent applies partial collection by focusing on flows that meet specific criteria (e.g., recently active flows). The system selectively monitors a subset of flows rather than exhaustively monitoring all possible flows, thereby reducing the quantity of flow entries while maintaining sufficient monitoring coverage for practical purposes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If flow identification entries are registered for all possible packet flows, then comprehensive flow classification is achieved, but device complexity and memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary action by pre-defining flow identification criteria and time-based retention policies before actual flow monitoring begins. The system is configured with parameters such as time-to-live (TTL) values and flow matching rules in advance, enabling automatic flow entry creation and management without complex real-time decision-making, thus reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow table management system operates autonomously by automatically creating flow entries when new packet flows are detected and automatically removing stale entries based on time-based criteria. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual flow entry configuration and complex administrative control, significantly reducing device complexity while maintaining comprehensive flow classification capability.
3Loss of information
If statistics information is collected for all packet flows continuously, then complete traffic analysis is achieved, but processing overhead and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by collecting and updating flow statistics at discrete time intervals rather than continuously processing every packet flow in real-time. The system performs statistical aggregation and flow entry updates periodically, which reduces processing overhead and resource consumption while still maintaining complete traffic analysis capability through timely data collection cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary statistical information from complete packet flow data, focusing on key metrics such as packet count, byte count, and flow duration rather than processing all raw packet details. This extraction approach maintains essential traffic analysis completeness while significantly reducing processing requirements and resource consumption by discarding redundant detailed packet information.
4Reliability
If the flow table is enlarged to accommodate all possible flows, then comprehensive flow monitoring is achieved, but memory requirements and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies discarding and recovering by automatically removing (discarding) old and inactive flow entries from the flow table after a specified time period, while preserving (recovering) the ability to quickly recreate flow entries when new active flows are detected. This cyclic process of discarding stale data and recovering from recent activity patterns maintains monitoring reliability without requiring large memory capacity to store all historical flow information.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow table is designed with dynamic size adjustment capabilities, allowing it to expand when needed and contract when inactive entries are removed. This dynamic behavior enables the system to maintain comprehensive flow monitoring reliability for currently active traffic while reducing memory requirements by discarding entries for inactive or historical flows, thus optimizing the balance between reliability and memory consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication statistic information collection apparatus comprises a unit for searching a flow table for a flow entry corresponding to a searching key, a unit for collecting statistics information for each of flows, a unit for generating a packet for notifying a collector apparatus of stored statistics information, a unit for updating the flow table in accordance with statistics control information shown by a statistics control entry found as a result of searching the flow table, and a unit for generating a sample packet to be transferred to the collect or apparatus at a specified sampling rate in accordance with the statistics control information shown by a specified entry found from the flow table.