First-hop domain reliability measurement and load balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network configurations for multi-homed domains often rely on complex performance-based routing, which may provide more information than necessary and can be resource-intensive, particularly when load balancing traffic across multiple service providers, and may trigger intrusion detection system alerts.
Innovation Solution
The method involves transmitting probe messages to a select set of responsive targets across multiple first-hop domains to determine their reliability, allowing traffic to be load balanced based on this reliability without considering specific traffic classes or destination prefixes, thereby simplifying the routing process and reducing resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex performance-based routing is used to determine best performing path per traffic class and per prefix, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential reliability information needed for load balancing, discarding the complex per-traffic-class and per-prefix performance measurements. By taking out only the necessary reliability metric rather than maintaining comprehensive performance data, the system achieves adequate measurement precision while significantly reducing device complexity and resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the reliability measurement process into discrete probe messages sent to specific targets, where each probe independently measures reliability of a first-hop domain. This segmentation allows the system to gather sufficient reliability information through multiple simple probes rather than maintaining complex continuous performance measurements, thereby reducing overall system complexity while preserving measurement accuracy.
2Reliability
If complex performance-based routing with per traffic-class probing is implemented, then reliability is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by sending probe messages only to a select set of targets rather than continuously probing all possible destinations for all traffic classes. This partial probing approach maintains sufficient reliability measurement by focusing on critical paths while significantly reducing the energy consumption associated with comprehensive performance monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe messages serve multiple functions simultaneously: they measure reliability of first-hop domains, detect network congestion, identify failures, and provide load balancing information. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate probing mechanisms for each purpose, thereby maintaining high reliability while reducing overall energy consumption.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive performance measurements are taken for all traffic classes and prefixes, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary reliability measurements by continuously sending probe messages to selected targets before actual traffic needs routing decisions. This preliminary action maintains up-to-date reliability information in advance, enabling rapid load balancing responses to congestion or failures without the time penalty of performing comprehensive measurements at the moment routing decisions are needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic probing at strategically selected targets rather than continuous comprehensive monitoring. This periodic action maintains adequate measurement precision by sampling reliability at appropriate intervals while significantly reducing the time loss associated with constant full-scale performance measurement across all traffic classes and prefixes.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, probe messages may be transmitted from a local domain to a set of one or more responding probe targets located beyond a plurality of probed first-hop domains of the local domain, the probe messages transmitted via each of a plurality of probed first-hop domains. A reliability of each probed first-hop domain may then be determined based on responsiveness of probe messages transmitted via each respective probed first-hop domain, such that traffic destined beyond the probed first-hop domains may be load balanced across the probed first-hop domains based on the respective reliability, regardless of a traffic-class and a destination of the traffic.