Flooding Topology Computation for Network Link State Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
In dense network topologies, flooding protocols for link state updates often result in redundant data transmission, leading to reduced performance and potential delays in network convergence due to excessive data processing demands.
Innovation Solution
A method for computing a flooding topology that is bi-connected, bounds the diameter, and limits node degree, ensuring efficient link state update dissemination by selecting a root node and iteratively expanding the flooding topology using depth-first and breadth-first search algorithms to absorb nodes and edges, thereby minimizing latency and workload distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flooding protocol transmits link state updates to all directly connected network devices, then information distribution is achieved, but redundant data transmission occurs leading to reduced network performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network topology into a flooding topology subset that includes only necessary nodes and edges for link state update propagation. This selective segmentation eliminates redundant transmission paths while ensuring all devices receive necessary updates, resolving the contradiction between complete information distribution and network performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different roles to network devices based on their position in the flooding topology. Root devices, intermediate devices, and leaf devices have different transmission responsibilities, optimizing data flow locally at each node to improve overall network performance while maintaining reliable information distribution.
2Reliability
If flooding protocol transmits to all connected devices, then complete coverage is achieved, but excessive data processing demands cause convergence delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential nodes and edges required for link state update propagation from the complete network topology, creating a minimized flooding topology. This extraction eliminates unnecessary data processing at each node while ensuring all devices remain covered, thereby reducing convergence time without sacrificing coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by having only certain devices (root and intermediate devices) perform active transmission of link state updates, while leaf devices receive but do not retransmit. This partial participation model reduces overall data processing demands across the network while maintaining complete coverage, thus reducing convergence delays.
3Reliability
If dense network topology is used, then connectivity is improved, but redundancy in data transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the dense network topology into a sparse flooding topology that retains only the essential connectivity paths. By identifying and removing redundant edges from the dense topology, the patent maintains network connectivity while eliminating redundant data transmission, thus resolving the contradiction between reliable connectivity and transmission efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques described herein relate to a method for computation of network flooding topologies. A flooding topology may refer to a subset of a network which can be utilized by a network device to limit the flooding of link state updates. The flooding topology may be determined by an area leader (i.e., a designated network device) of the network. Computation of the flooding topology may entail the iterative incorporation (or absorption) of nodes and edges of a first connected graph, representing network devices and interconnections of a network topology of the network, into a second connected graph representing the flooding topology.