Logical Interface Traffic Policing Across Multiple Processing Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network devices struggle to properly apply traffic policies across multiple packet processing elements forming a logical interface, leading to unintended, less restrictive traffic rate limits due to centralized management of policers.
Innovation Solution
Generate packet-processing-element-specific policer profiles to configure each packet processing element independently, ensuring the intended traffic policy is applied consistently across the logical interface by distributing the global traffic-limiting rate based on the distribution of underlying physical interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If centralized management of policers is used, then ease of operation is improved, but traffic rate limit effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized policer management into per-packet-processing-element policer profiles. Each packet processing element receives a dedicated policer profile that specifies its own traffic rate limit, ensuring that the sum of individual limits equals the global limit. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining centralized policy definition while distributing enforcement to individual elements, preventing the effectiveness deterioration that occurs with purely centralized management.
2Reliability
If packet-processing-element-specific policer profiles are generated, then traffic rate limit effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-calculating and distributing policer profiles to packet processing elements before traffic enforcement is needed. The control plane generates the complete policer profile with the correct rate limit values based on the distribution of physical interfaces across packet processing elements, then distributes this pre-computed profile. This eliminates the need for real-time complex calculations at each packet processing element, improving effectiveness while managing complexity through advance preparation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If global traffic-limiting rate is distributed across multiple packet processing elements, then traffic policy enforcement uniformity is improved, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning specific traffic rate limit values to each packet processing element based on its share of physical interfaces. Each element receives a policer profile with a rate limit tailored to its local role in the distribution. This ensures uniform overall enforcement while allowing each element to operate with simplified local measurements, as the rate limit is pre-determined by the control plane based on interface distribution rather than requiring precise real-time measurements at each element.
Data Source
AI summary
A network device may include control plane processing circuitry configured to obtain packet-processing-element-specific policer profiles for applying a traffic policy to a logical interface formed from physical interfaces coupled to different packet processing elements. Each of the packet processing elements may be configured to process matching network traffic using its policer configured based on the corresponding packet-processing-element-specific policer profile. The packet processing elements may thereby collectively apply the traffic policy in the intended manner.