Network Access Analysis via Route Graph Iteration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In large enterprise networks, misconfigurations of routers and filters can lead to complex issues with end-to-end network access, making it difficult and costly to diagnose and fix, especially due to the dynamic nature of routing information and numerous potential interactions between configurations.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for end-to-end network access analysis that populates router and filter models with configuration data, constructs route advertising graphs, and iterates to stability to determine consolidated routing data, allowing for the classification of services based on available paths and validation against end-to-end requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If routing information is made dynamic to adapt to network changes, then network adaptability is improved, but diagnostic difficulty and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary analysis by constructing route graphs and determining all possible paths from source to destination before actual network issues occur. This pre-computation of routing information allows the system to quickly diagnose problems without having to trace dynamic routing changes in real-time, thus resolving the contradiction between network adaptability and diagnostic time.
2Reliability
If comprehensive routing analysis is performed to ensure deterministic behavior, then reliability is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex routing analysis into distinct components: constructing route graphs, determining possible paths, analyzing filter rules, and classifying services. By dividing the overall analysis into these manageable segments, the system achieves comprehensive and deterministic results while keeping computational complexity tractable through modular processing.
3Measurement precision
If all possible network paths are analyzed to confirm correct configuration, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces route graphs as an intermediary data structure that represents all possible network paths in a structured format. This intermediary representation allows the system to analyze configuration accuracy without directly complexly interacting with every individual network device and path, simplifying the analysis process while maintaining high measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Instances of router models and filter models respectively are populated with configuration data from routers and filters in a network. A route advertising graph is derived from the router model instances. The route advertising graph indicates propagation of routes between the ones of the real-world devices serving as routers according to routing protocols implemented by the ones of the real-world devices serving as routers. Consolidated routing data is determined for the ones of the real-world devices serving as routers. In this process, the propagation of routes indicated by the route advertising graph is iterated to stability. For a destination node in the network, a respective route graph indicating available paths to the destination node from each source node in the network is constructed from the consolidated routing data. Services between each source node and the destination node are classified based on a full traversal of the route advertising graph.