Network Chip Sampling Offload for Processor Workload Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Monitoring network traffic in interconnected device networks often burdens processors, affecting network device performance due to the workload required for sampling and processing network traffic data.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that offloads sampling activities from network device processors to a network chip and sampling engine, where network traffic data units are sampled, processed, and aggregated, reducing the workload on processors by transmitting sampled data to a collector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network processors perform sampling and processing of network traffic data, then monitoring functionality is achieved, but processor workload increases and network device performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the network device into distinct functional components: network chips handle traffic reception and initial sampling, while separate sampling engines perform detailed processing. This segmentation distributes the monitoring workload away from the main network processors, maintaining monitoring reliability while preserving overall device performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sampling engines as intermediary components between network chips and processors. These sampling engines act as mediators that perform the computationally intensive sampling and processing tasks, allowing network processors to focus on their primary forwarding functions without being burdened by monitoring workload.
2Reliability
If sampling and processing activities are performed by network processors, then network traffic monitoring is accomplished, but the workload burden on processors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monitoring system into specialized components (network chips with sampling capability and dedicated sampling engines), separating sampling functions from main processor functions. This reduces processor complexity while maintaining monitoring reliability through distributed functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables network chips to perform self-service sampling operations and introduces autonomous sampling engines that independently process traffic data. This self-service approach eliminates the need for main processors to directly handle sampling tasks, reducing their workload complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system of accelerating monitoring of network traffic. The method may include receiving, at a network chip of a network device, a network traffic data unit; capturing, by the network chip, the network traffic data unit based on a traffic sampling rate; adding, by the network chip, a sampling header to the network traffic data unit to obtain a sampled network traffic data unit; sending the sampled network traffic data unit from the network chip to a sampling engine; receiving, from the sampling engine, a flow datagram that includes a network traffic data unit portion and a flow datagram header; generating a flow network data traffic unit that includes the flow datagram; and transmitting the flow network data traffic unit towards a collector.