Network Flow Termination via Partial Action and Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow termination mechanisms in data packet networks during network congestion often result in unnecessary service disruptions and loss of service for some users, as they terminate flows without accurately minimizing disruption.
Innovation Solution
The method involves modifying the packet marking and termination behavior to improve accuracy and speed by using a network edge node as an ingress gateway, which calculates a correction bandwidth to terminate only a proportion of flows and mark others as 'Ready to Terminate', allowing for quicker recovery without excessive service loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing flow termination mechanisms terminate flows during network congestion, then network congestion is reduced, but service disruptions and loss of service occur for users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by terminating only a proportion of flows rather than all flows during congestion. The ingress gateway calculates a correction bandwidth and terminates flows proportionally to the congestion level, marking other flows as 'Ready to Terminate' without actually dropping them. This partial termination approach reduces congestion while minimizing service disruptions and allowing for quicker recovery when network conditions improve.
2Reliability
If flows are terminated to restore acceptable congestion levels, then network QoS is maintained, but user service is lost until network conditions improve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by marking flows as 'Ready to Terminate' before actual termination occurs. This intermediate state allows the network to prepare for potential flow termination while maintaining service continuity. When network conditions improve, flows in the 'Ready to Terminate' state can be quickly reinstated without full service interruption, thereby reducing loss of time while still maintaining QoS during congestion.
3Extent of automation
If packet marking is used to identify flows for termination, then flow termination can be implemented, but accuracy and speed of termination are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where egress gateways monitor network congestion levels and send feedback messages to ingress gateways. The ingress gateway uses this feedback to calculate the correction bandwidth and dynamically adjust which flows to terminate or mark as 'Ready to Terminate'. This closed-loop feedback system improves termination accuracy by base d decisions on actual network conditions rather than static thresholds, and increases speed by enabling rapid response to changing congestion levels.
Data Source
AI summary
A network has a plurality of edge nodes (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) and core nodes (3a, 3b, 3c) for carrying flows of data from an ingress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) to an egress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) along a path of core nodes. For any given path in the network work from an ingress node to an egress node, the number of flows is controlled. When network congestion occurs, the egress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) provides an indication of the level of network congestion. Terminating flows is disruptive and therefore the ingress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) can mark other flows with a congestion marker and send them to the egress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d). These marked flows are routed by the core and egress gateway (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) but ignored for calculating network congestion. When the network congestion is alleviated, the marked flows can be un-marked and treated as normal flows, hence the network avoids unnecessary flow termination.