Network Device Flow Tracking for Excessive-Rate Traffic Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Network devices face challenges in efficiently managing excessive-rate traffic flows, as existing methods often require continuous calculation of flow rates for all possible traffic flows, leading to resource inefficiencies and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that detects excessive-rate traffic flows by using flow tracking containers and rate counters, allowing network devices to apply specific policies such as notification, reprioritization, and differentiated discard rates, while optimizing resource utilization by only tracking active flows and using proxy indicators for flow rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If continuous rate calculations are performed for all possible traffic flows, then flow rate monitoring accuracy is improved, but device complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary rate calculation operations by identifying and tracking only excessive-rate flows rather than calculating rates for all possible flows. This is achieved through flow tracking containers that are selectively activated based on flow characteristics, removing unnecessary calculation overhead while maintaining monitoring accuracy for relevant flows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing rate calculations only when necessary - specifically when flows are identified as potentially excessive-rate flows. The system uses proxy indicators and selective tracking to perform calculations on a subset of flows rather than all flows, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining effectiveness in identifying excessive-rate conditions.
2Reliability
If rate counters are maintained for all possible traffic flows, then flow tracking completeness is improved, but memory usage and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the flow tracking system into flow tracking containers that are selectively allocated to specific flows. Instead of maintaining a single large data structure for all flows, the system divides tracking resources into discrete containers that can be independently allocated and deallocated based on flow characteristics, reducing overall memory usage while maintaining tracking completeness for active flows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements discarding and recovering of flow tracking containers for flows that are no longer active or no longer require excessive-rate monitoring. When flows expire or become inactive, their associated tracking containers are deallocated and returned to the pool of available resources, ensuring memory efficiency while maintaining tracking completeness for currently relevant flows.
3Adaptability or versatility
If all traffic flows are monitored and managed, then network control comprehensiveness is improved, but processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-identifying flows that are likely to be excessive-rate flows using proxy indicators and flow characteristics before performing detailed rate analysis. This preliminary classification allows the system to focus processing efforts on only those flows that require detailed monitoring and management, reducing overall processing time while maintaining comprehensive control over problematic flows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces proxy indicators as intermediaries between raw flow data and detailed rate analysis. These proxy indicators provide a simplified representation of flow characteristics that can be quickly evaluated to identify excessive-rate flows, acting as a mediator that reduces the complexity and time required for comprehensive flow monitoring while maintaining control effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Packet-switching operations in a network device are managed based on the detection of excessive-rate traffic flows. A network device receives a data unit, determines the traffic flow to which the data unit belongs, and updates flow tracking information for that flow. The network device utilizes the tracking information to determine when a rate at which the network device is receiving data belonging to the flow exceeds an excessive-rate threshold and is thus an excessive-rate flow. The network device may enable one or more excessive-rate policies on an excessive-rate traffic flow. Such a policy may include any number of features that affect how the device handles data units belonging to the flow, such as excessive-rate notification, differentiated discard, differentiated congestion notification, and reprioritization. Memory and other resource optimizations for such flow tracking and management are also described.