Packet Flow Bifurcation for Real-Time QoS Adjustment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic shapers and flow switches in communication systems are not capable of dynamically adjusting subscriber policies in real-time based on network conditions and struggle to handle high volumes of data traffic across core and access networks, leading to suboptimal Quality of Service (QoS) for bandwidth-sensitive services like VoIP and VoD.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves bifurcating and duplicating packets to enable concurrent traffic analysis and processing without introducing jitter or delay, allowing for real-time optimization of traffic profiles and dynamic adjustment of ingress and egress traffic operations based on analysis data, using a distributed architecture with multiple blades and software components for efficient traffic management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traffic analysis is performed on high-volume data traffic, then traffic profile matching accuracy is improved, but processing time increases and real-time QoS adjustment becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the packet flow into two bifurcated copies: one sent to the egress traffic processor for immediate forwarding and another to the computation processor for analysis. This segmentation allows parallel processing without sequential delays, maintaining real-time performance while enabling comprehensive traffic analysis for accurate profile matching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary traffic analysis by maintaining flow statistics and stateful information in advance. The computation processor analyzes traffic patterns proactively before QoS decisions are required, enabling rapid real-time adjustments without introducing processing delays to the main data flow.
2Productivity
If packet duplication is used for concurrent processing, then processing speed is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies packet duplication selectively rather than universally. The egress traffic processor receives copies of packets for immediate forwarding while the computation processor receives copies for analysis. This localized duplication approach ensures critical forwarding operations maintain full speed while analysis operations consume additional bandwidth only where needed for QoS optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for optimum matching of a traffic profile with an individual traffic flow using flow bifurcation and analysis. Bifurcation and duplication of packets that make up a flow received at an ingress element are forwarded to each of egress traffic and computation processor resources, such that egress traffic operations and traffic analysis operations may be performed concurrently without introducing jitter or delay in either bifurcated processing path. The traffic analysis includes maintaining flow statistics, flow stateful information and classifying the flow as a particular application traffic type. The optimum traffic profile for this application traffic type is then selected and applied to the individual flow. The traffic analysis data is forwarded to ingress and egress processing elements in real time, and ingress and egress traffic processing operations are dynamically adjusted in view of the traffic analysis data.