Network Packet Replay for Error-Causing Packet Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems lack an efficient method to automatically identify error-causing network packets, leading to manual effort and inefficiency in troubleshooting and remediation of network issues.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing network packet replay to analyze network traces by provisioning a test bed with a transmit and receive host, replaying packets, and parsing port statistics to determine error-causing packets based on threshold likelihoods, enabling automated identification and potential remediation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual analysis of network packets is performed, then accuracy in identifying error-causing packets can be maintained, but productivity and time consumption deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing network packets through replay mechanisms and error counter comparisons, eliminating the need for manual packet-by-packet inspection. The automated system identifies error-causing packets by comparing error counters before and after packet replay, thereby improving productivity while maintaining accuracy without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a virtual copy of the network environment through test bed provisioning, where network packets are replayed in a controlled setting. This copying approach allows automated analysis of packet effects without disrupting production systems, enabling high-speed automated identification of error-causing packets while preserving the ability to accurately reproduce and analyze network conditions.
2Productivity
If automated packet replay analysis is implemented, then productivity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The test bed infrastructure is designed with multi-functionality to handle various packet analysis scenarios. The same test bed can replay different network packets, accommodate multiple network adapter configurations, and perform various types of error analysis. This universal approach reduces overall system complexity by consolidating multiple analysis functions into a single flexible platform rather than requiring separate specialized systems for each analysis type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary test bed environment that mediates between the original network source and the analysis process. This intermediary layer simplifies complexity by providing a standardized interface for packet replay and error analysis, isolating the complexity of automated analysis mechanisms from both the production network and the user interface, thereby improving troubleshooting efficiency without exposing end users to system complexity.
3Measurement precision
If detailed port statistics parsing is performed, then measurement precision of error identification improves, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing error counters before packet replay and immediately comparing them against post-replay counters. This preliminary measurement approach allows the system to identify error-causing packets with high precision by detecting counter changes, while minimizing time loss through efficient before-after comparison rather than continuous detailed monitoring throughout the entire replay process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts only the critical error counter data from port statistics, focusing analysis on specific error types rather than processing all available statistical information. This extraction approach maintains measurement precision for error identification by concentrating on relevant error counters, while reducing time loss by avoiding unnecessary parsing of unrelated statistical data.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises at least one processing device configured to obtain a network trace comprising network packets received at a given network adapter of an information technology (IT) asset, to provision a test bed for analyzing the obtained network trace, and to replay the network packets in the obtained network trace from a transmit host of the test bed to a given port of a receive host of the test bed associated with a network adapter having a network adapter configuration corresponding to the given network adapter of the IT asset. The processing device is further configured to parse port statistics of the given port of the receive host, and to determine, based at least in part on the parsed port statistics, whether respective ones of the packets comprise error-causing packets having at least a threshold likelihood of being sources of alarms raised on the IT asset.