Parallelized Network Traffic Replay System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network monitoring devices face challenges in generating realistic high-speed network traffic, especially at OC-48 and above speeds, due to limitations in existing traffic generation hardware and software solutions, which struggle to reproduce accurate packet and address arrival patterns.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that splits a captured network traffic trace into parallelized subtraces, which are then replayed and recombined to approximate the original packet timing, using a combination of trace splitters, replayers, and a recombiner to generate realistic network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If stored real traffic is replayed through output linecards, then realistic traffic characteristics are achieved, but high-speed retransmission capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The captured trace is divided into multiple subtraces, each assigned to a separate replayer. This segmentation allows parallel processing of traffic streams, enabling high-speed retransmission while maintaining realistic traffic characteristics through multiple simultaneous replay operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple replayed subtraces are merged together to form the final high-speed traffic stream. The recombiner combines packets from multiple replayers, preserving the original traffic mix and characteristics while achieving aggregate speeds that match or exceed the original capture rate.
2Productivity
If traffic is replayed at full link rate, then bandwidth is maximized, but original packet timing is completely disregarded
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically balances between timing accuracy and bandwidth utilization by allowing flexible packet scheduling within each subtrace. Each replayer maintains timing fidelity for its assigned subtrace while the overall system achieves high aggregate throughput through parallel stream processing.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of attempting to perfectly replay all packets at exact original timings (which would limit speed), the system applies partial timing preservation within subtraces while allowing overall throughput to exceed original rates through parallel processing. This excessive action in speed compensates for the relaxed timing constraints.
3Speed
If synthetic traffic generators are used, then high bandwidth can be produced, but realistic flow and packet arrival patterns cannot be characterized
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of generating synthetic traffic patterns, the system creates accurate copies of real captured traffic by splitting and replaying actual trace data. This copying approach preserves the authentic flow, packet, and address arrival patterns found in real-world traffic while achieving high bandwidth through parallel replay of multiple subtraces.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a system and method for generating realistic network traffic by replaying captured network traffic using parallelized streams of subtraces. In accordance with one method of the invention, a captured trace of network traffic from a network link is provided. The captured trace is split into a number of subtraces. The subtraces are replayed and then recombined into a recombined trace, wherein the timing of packets in the recombined trace approximates the timing of packets in the captured trace.