Router Control Packet Marking and Selective Discarding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing routers face challenges in efficiently processing control packets during high incoming rates, leading to packet dropping which can impact essential services and cause timeouts due to indiscriminate discarding of packets, including those from low-rate streams like keep-alive traffic.
Innovation Solution
A router with control packet markers and a discarder that marks packets based on receiving rates and protocols, allowing only excess traffic to be dropped according to predefined rules, ensuring that critical packet streams are not throttled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If control packets are dropped at the common control point to relieve the common processor, then the common processor is protected from overload, but essential services are impacted due to indiscriminate discarding of packets including keep-alive traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of control packets based on their specific characteristics. Control packets are classified into different categories (e.g., keep-alive packets, routing updates, error messages) and only specific types are dropped when the buffer threshold is exceeded, while essential packets are preserved. This selective approach ensures that the common processor is protected from overload while essential services continue to function.
2Productivity
If control packets are dropped randomly or one-by-one when buffer threshold is exceeded, then the common processor is relieved from excessive load, but the minimum packet flow required for service continuity is not guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors the buffer filling level and dynamically adjusts packet dropping behavior. When the buffer threshold is exceeded, the system provides feedback to selectively drop only non-essential control packets while maintaining minimum flow requirements for essential services. This feedback loop ensures that service continuity is maintained while relieving processor overload.
3Device complexity
If all control packets are treated equally and dropped indiscriminately, then implementation is simple, but essential low-rate streams like keep-alive traffic are throttled causing timeouts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-classifying control packets into different categories before they are processed. Essential packets such as keep-alive traffic are identified and marked in advance, so that when buffer overflow occurs, these pre-identified essential packets are automatically preserved while non-essential packets are dropped. This preliminary classification ensures that essential services are protected without requiring complex real-time decision-making during overflow events.
Data Source
AI summary
A router for routing packets in a telecommunication network is provided. The router comprises a plurality of inputs for receiving packets and a common processor coupled to the inputs for processing at least part of the packets i.e. the control packets according to one or more routing protocols. At least one packet marker is coupled between a first plurality of inputs of the plurality of inputs and the common processor. The marker marks at least part of the incoming control packets. The marking is provided according to a receiving rate of control packets that are received at the first plurality of inputs and that are to be processed according to a first routing protocol. The incoming control packets are received at one of the first plurality of inputs and are processed according to the first routing protocol. The marker therefore provides marked control packets. The common processor comprises a discarder for discarding or dropping, before the processing of the control packets, one or more of the marked control packets. The discarding is based upon the kind of marking of the marked control packets and is provided according to predefined rules and conditions.