SDN Controller Temporal Matching for Packet Anomaly Debugging
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Solution Overview
Problem
In software-defined networking (SDN) systems, troubleshooting packet processing anomalies is inefficient due to the large volume of messages exchanged between controllers and network elements, making it challenging to identify the root cause of anomalies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing temporal matching-based debugging methods within the SDN controller, where messages and statistics are recorded and matched to identify messages associated with packet processing anomalies, allowing for focused troubleshooting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If centralized debugging through monitoring communications between SDN controller and network element is implemented, then debugging capability is improved, but the volume of messages to process increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary debugging information by filtering messages based on temporal correlation with anomalies. Instead of processing all messages, the system identifies and extracts only those messages associated with anomaly events, reducing the message volume to be processed while maintaining debugging effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by recording messages and collecting statistics in advance, then uses temporal matching to identify relevant messages when anomalies occur. This preliminary data collection enables efficient anomaly investigation without requiring real-time processing of all messages.
2Loss of information
If all messages are recorded for analysis, then complete debugging information is obtained, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from anomaly detection to guide message processing. When an anomaly is detected in network element statistics, the system uses this feedback to identify and process only the relevant messages from the recorded data, rather than processing all recorded messages sequentially, thus reducing processing time while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
Messages are recorded in advance during normal operation, so when anomalies occur, the relevant information is already available for immediate analysis. This preliminary recording eliminates the need for real-time processing of all messages, significantly reducing investigation time.
3Measurement precision
If temporal matching of statistics with messages is implemented, then anomaly identification accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by recording messages and collecting statistics in advance, then uses temporal matching to identify relevant messages when anomalies occur. This preliminary data collection simplifies the actual anomaly investigation process, as the matching operation only needs to compare timestamps rather than process all messages in detail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the debugging process into distinct phases: normal operation (recording and collection), anomaly detection (statistics analysis), and investigation (message matching). This segmentation simplifies the overall system by separating concerns and allowing each phase to operate independently with optimized complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Temporal matching based debugging methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method is implemented in a software-defined networking (SDN) controller coupled to a SDN system. The SDN system contains a set of network devices managed by the SDN controller, the method includes recording, at the SDN controller, messages between the SDN controller and a network device. The method further includes obtaining at the SDN controller from the network device, a set of statistics from the network device, where the set of statistics indicates characteristics of packet processing at the network device. The method further includes temporally matching the set of statistics obtained from the network device with the messages recorded, and identifying, among the messages recorded at the SDN controller, one or more messages occurred when the set of statistics indicates a packet processing anomaly in the network device.