SD-WAN Flow Identifier Metadata Conversion for Packet Overhead Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing SD-WAN technologies face inefficiencies due to significant overhead in packet headers, leading to increased bandwidth usage, transmission delay, and customer experience degradation, particularly in low-bandwidth links like satellite connections.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a flow identifier to label packet sequences and convert immutable packet headers into metadata, reducing packet size by removing or compressing these headers, while maintaining secure tunnel communication between hubs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If packet headers are transmitted in full form through secure tunnel, then packet routing and identification are accurate, but packet overhead increases significantly leading to bandwidth waste and transmission delay
Solution Approach 1:
The packet header is segmented into two parts: immutable fields (source IP, destination IP, protocol) that remain constant throughout the flow, and mutable fields that change. The immutable part is extracted and replaced with a flow identifier, while only necessary mutable information is transmitted in each packet.
Solution Approach 2:
The immutable header fields are extracted from each packet and replaced with a compact flow identifier. The receiving hub uses this flow identifier to retrieve the complete header information from its flow table, eliminating the need to transmit redundant immutable data with every packet.
2Loss of energy
If packet headers are compressed or removed to reduce overhead, then bandwidth efficiency improves, but packet reconstruction and flow identification become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving hub pre-establishes flow entries in its flow table before actual data transmission begins. When a flow is detected, the hub creates an entry storing the complete header information associated with a flow identifier. Subsequent packets can then be quickly reconstructed using this pre-prepared information without complex processing.
3Loss of energy
If flow identifier is introduced to label packet sequences, then packet overhead is reduced by up to 50%, but additional metadata conversion and flow table management are required
Solution Approach 1:
The flow identifier serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a compact replacement for immutable header fields, serves as a key for flow table lookups, enables packet reconstruction, and provides flow identification for routing decisions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms and minimizes overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A flow identifier is described for packet sequences through a secure tunnel of an SD-WAN in a tunnel-less mode. A method includes receiving a sequence of packets from a first client at the first hub, the sequence of packets each having a same flow, facilitating a secure tunnel between the first hub and the second hub, assigning a flow identifier to the sequence of packets, converting fields from a header of the packet to a metadata supplement to the packet to form a reduced packet, encapsulating the reduced packet in a wrapper that includes the flow identifier, and sending the packet of the sequence of packets from the first hub to the second hub the secure tunnel.