Network Switch Queue Delay Tagging for Packet Drop Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network devices, such as switches, often experience packet loss and excessive delays due to inefficient queue management, leading to sub-optimal dropping of data units without sufficient visibility into the reasons for these issues.
Innovation Solution
Implementing queue management logic that tracks queue delays using marker packets, tags packets based on delay thresholds, and diverts or expunges packets exceeding these thresholds to a visibility component for analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If packets are forwarded through multiple queues without delay tracking, then network throughput is maintained, but excessive delays and packet loss occur without visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by inserting marker packets at known points in the queueing system before actual data packets are processed. These markers预先 track the time packets spend in queues, enabling delay measurement without interfering with normal packet forwarding. This resolves the contradiction by providing visibility information in advance while maintaining simple queue management operations.
2Loss of energy
If all packets are processed and forwarded, then network communication volume is maximized, but unnecessary packets consume bandwidth and processing resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using delay markers to monitor queue performance and provide information about packet delay conditions. This feedback mechanism enables the system to identify packets that are experiencing excessive delays and make informed decisions about whether to forward, buffer, or drop them. This resolves the contradiction by enabling resource-efficient packet handling based on actual queue conditions while maintaining overall network productivity.
3Reliability
If delay-based tagging is implemented to identify excessive delay packets, then packet prioritization and routing can be improved, but additional processing overhead is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing delay-based tagging selectively rather than uniformly across all packets. The system tags packets with delay information based on their specific queueing experience and delay characteristics, allowing different packets to receive appropriate handling based on their individual needs. This resolves the contradiction by improving packet delivery reliability for problematic packets while avoiding unnecessary processing overhead for packets that are already delivered timely.
Data Source
AI summary
A network device organizes packets into various queues, in which the packets await processing. Queue management logic tracks how long certain packet(s), such as a designated marker packet, remain in a queue. Based thereon, the logic produces a measure of delay for the queue, referred to herein as the “queue delay.” Based on a comparison of the current queue delay to one or more thresholds, various associated delay-based actions may be performed, such as tagging and/or dropping packets departing from the queue, or preventing addition enqueues to the queue. In an embodiment, a queue may be expired based on the queue delay, and all packets dropped. In other embodiments, when a packet is dropped prior to enqueue into an assigned queue, copies of some or all of the packets already within the queue at the time the packet was dropped may be forwarded to a visibility component for analysis.