Virtual Router Network for Per-Flow Traffic Delay Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network monitoring solutions are node-centric and lack comprehensive real-time traffic measurement capabilities, failing to provide accurate per-flow traffic performance measurements essential for service level agreements and quality of service management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual router network with real-time flow monitoring (RTFM) architecture, which aggregates and correlates packet filtering information passively across edge routers, enabling per-flow traffic delay measurement and performance analysis without introducing additional network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional SNMP-based node-centric monitoring is used, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision and comprehensive network-level traffic measurement capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monitoring function by introducing virtual router networks that logically divide the network into manageable domains. Each virtual router handles flow monitoring for its specific domain, breaking down the complex task of network-wide per-flow monitoring into smaller, distributed units that can be managed independently while maintaining overall measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtual routers as intermediary elements between physical routers and the monitoring system. These virtual routers aggregate flow information from multiple physical interfaces and present a unified view to the monitoring system, simplifying the complexity while enabling comprehensive per-flow measurements across the entire network.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive real-time flow monitoring is implemented across the network, then measurement precision and network visibility are improved, but bandwidth usage and data processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges flow records from multiple virtual interfaces and physical routers into aggregated flow records at the virtual router level. This combining of data from distributed sources into unified aggregates reduces the total volume of monitoring data that needs to be transmitted and processed, while maintaining complete network traffic information through the aggregation of all virtual router views.
3Measurement precision
If detailed per-flow traffic statistics are collected from all network nodes, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and difficulty of detecting and measuring network-wide patterns increase
Solution Approach 1:
Virtual routers serve as intermediary aggregation points that collect detailed per-flow statistics from multiple physical interfaces and synthesize them into domain-level flow records. This intermediary layer maintains measurement precision by preserving detailed flow information locally while simplifying network-wide pattern detection by providing aggregated views to the monitoring system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization dimension by creating virtual router networks that overlay the physical network infrastructure. This additional layer provides a new perspective for observing and analyzing traffic patterns, transforming complex multi-node physical network data into simplified domain-level virtual router views while maintaining detailed measurement capability.
4Measurement precision
If active performance monitoring mechanisms send test packets, then measurement capability is improved, but network traffic is increased and network performance may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements passive monitoring where the network infrastructure itself generates the measurement data through normal operation. Virtual routers automatically collect and aggregate flow statistics from passing traffic without requiring external test packets, enabling performance measurement while avoiding additional network traffic generation.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual router network (VRN) for performing real-time flow measurements (RTFM) is provided. The VRN effectively reduces the number of traffic metering points required thereby simplifying the aggregation and exportation of flow records to a collector. The collector may be service manager in a network management system. The metering points, in a preferred embodiment, are at virtual interfaces (VI) which are edge nodes in VRN. One of the virtual interfaces is selected as a master virtual interface and act as a collector and distributor of flow related information. In one aspect of the invention the VRN is used to provide, non-invasively, per-flow delay monitoring in a communication system.