Method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling the allocation of network bandwidth

• US 20040143663A1
• Filed: 08/12/2003
• Published: 07/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Drs Global Enterprise Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DRS Technical Services Incorporated (SES SA)
• Inventors: Ramsay, Leigh William, Stakelum, Richard Allen, Irvine, Glenn Michael, Garza, Jose Eulalio, Leedom, David Arlen
• Granted Patent: US 7,493,407 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2416 Real-time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/245 using preemption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2458 Modification of priorities while in transit
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2475 for supporting traffic characterised by the type of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/283 in response to processing delays, e.g. caused by jitter or round trip time [RTT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/803 Application aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/826 Involving periods of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/828 Allocation of resources per group of connections, e.g. per group of users

Abstract

An automated bandwidth monitoring and control method and system provides for real time, dynamic control of the allocation of bandwidth to selected applications in a communications network based on the selected operational context and the fixed bandwidth available at a network access point. A graphical user interface, using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented and understandable by an operator, displays the bandwidth allocation strategy, and in substantially real time displays statistics representative of actual bandwidth use at the access point, input functions for modifying the bandwidth allocation strategy in substantially real time and estimated message delay distributions for the applications of the strategy determined based on the actual bandwidth use statistics.

Claims

1. A method for dynamic, substantially real time control of bandwidth allocation to each of a plurality of applications in a communications network comprising:

determining whether at least one received message is from a known application or an unknown application based on packet parameter data representative of known applications stored in an application module, wherein the received message includes a packet header identifying its source application in technical network terms; and

generating, in substantially real time, technical network flow control instructions for controlling allocation of a portion of a predetermined bandwidth of an access point of the network to the received application message in accordance with a bandwidth allocation strategy, wherein the strategy includes at least one known application and a bandwidth constraint and priority for each of the least one known applications.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying whether the received message is a known application or an unknown application on a graphical user interface, in substantially real time and using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining whether the received message from an unknown application is legitimate or illegitimate based on at least one input at a graphical user interface and an input generated based on intelligent agent technology or artificial intelligence technology processing.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring actual bandwidth use by applications at the access point; and

generating application message demographic statistics including application message lengths and frequency of occurrences for each of the monitored applications, based on the monitored actual bandwidth use.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

assigning bandwidth constraints to the applications of the strategy based on the message demographic statistics.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

displaying the message demographic statistics on a graphical user interface in substantially real time and using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented.

7. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

computing an estimated message delay distribution for each of the known applications of the strategy based on the message demographic statistics.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the computing further comprises a modeling process comprising the steps of:

determining, for all of the applications of the strategy, whether any of the applications of the strategy are actively messaging;

simulating bandwidth allocations according to the strategy for the applications of the strategy that are actively messaging;

performing the determining active messaging and the simulating bandwidth allocation steps for a predetermined duration; and

for each application of the strategy, collecting data representative of the number of active periods, message length, time since last message, allocated bandwidth, number of pre-emptions and time for message transfer.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

delaying or interrupting transmission to the access point of a received message determined to be from a known application based on relative priorities and bandwidth requirements of messages from other respective known applications simultaneously competing for a portion of the available bandwidth at the access point.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying the strategy on a graphical user interface, in substantially real time, following selection of the strategy and using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying input selections for modifying bandwidth constraints and priorities of known applications on a graphical user interface using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented, thereby generating a new strategy.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

computing an estimated message delay distribution for each of the applications based on the new strategy and the message demographic statistics.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting technical flow control instructions to a technical network flow control device for controlling bandwidth allocation to the received messages from the known applications in accordance with the strategy

9. The method of 8, wherein the simulating bandwidth allocations step further comprises:

determining whether an application is actively messaging;

changing status of an identified active application to not actively messaging once message transmission of the identified active application is complete;

randomly generating time to next message transmission for an identified not actively messaging application;

changing status of the identified not actively messaging application to actively messaging if time between message transmission for the identified not actively messaging application exceeds time since last message transmission; and

assigning a randomly generated message length, based on the message demographics, to a message of the application whose status was changed to actively messaging.

15. A system for dynamically controlling bandwidth allocation to each of a plurality of applications in a communications network in substantially real time, comprising:

an application module for storing packet parameter data and operational term data representative of known applications;

a controller module coupled to the application module and for receiving application messages, wherein each of the received application messages includes a packet header, and wherein the controller module determines whether the received application messages originate from a known application or unknown application based on the packet parameter data stored in the application module and the packet headers of the respective received application messages; and

a control strategy module for storing a bandwidth allocation strategy, wherein the strategy includes at least one known application and a bandwidth constraint and priority for each of the least one known applications, wherein the strategy module generates, in substantially real time, technical network flow control instructions for controlling allocation of a predetermined bandwidth of an access point of the network to the respectively received messages determined to be from known applications.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

a graphical user interface (“

GUI”

) for displaying, in substantially real time, data stored at or generated by at least one of the application module, the strategy module and the controller module.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller module causes the GUI to display, in substantially real time, whether the received messages are from known or unknown applications, using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented and stored at the application module.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller module determines whether the received message from an unknown application is legitimate or illegitimate based on at least one of inputs received at the GUI and an input generated based on intelligent agent technology or artificial intelligence technology processing.

19. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

a statistics module coupled to the controller module and for storing data representative of actual bandwidth use by applications at the access point, wherein the statistics module in substantially real time generates, based on the actual bandwidth use data, application message demographic statistics including application message lengths and frequency of occurrences for the known applications.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the statistics module routes the message demographic statistics to the GUI for display in substantially real time and using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the strategy module delays or interrupts transmission of a received message determined to be from a known application to the access point based on relative priorities and bandwidth requirements of messages from other respective known applications simultaneously competing for a portion of the available bandwidth at the access point.

25. The system of claim 15, wherein the strategy module routes operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented and representative of the strategy to the GUI for display in substantially real time, following selection of the strategy.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the GUI displays input selections for modifying bandwidth constraints and priorities of known applications using operational terms common to the overall enterprise in which and for which the network is implemented, wherein the input selections generate a new strategy.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the strategy module computes an estimated message delay distribution for each of the known applications of the new strategy based on the message demographics.

28. The system of claim 15, wherein the strategy module transmits technical flow control instructions to a technical network flow control device for controlling bandwidth allocation to the received messages from the known applications in accordance with the strategy.

21. The system of 19, wherein the strategy module computes an estimated message delay distribution for each of the known applications of the strategy based on the message demographic statistics.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the strategy module performs a modeling process comprising the following steps for computing the message delay distribution:

determining, for all of the applications of the strategy, whether any of the applications of the strategy are actively messaging;

simulating bandwidth allocations according to the strategy for the applications of the strategy that are actively messaging;

performing the determining active messaging and the simulating bandwidth allocation steps for a predetermined duration; and

for each application of the strategy, collecting data representative of the number of active periods, message length, time since last message, allocated bandwidth, number of pre-emptions and time for message transfer.

23. The system of 22, wherein the simulating bandwidth allocations step further comprises:

determining whether an application is actively messaging;

changing status of an identified active application to not actively messaging once message transmission of the identified active application is complete;

randomly generating time to next message transmission for an identified not actively messaging application;

changing status of the identified not actively messaging application to actively messaging if time between message transmission for the identified not actively messaging application exceeds time since last message transmission; and

assigning a randomly generated message length, based on the message demographics, to a message of the application whose status was changed to actively messaging.