Systems and methods for inferring services on a network

• US 20050091482A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Riverbed Technology, LLC (Riverbed Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: West Ridge Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Kannan, Navneeth N., Gray, Eric W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,848,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5058 Service discovery by the service manager
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for managing services on a network. In one. exemplary embodiment, the method includes receiving topologically relevant network information concerning nodes, interfaces, connections and/or protocols; resolving conflicts in the received information; determining and storing a network topology from the received and resolved information; and inferring one or more services based on the stored topology.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving topologically relevant network information concerning at least one of;

nodes, interfaces, connections, and protocols;

resolving conflicts in the received information;

determining and storing a network topology from the received and resolved information; and

inferring one or more services based on the stored topology.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein storing comprises:

using the structure as a model of the network.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

determining performance of the network based on the one or more inferred services and the model.

13. The method of claim 11, comprising:

planning a topology of the network based on the one or more inferred services and the model, wherein planning enables determining whether to modify to the network.

14. The method of claim 11, comprising:

managing the network based on the one or more inferred services and the model.

15. The method of claim 11, comprising:

reporting performance of the network based on the one or more inferred services and the model.

2. A method for inferring one or more services of a network, said method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, network information;

determining a first set of network objects based on the received information;

inferring a second set of network objects based on the first set and a protocol;

storing the first and second sets as a structure representative of the network; and

inferring the one or more services based on the structure.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

using, as the first set, elementary network objects.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising:

using, as the elementary network objects, at least one of an interface, a node, a link, and a route, wherein the route is at least one of an Internet route or a virtual private network (VPN) route, and wherein the link is a connection to an adjacent node.

5. The method of claim 2, comprising:

using, as the second set, aggregate network objects, such that the aggregate network objects are determined based on the first set of network objects and the protocol.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

using, as the aggregate network objects, at least one of a routed path, a label switched path, an Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) tunnel, and a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunnel.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein inferring the one or more services comprises:

inferring, as at least one of the services, a virtual private network.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein inferring the one or more services comprises:

inferring, as at least one of the services, at least one or more of the following;

a virtual private local area network service, a virtual private wire service, a private network service, a layer-3 VPN, and a layer-2 VPN.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein inferring the one or more services comprises:

inferring, as at least one of the services, an association of one or more network objects.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

inferring the at least one service, such that the at least one service includes an agreement to provide a predetermined quality of service to a user.

16. The method of claim 2, comprising:

detecting a change in the network.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising:

updating the structure based on the detected change.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising:

selectively updating the structure based on the detected change.

19. A method for managing a network, the method comprising:

receiving information concerning the network;

receiving supplemental information concerning the network;

determining one or more network objects associated with the network based on the received information and the received supplemental information; and

inferring one or more services based on the determined network objects and one or more rules, such that the one or more rules infer the existence of the one or more services.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving, at a processor, information concerning the network, wherein the processor poses as a router.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving information from one or more nodes of the network, such that the one or more nodes provide information concerning the network.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving information further comprises:

using topology information as the information concerning the network.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving based on a passive protocol.

24. The method of claim 23, comprising:

using, as the passive protocol, at least one of a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), a Routing Information Protocol (RIP), an Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol, and an Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving supplemental information comprises:

receiving based on an active protocol.

27. The method of claim 25, comprising:

using, as the active protocol, at least one of a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and a Command Line Interface (CLI).

28. The method of claim 19, wherein determining comprises:

determining, as the one or more network objects, one or more routers.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein determining comprises:

determining, as the one or more network objects, one or more of a router, an interface, a neighbor, a peer, a route, and a label.

30. The method of claim 19, wherein determining the one or more network objects comprises:

identifying one or more elementary network objects directly from at least one of the information and the supplemental information.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein determining the one or more network objects comprises:

inferring one or more aggregate network objects based on the elementary network objects and a protocol.

32. The method of claim 19, wherein inferring comprises:

determining whether a virtual private network (VPN) exists on the network.

33. The method of claim 32, comprising:

detecting a route target, such that the route target provides an indication that the virtual private network exists on the network.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein inferring comprises:

inferring a topology of the virtual private network.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein inferring comprises:

inferring the topology based on the one or more rules.

36. The method of claim 35, comprising:

inferring the topology based on the one or more rules and the one or more network objects.

37. The method of claim 36, comprising:

arranging the one or more network objects to model the network.

38. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving, at a processor, information concerning the network, wherein the processor first uses a passive protocol and then uses an active protocol to receive information and supplemental information, respectively.

39. The method of claim 19, comprising:

managing the network based on the inferred one or more services.

40. The method of claim 19, comprising:

determining performance of the network based on the inferred one or more services.

41. The method of claim 19, comprising:

planning the network based on the inferred one or more services.

42. The method of claim 19, comprising:

reporting performance of the network based on the inferred one or more services.

43. The method of claim 19, comprising:

monitoring performance of the network based on the inferred one or more services.

44. The method of claim 19, comprising:

associating a user-defined service with at least one of the one or more services.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein associating comprises:

associating a name as the user-defined service.

46. The method of claim 45, comprising:

associating a quality-of-service with the name.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein associating comprises:

associating a quality-of-service with the name, such that the quality-of-service represents a predetermined level of service.

48. The method of claim 19, comprising:

enabling a user to define the user-defined service, such that the user-defined service includes at least one the inferred services.

26. The method of 25, comprising:

using the passive protocol and then the active protocol to determine the one or more network objects.

49. A method for inferring one or more services on a network, wherein the network includes one or more nodes, the method comprising:

detecting one or more route targets on the network;

determining, for each of the route targets, a first number representative of the one or more nodes that export each of the route targets;

determining, for each of the route targets, a second number representative of the one or more nodes that import each of the route targets; and

inferring the one or more services based on the determined first and second numbers.

50. The method of claim 49, comprising:

inferring that at least one of the services is a virtual private network.

51. The method of claim 50, comprising:

inferring that the virtual private network is a mesh configuration when the first and second numbers are equal.

52. The method of claim 50, comprising:

inferring that the virtual private network is a hub and spoke configuration when a first node of the one or more nodes exports route targets identifying each of the other nodes and the other nodes export route targets identifying the first node, wherein the first node serves as a hub.

53. A method for storing network information, the method comprising:

receiving network information at a predetermined time;

storing network information based on the predetermined time;

detecting an event at a time other than the predetermined time;

receiving network information based on the event; and

storing network information based on the event.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein receiving the network information comprises:

receiving, as the network information, at least one of the following types of information;

performance, event, topology, service, and object.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein receiving comprises:

receiving network information at a plurality of predetermined times.

56. The method of claim 53, comprising:

indicating that a failure is the event.

57. The method of claim 53, comprising:

indicating that crossing a performance threshold is the event.

58. The method of claim 53, comprising:

detecting a plurality of events.

59. The method of claim 58, comprising:

storing the network information based on the plurality of events.

60. The method of claim 53, wherein storing the network information based on the event comprises:

storing the network information from a first time before the event until a second time after the event.

61. The method of claim 60, comprising:

displaying the network information based on the first and second times.

62. The method of claim 53, comprising:

estimating network information at one or more times for which there is no stored network information.

63. The method of claim 62, comprising:

displaying a performance of the network based on the network information and the estimated network information.

64. The method of claim 62, comprising:

displaying a topology of the network based on the network information and the estimated network information.

65. The method of claim 53, comprising:

structuring a database to represent the network.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein storing network information based on the predetermined time, comprises:

correlating network information with the structured database, such that the correlated information is stored in the structured database.

67. The method of claim 65, comprising:

displaying information based on the structured database.

68. The method of claim 67, comprising:

forwarding the displayed information at a pace chosen by a user.

69. The method of claim 67, comprising:

replaying the displayed information instantly.

70. The method of claim 53, comprising:

compressing the stored network information.

103. The system of claim 58, comprising:

storing the network information based on the plurality of events.

71. A system comprising:

means for receiving topologically relevant network information concerning at least one of nodes, interfaces, connections, and protocols;

means for resolving conflicts in the received information;

means for determining and storing a network topology from the received and resolved information; and

means for inferring one or more services based on the stored topology.

72. A system for inferring one or more services of a network, the system comprising:

means for receiving, at a processor, network information;

means for determining a first set of network objects based on the received information;

means for inferring a second set of network objects based on the first set and a protocol;

means for storing the first and second sets as a structure representative of the network; and

means for inferring the one or more services based on the structure.

73. A system for managing a network, the system comprising:

means for receiving information concerning the network;

means for receiving supplemental information concerning the network;

means for determining one or more network objects associated with the network based on the received information and the received supplemental information; and

means for inferring one or more services based on the determined network objects and one or more rules, such that the one or more rules infer the existence of the one or more services.

74. A system for storing network information, the system comprising:

means for receiving network information at a predetermined time;

means for storing network information based on the predetermined time;

means for detecting an event at a time other than the predetermined time;

means for receiving network information based on the event; and

means for storing network information based on the event.

75. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving topologically relevant network information concerning at least one of nodes, interfaces, connections, and protocols;

resolving conflicts in the received information;

determining and storing a network topology from the received and resolved information; and

inferring one or more services based on the stored topology.

76. A system for inferring one or more services of a network, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving, at a processor, network information;

determining a first set of network objects based on the received information;

inferring a second set of network objects based on the first set and a protocol;

storing the first and second sets as a structure representative of the network; and

inferring the one or more services based on the structure.

77. The system of claim 76, comprising:

using, as the first set, elementary network objects.

78. The system of claim 77, comprising:

using, as the elementary network objects, at least one of an interface, a node, a link, and a route, wherein the route is at least one of an Internet route or a VPN route, and wherein the link is a connection to an adjacent node.

79. The system of claim 76, comprising:

using, as the second set, aggregate network objects, such that the aggregate network objects are determined based on the first set of network objects and the protocol.

80. The system of claim 79, comprising:

using, as the aggregate network objects, at least one of a routed path, a label switched path, an Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) tunnel, and a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunnel.

81. A computer-readable medium containing instructions to configure a data processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving topologically relevant network information concerning at least one of nodes, interfaces, connections, and protocols;

resolving conflicts in the received information;

determining and storing a network topology from the received and resolved information; and

inferring one or more services based on the stored topology.

82. A computer-readable medium containing instructions to configure a data processor to perform a method for inferring one or more services of a network, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, network information;

determining a first set of network objects based on the received information;

inferring a second set of network objects based on the first set and a protocol;

storing the first and second sets as a structure representative of the network; and

inferring the one or more services based on the structure.

83. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, comprising:

using, as the first set, elementary network objects.

84. The computer-readable medium of claim 83, comprising:

using, as the elementary network objects, at least one of an interface, a node, a link, and a route, wherein the route is at least one of an Internet route or a VPN route, and wherein the link is a connection to an adjacent node.

85. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, comprising:

using, as the second set, aggregate network objects, such that the aggregate network objects are determined based on the first set of network objects and the protocol.

86. The computer-readable medium of claim 85, comprising:

using, as the aggregate network objects, at least one of a routed path, a label switched path, an Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) tunnel, and a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunnel.

87. A system for managing a network, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving information concerning the network;

receiving supplemental information concerning the network;

determining one or more network objects associated with the network based on the received information and the received supplemental information; and

inferring one or more services based on the determined network objects and one or more rules, such that the one or more rules infer the existence of the one or more services.

88. The system of claim 87, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving, at a processor, information concerning the network, wherein the processor poses as a router.

89. The system of claim 87, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving information from one or more nodes of the network, such that the one or more nodes provide information concerning the network.

90. The system of claim 87, wherein receiving information further comprises:

using topology information as the information concerning the network.

91. A system for managing a network, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving information concerning the network;

receiving supplemental information concerning the network;

determining one or more network objects associated with the network based on the received information and the received supplemental information; and

inferring one or more services based on the determined network objects and one or more rules, such that the one or more rules infer the existence of the one or more services.

92. The system of claim 91, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving, at a processor, information concerning the network, wherein the processor poses as a router.

93. The system of claim 91, wherein receiving information comprises:

receiving information from one or more nodes of the network, such that the one or more nodes provide information concerning the network.

94. The system of claim 91, wherein receiving information further comprises:

using topology information as the information concerning the network.

95. A system for inferring one or more services on a network, wherein the network includes one or more nodes, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

detecting one or more route targets on the network;

determining, for each of the route targets, a first number representative of the one or more nodes that export each of the route targets;

determining, for each of the route targets, a second number representative of the one or more nodes that import each of the route targets; and

inferring the one or more services based on the determined first and second numbers.

96. A computer-readable medium containing instructions to configure a data processor to perform a method for inferring one or more services on a network, wherein the network includes one or more nodes, the method comprising:

detecting one or more route targets on the network;

determining, for each of the route targets, a first number representative of the one or more nodes that export each of the route targets;

determining, for each of the route targets, a second number representative of the one or more nodes that import each of the route targets; and

inferring the one or more services based on the determined first and second numbers.

97. A system for storing network information, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving network information at a predetermined time;

storing network information based on the predetermined time;

detecting an event at a time other than the predetermined time;

receiving network information based on the event; and

storing network information based on the event.

98. The system of claim 97, wherein receiving the network information comprises:

receiving, as the network information, at least one of performance, event, topology, service, and object.

99. The system of claim 97, wherein receiving comprises:

receiving network information at a plurality of predetermined times.

100. The system of claim 97, comprising:

indicating that a failure is the event.

101. The system of claim 97, comprising:

indicating that crossing a performance threshold is the event.

102. The system of claim 97, comprising:

detecting a plurality of events.

104. A computer-readable medium containing instructions to configure a data processor to perform a method for storing network information, the method comprising:

receiving network information at a predetermined time;

storing network information based on the predetermined time;

detecting an event at a time other than the predetermined time;

receiving network information based on the event; and

storing network information based on the event.

105. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, wherein receiving the network information comprises:

receiving, as the network information, at least one of performance, event, topology, service, and object.

106. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, wherein receiving comprises:

receiving network information at a plurality of predetermined times.

107. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, comprising:

indicating that a failure is the event.

108. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, comprising:

indicating that crossing a performance threshold is the event.

109. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, comprising:

detecting a plurality of events.

110. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, comprising:

storing the network information based on the plurality of events.