ENTROPY-BASED (SELF-ORGANIZING) STABILITY MANAGEMENT

• US 20090089410A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Vicente, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,954,562 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/142 using statistical or mathematical methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities

Abstract

In some embodiments, the invention involves calculating entropy-based stability values to be used in a framework to build a new class of network control (policy) and (state) management services. The framework may be used to build a number of self-management services to support decentralized (mesh) networks. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A system for entropy-based stability management, comprising:

a processor in a network executing a stability agent;

the stability agent to collect stability information from a plurality of nodes on the network and to determine a relative dependability between and among the plurality of nodes, and to calculate a level of stability of each of the plurality of nodes and network, wherein the level of stability is calculated using entropy-based statistical methods; and

an operational agent running on at least on node on the network, the operational agent to receive the stability information from the stability agent and to provide management and control operations to at least one aspect of the network, based on the stability information.

2. The system as recited by claim 1, wherein the entropy-based statistical methods are derived from Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations.

3. The system as recited by claim 2, wherein the Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations are to be applied to each node in a cluster of nodes on the network, in part, using an entropy of node m during the specific period of entropy measurement Δ

T in the cluster C_ij, normalized between [0,1], to result in a desired measure of stability with respect to node m, in terms of an absolute relative dependability during the period of stability state evaluation, and where measurement of the cluster'"'"'s overall stability, γ

, is defined and captured by a cluster-head associated to C_ij as;

γ

=[H_CH(t,Δ

T)]*min[H_i(t,Δ

T)], where CH is the cluster-head for C_ij and i=(all nodes in Cij\CH).

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the operational agent is to provide management and control of a self-managing network of virtual clusters and where the stability information is to be used with reachability and performance efficiency factors of nodes in the network to enable a determination to be made for promotion and demotion of nodes in the network.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the management and control operation comprises one or more of routing control, security management and fault management.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of computing nodes in the network, each node comprising;

logic comprising an operational agent for autonomous self-promotion and demotion in the network, wherein a promoted node rises to a cluster level above a previous cluster level and becomes part of a virtual cluster at the level above, while remaining in a virtual cluster of the previous level, and wherein a demoted node falls to a cluster level below the previous cluster level and no longer remains in the virtual cluster at the higher level;

logic to provide management and control service functions to cluster k peer nodes in a node that has been promoted to a cluster-head of the cluster k;

logic to provide management and control service functions to other nodes in cluster levels below a current cluster level of the node from which the node has been promoted,

wherein the operational agent for autonomous self-promotion and demotion in the network uses information based on a node'"'"'s behavior relating to (a) reachability, (b) stability and (c) performance efficiency, and wherein the stability behavior is generated by the stability agent.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the stability agent executes in one of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, virtual machine in the processor.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein a reachability agent providing reachability behavior information executes in one or more of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, virtual machine in at least one of the computing nodes on the network, and a performance efficiency agent providing performance efficiency behavior information executes in one or more of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, virtual machine in at least one of the computing nodes on the network, and wherein the reachability agent, performance efficiency agent and stability agent run on either a same or different node, or combination thereof, on the network.

9. A method for entropy-based stability management in a network having a plurality of nodes, comprising:

collecting stability information from a plurality of nodes on a network, by a stability agent;

determining a relative dependability between and among the plurality of nodes on the network based on the collected stability information, by the stability agent;

calculating, by the stability agent, a level of stability of each of the plurality of nodes on the network, wherein the level of stability is calculated using entropy-based statistical methods; and

providing, by the stability agent, the level of stability information to an operational agent for management and control operations, the operational agent running on a node on the network.

10. The method as recite in claim 9, wherein the entropy-based statistical methods are derived from Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations.

11. The method as recited by claim 10, wherein the Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations are to be applied to each node in a cluster of nodes on the network, in part, using an entropy of node m during the specific period of entropy measurement Δ

T in the cluster C_ij, normalized between [0,1], to result in a desired measure of stability with respect to node m, in terms of an absolute relative dependability during the period of stability state evaluation, and where measurement of the cluster'"'"'s overall stability, y, is defined and captured by a cluster-head associated to C_ij as;

γ

=[H_CH(t,Δ

T)]*min[H_i(t,Δ

T)], where CH is the cluster-head for C_ij and i=(all nodes in Cij\CH).

12. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

providing management and control of a self-managing network of virtual clusters, by the operational agent, where the stability information is to be used with reachability and performance efficiency factors of nodes in the network to enable a determination to be made for promotion and demotion of nodes in the network.

13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the management and control operation comprises one or more of routing control, security management and fault management.

14. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

determining by the operational agent executing on a node on the network whether the node is to be promoted, demoted or stay at a same level, wherein a promoted node rises to a cluster level above a previous cluster level and becomes part of a virtual cluster at the level above, while remaining in a virtual cluster of the previous level, and wherein a demoted node falls to a cluster level below the previous cluster level and no longer remains in the virtual cluster at the higher level; and

performing a promotion/demotion/static operation based on results of the determining.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

providing management and control service functions to cluster k peer nodes in a node that has been promoted to a cluster-head of the cluster k;

providing management and control service functions to other nodes in cluster levels below a current cluster level of the node from which the node has been promoted,

wherein the operational agent uses information based on a node'"'"'s behavior relating to (a) reachability, (b) stability and (c) performance efficiency, and wherein the stability behavior is provided in the providing of the level of stability information.

16. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the stability agent executes in one of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, or virtual machine in a node on the network.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

providing reachability behavior information, by a reachability agent executing in one or more of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, or virtual machine in at least one of the nodes on the network, and

providing performance efficiency behavior information by a performance efficiency agent executing in one or more of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, or virtual machine in at least one of the nodes on the network,

wherein the reachability agent, performance efficiency agent and stability agent run on either a same or different node, or combination thereof, on the network.

18. A machine readable storage medium having instructions for entropy-based stability management in a network having a plurality of nodes, the instructions stored therein, that when the instructions are executed on a machine, cause the machine to:

collect stability information from a plurality of nodes on a network, by a stability agent;

determine a relative dependability between and among the plurality of nodes on the network based on the collected stability information, by the stability agent;

calculate, by the stability agent, a level of stability of each of the plurality of nodes on the network, wherein the level of stability is calculated using entropy-based statistical methods; and

provide, by the stability agent, the level of stability information to an operational agent for management and control operations, the operational agent running on a node on the network.

19. The medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the entropy-based statistical methods are derived from Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations.

20. The medium as recited by claim 19, wherein the Shannon'"'"'s Laws of statistical entropy equations are to be applied to each node in a cluster of nodes on the network, in part, using an entropy of node m during the specific period of entropy measurement Δ

T in the cluster C_ij, normalized between [0,1], to result in a desired measure of stability with respect to node m, in terms of an absolute relative dependability during the period of stability state evaluation, and where measurement of the cluster'"'"'s overall stability, γ

, is defined and captured by a cluster-head associated to C_ij as;

γ

=[H_CH(t,Δ

T)]*min[H_i(t,Δ

T)], where CH is the cluster-head for C_ij and i=(all nodes in Cij\CH).

21. The medium as recited in claim 18, further comprising instructions to:

provide management and control of a self-managing network of virtual clusters, by the operational agent, where the stability information is to be used with reachability and performance efficiency factors of nodes in the network to enable a determination to be made for promotion and demotion of nodes in the network.

22. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the management and control operation comprises one or more of routing control, security management and fault management.

23. The medium as recited in claim 18, further comprising instructions to:

determine by the operational agent executing on a node on the network whether the node is to be promoted, demoted or stay at a same level, wherein a promoted node rises to a cluster level above a previous cluster level and becomes part of a virtual cluster at the level above, while remaining in a virtual cluster of the previous level, and wherein a demoted node falls to a cluster level below the previous cluster level and no longer remains in the virtual cluster at the higher level; and

perform a promotion/demotion/static operation based on results of the determining.

24. The medium as recited in claim 23, further comprising instructions to:

provide management and control service functions to cluster k peer nodes in a node that has been promoted to a cluster-head of the cluster k;

provide management and control service functions to other nodes in cluster levels below a current cluster level of the node from which the node has been promoted,

wherein the operational agent uses information based on a node'"'"'s behavior relating to (a) reachability, (b) stability and (c) performance efficiency, and wherein the stability behavior is provided in the providing of the level of stability information.

25. The medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the stability agent executes in one of an embedded partition, virtual machine monitor, virtual appliance, or virtual machine in a node on the network.