FINDING LATENCY THROUGH A PHYSICAL NETWORK IN A VIRTUALIZED NETWORK
First Claim
1. A method for determining latency of a physical network path in a network, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a virtual network controller, a plurality of messages from a plurality of network devices in a network, wherein each of the messages includes (1) a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, (2) an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received;
identifying, by the virtual network controller, two or more of the plurality of messages having a common packet signature;
determining, by the virtual network controller, a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature.
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Abstract
Techniques are described for determining latency in a physical network that includes a number of network devices over which packets travel. A virtual network controller receives a plurality of messages from a plurality of network devices in a network, each of the messages including a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received. The virtual network controller determines a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature.
157 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for determining latency of a physical network path in a network, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a virtual network controller, a plurality of messages from a plurality of network devices in a network, wherein each of the messages includes (1) a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, (2) an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received; identifying, by the virtual network controller, two or more of the plurality of messages having a common packet signature; determining, by the virtual network controller, a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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receiving from a virtual network controller, by a network device, information specifying packet characteristics of packets to be analyzed; receiving a packet; responsive to determining that the packet matches the specified characteristics, and by a virtual network agent executing on the network device, determining a hash of an invariant portion of the packet that uniquely identifies the packet to obtain a packet signature; and forwarding, to the virtual network controller, a message that specifies;
(1) the packet signature, (2) an identifier of the network device, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time the packet was processed by the network device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor to:
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receive a plurality of messages from a plurality of network devices in a network, wherein each of the messages includes (1) a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, (2) an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received; identify two or more of the plurality of messages having a common packet signature; and determine a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature.
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16. A virtual network controller comprising:
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one or more processors; a plurality of virtual machines executed by the processors to receive a plurality of messages from a plurality of network devices in a network, wherein each of the messages includes (1) a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, (2) an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received; and a plurality of analytics virtual machines, wherein the plurality of virtual machines identify two or more of the plurality of messages having a common packet signature, and determine a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system comprising:
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a virtual network controller comprising; one or more processors; a plurality of virtual machines executed by the processors; and a plurality of network devices comprising one or more processors, wherein the plurality of network devices receive from the virtual network controller, information specifying packet characteristics of packets to be analyzed receiving a packet, wherein the plurality of virtual machines receive a plurality of messages from the plurality of network devices, wherein each of the messages includes (1) a packet signature comprising a hash of an invariant portion of an original packet that uniquely identifies the original packet, (2) an identifier of one of the plurality of network devices from which the respective message was received, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time an original packet was processed by the network device from which the respective message was received; wherein the virtual network controller further comprises a plurality of analytics virtual machines that identify two or more of the plurality of messages having a common packet signature, and determine a latency of a physical network path in the network based on analysis of contents of the identified messages having a common packet signature; wherein the plurality of network devices comprise a virtual network agent executing on the processors that, responsive to determining that the packet matches the specified characteristics, determining a hash of an invariant portion of the packet that uniquely identifies the packet to obtain a packet signature, and forward, to the virtual network controller, a message that specifies;
(1) the packet signature, (2) an identifier of the network device, and (3) a timestamp indicating a time the packet was processed by the network device. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification