Analysis of pipelined networks
First Claim
1. A method for diagnosing network failures in a pipelined server network comprising several tiers of processing a message, wherein each tier successively processes the message and forwards the message to the next tier, the method comprising:
- detecting a failure of processing the message within the pipelined server network;
sequentially sending information to each processing tier of the pipelined server network, where the information simulates a proper processing of the message by a previous tier in the pipelined network; and
isolating the failure to the tier preceding the tier that receives the information and successfully replies.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to a diagnostic tool for networks that process messages in stages such as pipelined networks. In a pipelined network comprising tiers of servers, each tier of servers communicates only with adjacent tiers in a communications flow that processes messages in a sequence of tiers. The tool requires a controller located locally with respect to the pipelined network for generating messages to be processed by the pipelined network. Communication paths connect the controller to each tier of the pipelined network. A program executing at the controller detects a failure of the processing of the message by the pipelined network and receives diagnostic information from the tiers after the failure is detected. The diagnoses based on the retrieved information can proceed either manually or automatically, depending on how the information is collected. In order to automate the diagnosis, the program executing on the controller includes commands for sequentially analyzing each tier in the pipelined network in order to isolate the tier in which the failure occurred. For manual diagnosis, the program includes commands for simultaneously (or almost simultaneously) requesting information from each tier upon network failure. In the manual approach, distributed agents at all of the tiers gather information about the operating of the tier at the time of network failure.
76 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for diagnosing network failures in a pipelined server network comprising several tiers of processing a message, wherein each tier successively processes the message and forwards the message to the next tier, the method comprising:
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detecting a failure of processing the message within the pipelined server network;
sequentially sending information to each processing tier of the pipelined server network, where the information simulates a proper processing of the message by a previous tier in the pipelined network; and
isolating the failure to the tier preceding the tier that receives the information and successfully replies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for diagnosing failures in a remote access network comprising processing tiers wherein each tier communicates only with adjacent tiers in a communications flow that proceeds sequentially from one tier to another, said method comprising:
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detecting a failure communicating a message through the tiers of the remote access network, wherein the remote access network comprises remote access servers, RADIUS proxy servers, RADIUS servers and domain controllers;
automatically capturing data at each tier describing processing at the tier at the time of failure tailored to provide diagnostic information; and
analyzing the data to isolate the failure to one of the tiers. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A computer-readable medium, having computer-executable instructions for diagnosing network failures in a pipelined server network comprising several tiers of processing a message, wherein each tier successively processes the message and forwards the message to the next tier, the computer-executable instructions performing steps comprising:
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detecting a failure of processing the message within the pipelined server network; and
sequentially sending information to each processing tier of the pipelined server network, where the information simulates a proper processing of the message by a previous tier in the pipelined network. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification