In-kernal content-aware service differentiation

• US 8,024,424 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2009
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Voigt, Thiemo, Mehra, Ashish, Freimuth, Douglas M., Tewari, Renu
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart; Benjamin R
• Application Number:
  US12/544,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20090307350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The increasing number of Internet users and innovative new services such as e-commerce are placing new demands on Web servers. It is becoming essential for Web servers to provide performance isolation, have fast recovery times, and provide continuous service during overload at least to preferred customers. The invention describes a kernel-based architecture for content-aware service differentiation that protects Web servers against overload by controlling the amount and rate of work entering the system. We have invented a mechanism that provides admission control and service differentiation based on connection and application level information. The application header-based connection control uses application-level information (such as URIs and cookies for HTTP) to define different service differentiation actions. The present invention provides the kernel mechanisms that are more efficient and scalable than application level controls implemented in current Web servers.

Claims

1. A computer system apparatus comprising a non-transitory computing medium enabling functions of a service differentiation module in a kernel of the computer system apparatus and a policy agent in a user space of the computer system apparatus to populate service differentiation rules for the service differentiation module,

said service differentiation module including:

a parser to parse a client Web request;

a classifier to classify the request based on application headers including client identity and application-specific information and assigning a classification rule within the kernel;

a selector to determine an action rule based on the classification rule;

a performer to apply the action rule based on the classification rule in order to provide better system performance based on client identity and application-specific information for higher classed packets and connections; and

a detector to detect establishment of a new connection and establishing of a new TCP connection;

said policy agent including;

a communicator to communicate from the user space to the kernel with an application interface;

an initializer to instantiate service differentiation rules for the service differentiation module within the kernel which include classification and action rules; and

a manager to delete and update rules on a user request.

2. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing rule installation, the computer readable program code means in said computer program product for causing a computer to effect the functions of claim 1.

3. A method of populating service differentiation rules for a service differentiation module comprising:

forming a rule, including the steps of;

communicating from a policy agent in a user space to a service differentiation module in a kernel with an application interface;

instantiating service differentiation rules for the service differentiation module within the kernel which include classification and action rules; and

deleting and adding rules based upon a user request, wherein the service differentiation module is populated with service differentiation rules; and

further comprising differentiating at least one service class in a kernel to provide different levels of service for system performance to users to perform service differentiation based on content in at least one data packet, said content including client identity and application-specific information, including the steps of

capturing said at least one data packet until a complete application header is detected;

parsing said complete application header to determine at least one application tag indicative of application-specific information;

matching said at least one application tag to at least one matching application-specific service differentiation rule;

determining a presence of at least one match with said at least one matching rule; and

performing application-specific service differentiation action based on said at least one matching rule in order to provide a particular level of service from said different levels of service; and

detecting establishment of a new connection and establishing of a new TCP connection.

4. A method as in claim 3, further comprising updating rules based upon a user request.

5. The method as in claim 3, wherein said at least one application tag includes at least one tag taken from a group of tags including:

URI, cookie, request method, HTTP version, a tag in an application protocol, and a tag in a communication protocol.

6. The method as in claim 3, wherein said at least one application tag is a URI, and wherein the URI is the second string in a HTTP header as defined in the application protocol.

7. The method as in claim 3, further comprising employing a table having said at least one matching application-specific service differentiation rule comprising a plurality of classification rules and a corresponding plurality of action rules.

8. The method as in claim 3, wherein the step of determining includes finding a best match.

9. The method as in claim 3, wherein said step of performing service differentiation action includes at least one action taken from a group of actions including:

dropping, rate controlling, scheduling connections, monitoring, request prioritization, and a policing action.

10. A method as in claim 9, wherein said action includes at least one act taken from a group of acts including:

sending a reset message, sending an application return code, determining compliance with a given rate and/or burst, prioritization, weighted round robin, round robin, ordering, recording statistics, performing a cleanup, and protocol control.

11. The method as in claim 3, wherein said step of performing service differentiation action includes an action of dropping, and wherein said action of dropping includes discarding a connection based on rules that are created to provide better performance to the connections that are accepted.

12. The method as in claim 3, further comprising installing at least one matching application-specific service differentiation rule to provide a higher level of system performance for higher classed packets and connections.

13. The method as in claim 3, wherein said step of establishing of a new TCP connection includes:

receiving SYN packet;

sending SYN-ACK packet;

deferring accept;

receiving ACK for SYN-ACK packet; and

deferring notification of data packet.

14. The method as in claim 3, wherein said step of capturing includes detecting application header delimiters for said at least one data packet.