Method and apparatus for rate limiting

• US 8,849,993 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Cooper, Geoffrey, Sherlock, Kieran G., Hoy, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US13/073,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20110173342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: 709/233, 709/225, 709/224, 709/215, 709/223, 709/230, 709/232, 709/234, 709/235, 370229-235
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/14 using software, i.e. software packages network security related monitoring H04L63/1408
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/18 Protocol analysers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 : Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1425 : Traffic logging, e.g. anomaly detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 : Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 : at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 : Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a network monitor internals mechanism, which serves to translate packet data into multiple concurrent streams of encoded network event data, to contribute to enterprise management, reporting, and global mechanisms for aggregating monitors at a centralized aggregation point, and to facilitate rate limiting techniques because such monitors are not in control (i.e. cannot back pressure flow) is provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus for rate limiting to control amounts of data in a passive network monitoring pipelined system, said apparatus comprising:

at least one processor device;

at least one memory element;

a packet filter module, when executed by the at least one processor, to discard particular incoming packets and pass on non-discarded packets according to first rate limiting mechanism;

a monitor, executed using the at least one processor device, receiving said non-discarded packets from said packet filter module, said monitor processing said non-discarded packets and outputting event data describing corresponding events, said monitor having a second rate limiting mechanism for discarding at least a portion of the event data, wherein non-discarded event data is passed on and comprises a first subset of event data;

a logger module, when executed by the at least one processor, to discard at least a portion of the first subset of event data according to a third rate limiting mechanism, said logger module within a policy monitor module receiving said outputted corresponding events from said monitor wherein the non-discarded portion of the first subset of event data comprises a second subset of event data; and

a reporting module, when executed by the at least one processor, to receive said second subset of event data from said logger module, wherein the second subset of event data describes a set of events, wherein the reporting module is further to combine said set of events with like events in a roll-up over a time interval or based on the hierarchy of objects to meet storage requirements based at least in part on a fourth rate limiting mechanism;

wherein said first rate limiting mechanism discards particular packets on input when input packet rate exceeds a specified limit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second rate limiting mechanism comprises an algorithm, wherein input to said algorithm as number of packets per second that can be processed by said monitor is controlled by a command, wherein said command runs said monitor on a local network device, generates a stream of events to a local host port, and restricts average processing rate to a predetermined number of packets/second.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said algorithm works by defining a predetermined measurement interval, such that an argument value is normalized to the number of packets allowed received in a single measurement interval, and when said number of packets is received, no more packets are received until said measurement interval is over.