Creating searchable and global database of user visible process traces

• US 9,100,289 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Mehta, Anish, Bhatt, Megh, Reddy, Rajashekar
• Primary Examiner(s): NANO, SARGON N
• Application Number:
  US13/835,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/366 using diagnostics G06F11/0703 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/065 involving logical or physical relationship, e.g. grouping and hierarchies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

In one example, a controller device includes one or more network interfaces communicatively coupled to one or more devices of a virtual network, and a processor configured to determine, for the virtual network, a set of two or more related processes executed by respective devices in the virtual network, receive via the network interfaces data for the set of two or more related processes, and aggregate the data for the set of two or more related processes to form aggregated data for the set of two or more related processes.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a controller device for a virtual network, a set of two or more related processes executed by respective devices in the virtual network, including a first process executed by a first device of a plurality of devices that form a physical network and a second, different process executed by a second, different device of the plurality of devices, wherein the virtual network comprises an overlay network formed over the physical network and between virtual switches executed by the plurality of devices including a first virtual switch executed by the first device and a second virtual switch executed by the second device, and wherein determining the set of two or more related processes comprises forming the set to include processes that perform similar operations on different instances of respective data;

receiving, by the controller device, data for the set of two or more related processes from the respective devices; and

aggregating, by the controller device, the data for the set of two or more related processes to form aggregated data for the set of two or more related processes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the aggregated data to a user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregated data comprises data for a User-Visible Entity (UVE).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the UVE defines one or more attributes for which values are to be extracted from the received data for the set of two or more related processes, and wherein aggregating comprises:

extracting values for the one or more attributes defined by the UVE; and

aggregating the values for the one or more attributes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the UVE defines the one or more attributes for a tier in which the set of two or more related processes are executed.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the tier comprises a respective service plane.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the tier comprises one of a plurality of tiers, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers is associated with a respective UVE.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of tiers include one or more of a control plane tier, an analytics tier, a configuration tier, and a software defined network (SDN) forwarding tier.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the UVE comprises a UVE for the SDN forwarding tier, and wherein the UVE defines a bytes received attribute and a virtual machine names attribute.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of tiers are arranged in a hierarchical fashion.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the tiers includes a respective set of processes, and wherein each of the processes for a common one of the tiers is substantially similar.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

for each of the tiers, determining resources of the virtual network used by the respective UVEs; and

automatically determining whether the resources for one of the UVEs are insufficient based on a number of repeated failures associated with the one of the UVEs.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

for each of the UVEs, in response to detecting a failure of a component associated with the UVE, logically associating the failed component with values for one or more of the attributes associated with the UVE that preceded the failure of the component.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the UVE defines a respective aggregation method for each of the attributes, wherein the respective aggregation methods comprise one of addition, union over sets, concatenation, and list formation.

15. The method of claim 3, wherein the UVE corresponds to a virtual network including the respective devices that execute the set of two or more processes.

16. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

analyzing sequence numbers of packets of the received data for the UVE; and

in response to detecting a gap in the sequence numbers for one of the processes, sending instructions to the device that is executing the one of the processes to replay a current state for the UVE.

17. The method of claim 3, further comprising generating a report including the aggregated data, wherein the report is associated with the UVE.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the report includes data indicative of one or more of a quantitative failure, a fault parameter, a memory failure, a telecommunications failure, a processor failure, a packet resend, and a dropped communication session.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising forwarding the report and an identifier for the UVE to a centralized, queryable database.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual network comprises a software defined network (SDN).

21. A controller device comprising:

one or more network interfaces communicatively coupled to one or more devices of a virtual network; and

a processor configured to determine, for the virtual network, a set of two or more related processes executed by respective devices in the virtual network, including a first process executed by a first device of a plurality of devices that form a physical network and a second, different process executed by a second, different device of the plurality of devices, wherein the virtual network comprises an overlay network formed over the physical network and between virtual switches executed by the plurality of devices including a first virtual switch executed by the first device and a second virtual switch executed by the second device and wherein to determine the set of two or more related processes, the processor is configured to form the set to include processes that perform similar operations on different instances of respective data, and wherein the processor is further configured to receive via the network interfaces data for the set of two or more related processes, and aggregate the data for the set of two or more related processes to form aggregated data for the set of two or more related processes.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to present the aggregated data to a user.

23. The device of claim 21, wherein the aggregated data comprises data for a User-Visible Entity (UVE).

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the UVE defines one or more attributes for which values are to be extracted from the received data for the set of two or more related processes, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

extract values for the one or more attributes defined by the UVE; and

aggregate the values for the one or more attributes.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein the UVE defines the one or more attributes for a tier in which the set of two or more related processes are executed.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the tier comprises a respective service plane.

27. The device of claim 25, wherein the tier comprises one of a plurality of tiers, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers is associated with a respective UVE.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the plurality of tiers include one or more of a control plane tier, an analytics tier, a configuration tier, and a software defined network (SDN) forwarding tier.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the UVE comprises a UVE for the SDN forwarding tier, and wherein the UVE defines a bytes received attribute and a virtual machine names attribute.

30. The device of claim 27, wherein the plurality of tiers are arranged in a hierarchical fashion.

31. The device of claim 27, wherein each of the tiers includes a respective set of processes, and wherein each of the processes for a common one of the tiers is substantially similar.

32. The device of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to, for each of the tiers, determine resources of the virtual network used by the respective UVEs, and automatically determine whether the resources for one of the UVEs are insufficient based on a number of repeated failures associated with the one of the UVEs.

33. The device of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to, for each of the UVEs, in response to detecting a failure of a component associated with the UVE, logically associating the failed component with values for one or more of the attributes associated with the UVE that preceded the failure of the component.

34. The device of claim 25, wherein the UVE defines a respective aggregation device for each of the attributes, wherein the respective aggregation devices comprise one of addition, union over sets, concatenation, and list formation.

35. The device of claim 23, wherein the UVE corresponds to a virtual network including the respective devices that execute the set of two or more processes.

36. The device of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to analyze sequence numbers of packets of the received data for the UVE, and, in response to detecting a gap in the sequence numbers for one of the processes, sending instructions to the device that is executing the one of the processes to replay a current state for the UVE.

37. The device of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to generate a report including the aggregated data, wherein the report is associated with the UVE.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein the report includes data indicative of one or more of a quantitative failure, a fault parameter, a memory failure, a telecommunications failure, a processor failure, a packet resend, and a dropped communication session.

39. The device of claim 37, wherein the processor is further configured to forward, via the network interfaces, the report and an identifier for the UVE to a centralized, queryable database.

40. The device of claim 21, wherein the virtual network comprises a software defined network (SDN).

41. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause a processor of a controller device for a virtual network to:

determine a set of two or more related processes executed by respective devices in the virtual network, including a first process executed by a first device of a plurality of devices that form a physical network and a second, different process executed by a second, different device of the plurality of devices, wherein the virtual network comprises an overlay network formed over the physical network and between virtual switches executed by the plurality of devices including a first virtual switch executed by the first device and a second virtual switch executed by the second device, and wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine the set of two or more related processes comprise instructions that cause the processor to form the set to include processes that perform similar operations on different instances of respective data;

receive data for the set of two or more related processes; and

aggregate the data for the set of two or more related processes to form aggregated data for the set of two or more related processes.