Software, systems and methods for managing a distributed network

• US 20070294410A1
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Published: 12/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Centrisoft Corp.
• Original Assignee: Centrisoft Corp.
• Inventors: Joshi, Varad, Pandya, Suketu
• Application Number:
  US11/894,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20070294410A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 : Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 : Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 : Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 : Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 : Queue scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 : Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/803 : Application aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/828 : Allocation of resources per group of connections, e.g. per group of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 : for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 : Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 : based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 : based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 : based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 : based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 : using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 : taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 : involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for managing network bandwidth consumption. The system may include an agent module loadable on a networked computer and configured to aid in managing bandwidth consumption within a network. The agent module is configured to obtain an allocation of network bandwidth usable by the networked computer, and is further configured to sub-allocate such allocation among multiple bandwidth-consuming components associated with the networked computer. The system may further include multiple such agent modules loadable on plural networked computers, and a control module configured to interact with each of the agent modules to dynamically manage bandwidth usage by the networked computers.

Claims

1. An agent module configured to be loaded onto a computer to manage network bandwidth usage by such computer, the agent module comprising:

an agent bandwidth manager; and

an application bandwidth manager, the agent module being configured to launch one such application bandwidth manager for each of multiple applications running on the computer,

where the agent bandwidth manager and application bandwidth managers are configured to dynamically interact so as to sub-allocate network bandwidth available to the computer into individualized application allocations of network bandwidth for each of the applications, and

where each application allocation depends on a socket status of the corresponding application, relative to other applications which are to receive a portion of the network bandwidth available to the computer.

2. The agent module of claim 1, where each application allocation of network bandwidth depends on how many sockets are open for the corresponding application, relative to other applications which are to receive a portion of the network bandwidth available to the computer.

3. The agent module of claim 1, where each application allocation of network bandwidth depends on assigned priorities for sockets of the corresponding application, relative to other applications which are to receive a portion of the network bandwidth available to the computer.

4. The agent module of claim 1, where each application allocation of network bandwidth depends on consumption of prior allocations for the corresponding application, relative to other applications which are to receive a portion of the network bandwidth available to the computer.

5. The agent module of claim 1, where each application allocation of network bandwidth depends on how many sockets are open for the corresponding application, assigne

6. The agent module of claim 1, further comprising a socket bandwidth manager, the agent module being configured to launch one such socket bandwidth manager for each of multiple sockets open on the computer.

7. The agent module of claim 6, where the agent module is configured so that, when one of the applications running on the computer has multiple associated sockets, the application bandwidth manager associated with such application dynamically interacts with the socket bandwidth managers of those sockets so as to sub-allocate the application allocation of network bandwidth into a socket allocation of network bandwidth for each of the sockets.

8. The agent module of claim 7, where the application bandwidth manager and socket bandwidth managers are configured to dynamically and repeatedly update the socket allocations of network bandwidth in response to changing conditions at the sockets.

9. The agent module of claim 1, where the agent bandwidth manager and application bandwidth managers are configured to dynamically and repeatedly update the individualized application allocations of network bandwidth in response to changing conditions at the applications.

10. The agent module of claim 1, where the agent module is adapted to:

assign a socket priority to a socket opened on the computer on which the agent module is loaded;

provide a socket allocation of network bandwidth to the socket based on the socket priority; and

detect whether the socket is being used to perform a predefined network transaction and, after such detection, modify the socket priority for such socket and update the socket allocation of network bandwidth to account for such modification.

11. An agent module configured to be loaded onto a computer to manage network bandwidth usage by such computer, the agent module comprising:

an agent bandwidth manager; and

a socket bandwidth manager, the agent module being configured to launch one such socket bandwidth manager for each of multiple sockets open on the computer, where the agent bandwidth manager and the socket bandwidth managers are configured to interact so as to divide network bandwidth available to the computer into individualized socket allocations of network bandwidth for each of the sockets, and

where the agent bandwidth manager and socket bandwidth managers are configured to dynamically and repeatedly update the socket allocations based on consumption activity of the sockets relative to each other.

12. The agent module of claim 11 further comprising:

an application bandwidth manager, the agent module being configured to launch one such application bandwidth manager for each of multiple applications running on the computer, where the agent bandwidth manager and application bandwidth managers are configured to interact so as to divide network bandwidth available to the computer into individualized application allocations of network bandwidth for each of the applications;

where, for an application with multiple sockets, the corresponding application bandwidth manager and socket bandwidth managers are configured to interact so as to sub-allocate the application allocation of network bandwidth into a socket allocation of network bandwidth for each of the sockets.

13. A system for dynamically managing bandwidth consumption on a network link comprising:

an agent computer;

a software-based agent module configured to run on the agent computer, the agent module being further configured to;

assign a socket priority to a socket opened on the agent computer;

provide a socket allocation of network bandwidth to the socket based on the socket priority; and

detect whether the socket is being used to perform a predefined network transaction and, after such detection, modify the socket priority for such socket and update the socket allocation of network bandwidth to account for such modification.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the agent module is further configured to:

assign a socket priority to each of a plurality of sockets as those sockets are opened on the agent computer;

provide a socket allocation of network bandwidth for each of the plurality of sockets, where the socket allocation for each of the plurality of sockets depends on the socket priority of such socket relative to the socket priorities of the other sockets; and

detect when one of the sockets is being used to perform a predefined network transaction and, after such detection, modify the socket priority for such socket and update the socket allocations of network bandwidth to account for such modification.

15. The system of claim 14, where the predefined network transaction pertains to only a portion of data being requested by the agent computer from a network resource, such that the socket priority is modified while the socket is being used to obtain such portion of data, and is unmodified while the socket is being used to obtain other portions of the data being requested from the network resource.

16. The system of claim 13, where the socket priority is restored to an unmodified value after completion of the predefined network transaction.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the network link interconnects a plurality of computers, including a control computer and multiple agent computers, where each agent computer is configured to run one or more applications employing one or more sockets, and wherein the system further comprises:

plural agent modules, each being adapted to run on one of the agent computers and monitor and repeatedly report a socket status of its associated agent computer;

a control module adapted to run on the control computer, where the control module is adapted to dynamically allocate bandwidth on the network link among the agent computers based on relative socket statuses of the agent computers as reported by the agent modules.

18. A method of dynamically managing bandwidth in a distributed network system with a network link interconnecting a plurality of computers, comprising:

assigning a socket priority to a socket, where the socket is associated with an application running on one of the plurality of computers;

providing a socket allocation to the socket, where the socket allocation defines network bandwidth usable by the socket;

monitoring network transactions performed using the socket to identify whether the socket is being used to perform a predefined network transaction; and

dynamically modifying the socket priority after detecting that the socket is being used to perform the predefined network transaction, and updating the socket allocation to account for such modification of the socket priority.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing an application allocation to the application, where the application allocation defines network bandwidth usable by the application and is dependent upon the socket allocation; and

dynamically modifying the application allocation to account for modification of the socket priority.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing a computer allocation to the computer on which the application is running, where the computer allocation defines network bandwidth usable by such computer and is dependent upon the socket allocation; and

dynamically modifying the computer allocation to account for modification of the socket priority.