FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosures made herein relate generally to the field of network management and, more particularly, to a node for managing network traffic and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND

Normally, traffic protection resources built into network elements decide traffic reliability of a communication network. Therefore, network administrators have to rely on routing algorithms for handling failures in a link or equipment of the network. However, this approach consumes a lot of time resulting in inappropriate communication down time during link disruption, especially for video and voice communication. An effective solution to disruption-free communication is to install redundant equipment so that if when one physical link fails, another link can rapidly be switched into place.

United States Patent No.: US 8,248,920 B2 discloses a method of recovering from a communications link failure in a network, wherein the network comprises multiple bridge devices and is configured as a spanning tree. The network includes two rings of bridge device ports, wherein communication takes place in one of the rings when no failure occurs, while the other ring is used for communication when failure occurs.

Even though this approach is effective in achieving disruption-free communication, it is not cost-effective as a backup port is always needed for each bridge device. Further, this approach is ineffective, if the failure occurs in the bridge that acts as a controller bridge or if the link connecting the controller bridge fails.

Hence, there is a need for a method and node for managing network traffic, capable of restoring a failed link and/or accelerating traffic in a congested link without a need for a dedicated controlling node. SUMMARY

The present invention proposes a method and node for managing network traffic. The method comprises the steps of: monitoring a network of nodes, wherein each node is connected to one or more adjacent nodes through corresponding links, detecting a disruption in at least one of the links, analysing the disruption, and re initiating the disrupted link.

In one implementation, the disruption is analysed by setting a sub-network within the network, wherein the sub-network includes the nodes connected to the disrupted link and at least one of other nodes. The sub-network is set by defining a boundary of the sub-network based on a predetermined condition. Links in the sub-network are categorized based on a type of nodes connected to the corresponding link. Each link is categorized into a physical link, a virtual link or a hybrid link, and the type of node includes a physical node and a virtual node.

The controller node is selected from the nodes within the sub-network, wherein data flow from each node within the sub-network is analysed, and the node with highest data flow is identified and selected as the controller node, if the identified node is not connected to the disrupted link. After the selection, each node within the sub-network is notified about the controller node and a trigger to the controller node from a node at a receiving end of the disrupted link is initiated.

A notification is sent from the node at the receiving end to the controller node to initiate the trigger. In one embodiment, the notification includes information regarding at least one of identification and address of the node at the transmitting end, and a type of disruption in the disrupted link. In response to the trigger, a node at a transmitting end of the disrupted link is controlled by the controller node to restart the disrupted link.

In one aspect of the present invention, if one of the nodes connected to the disrupted link is identified as the node with the highest data flow, the node with second highest data flow within the sub-network is selected as the controller node. Thus, the present invention enables restoring a failed link and/or accelerating traffic in a congested link without a need for a dedicated controlling node. Further, the dynamic selection of the controller node after detecting the disrupted link allows link restoration, irrespective of the nodes connected to the disrupted link.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a flow diagram of the method for managing network traffic, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIGURE 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a network of nodes, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a schematic representation of the network during a disruption, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a schematic representation of a sub-network defined after detecting the disruption, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a schematic representation of the sub-network during trigger initiation, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIGURE 6 illustrates a schematic representation of the sub-network after link restoration, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method and a node for managing network traffic, which will now be described with reference to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiment does not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description relates purely to the exemplary embodiment and its suggested applications. The embodiment herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiment in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiment herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiment herein. Accordingly, the description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiment herein.

The description hereinafter, of the specific embodiment will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify or adapt or perform both for various applications such specific embodiment without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied as a node, method or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware or programmable instructions) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as an“unit,”“module,” or“system.”

Various terms as used herein are defined below. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.

Definitions:

Node: Any physical or virtual device capable of communication e.g. text, voice, image and video communication. It may be in the form of a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, personal digital assistant, switch, bridge, router, gateway, firewall, load balancer, server and/or database.

Link: A physical or virtual one/two-way communicative connection between two nodes. Network: Two or more nodes communicatively connected to one another through a link.

Disruption: A fault in a link that causes delay or breakdown in communication through the link.

The present invention provides a method and node for managing network traffic. The present invention enables restoring a failed link and/or accelerating traffic in a congested link without a need for a dedicated controlling node. Further, the dynamic selection of a controller node after detecting the disrupted link allows faster restoration of the link, irrespective of the nodes connected to the disrupted link.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of the method for managing network traffic, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method (100) comprises the steps of: monitoring (101 ) the network of nodes, wherein each node is connected to one or more adjacent nodes through corresponding links, detecting (102) a disruption in at least one of the links, analysing (103) the disruption, and re-initiating (104) the disrupted link. The disruption is analysed by setting a sub-network within the network, wherein the sub-network includes two nodes connected to the disrupted link and at least one of the other nodes. The sub-network is set by defining a boundary of the sub-network based on a predetermined condition. In an exemplary embodiment, the boundary of the sub-network is defined based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the nodes. Alternatively, the boundary may also be defined based on a link type, node type and/or node function(s).

Links in the sub-network are categorized based on a type of nodes connected to the corresponding link, wherein the type of node includes a physical node and a virtual node. Each link is categorized into a physical link, a virtual link or a hybrid link based on the corresponding nodes. For example, a link between two physical nodes is categorized as a physical link, and a link between two virtual nodes is categorized as a virtual link, while a link between two different types of nodes is categorized as hybrid link.

A controller node is selected from the nodes within the sub-network, wherein data flow from each node within the sub-network is analysed, and the node with highest data flow is identified and if the identified node is not connected to the disrupted link, it is selected as the controller node. After the selection, each node within the sub network is notified about the controller node and a trigger to the controller node from a node at a receiving end of the disrupted link is initiated.

A notification is sent from the node at the receiving end to the controller node to initiate the trigger. In one embodiment, the notification includes information regarding at least one of identification and address of the node at a transmitting end, and a type of disruption in the disrupted link. In response to the trigger, a node at a transmitting end of the disrupted link is controlled by the controller node to restart the disrupted link.

Additionally, if one of the nodes connected to the disrupted link is identified as the node with the highest data flow, the node with second highest data flow within the sub-network is selected as the controller node. Thus, the present invention enables restoring a failed link and/or accelerating traffic in a congested link without a need for a dedicated controlling node. Further, the dynamic selection of the controller node after detecting a disrupted link allows link restoration, irrespective of the link that is disrupted.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation the network, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The network (100) includes a plurality of nodes (1 - 7), wherein each of the nodes (1 - 7) is connected to one or more of the other nodes (1 - 7) through corresponding links (8 - 19). Once the network (100) is active, each of the nodes (1 - 7) identifies a type of the corresponding connected nodes (1 - 7) and classifies the links (8 - 19) connecting the nodes (1 - 7) accordingly. For instance, a physical node (5) is connected to two physical nodes (6, 7) and a virtual node (4) through the links (9, 16, 10), respectively. In this case, the physical node (5) classifies the links (9, 16) as physical links and the link (10) as a hybrid link.

Each of the nodes (1 - 7) monitors the links (8 - 19) connecting with adjacent nodes (1 - 7), detects a disruption in one or more of the links (8 - 19), analyses the disruption, and re-initiates each disrupted link (8 - 19). Suppose, link (16) between the nodes (6, 7) is disrupted, as shown in FIG. 3, the node (7) at a receiving end of the disrupted link (16) detects the disruption by detecting a drop in a rate of data flow from the node (6) at a transmitting end of the disrupted link (16). Upon detecting the disruption, the node (6) sets a sub-network (100a) within the network (100), as shown in FIG. 4.

The sub-network (100a) includes two nodes (6, 7) connected to the disrupted link (16) and one or more of the remaining nodes (1 - 5) of the network (100). In this example, in addition to the nodes (6, 7) connected to the disrupted link (16), two nodes (1 , 5) are included in the sub-network (100a) based on a type and/or IP address of the nodes (1 , 5). After setting the sub-network (100a), the node (7) selects a controller node from the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7). In this case, the node (7) analyses a data flow from each of the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) within the sub-network (100a) and identifies the node (5) as the node with highest data flow. Further, the node (7) selects the identified node (5) as the controller node (5), if the identified node (5) is not connected to the disrupted link (16). Alternatively, if the identified node is connected to the disrupted link, then the node (7) selects at least one node with second highest data flow within the sub-network (100a) as the controller node.

The node (7) notifies each of the remaining nodes (1 , 5, 6) within the sub-network (100a) about the controller node (5) and then initiates a trigger to the controller node

(5), wherein a notification is sent from the node (7) to the controller node (5), as in FIG. 5. In one embodiment, the notification includes information regarding identification and/or address of the node (6), and a type of disruption in the disrupted link (16), wherein the type of disruption may include breakdown, congestion and the like. The controller node (5) re-initiates the disrupted link (16) by controlling the node

(6) to restart the disrupted link (16), as in FIG. 6.

Even though, in above embodiment, the node (7) is selecting the controller node (5), the selection may also be possible by all the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) operating together. For example, upon detecting the disruption, the node (7) may set the sub-network (100a) and inform each of the other nodes (1 , 5, 7) within the sub-network (100a) about the disruption. Upon receiving the information, each of the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) elects one or more adjacent nodes with highest data flow and generates a table as below.

Based on the selections from the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7), the node (6) at the transmitting end of the disrupted link (16) is identified as the node with the highest data flow in the sub-network (100a). Since the identified node (6) is connected to the disrupted link (16), the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) together select the node (5) with the second highest data flow as the controller node. Further, each of the nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) notifies the adjacent nodes (1 , 5, 6, 7) about the controller node. The present invention enables restoring a failed link and/or accelerating traffic in a congested link without a need for a dedicated controlling node. Further, the dynamic selection of a controller node after detecting the disrupted link allows faster restoration of the link, irrespective of the nodes connected to the disrupted link.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The terms "comprises," "comprising,"“including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

The use of the expression“at least” or“at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements, as the use may be in one of the embodiments to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.

The process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously, in parallel, or concurrently.

Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing various embodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described herein, and the method steps of the disclosure could be accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.

While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the disclosure is determined by the claims that follow. The disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the disclosure when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.