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US 12,732,440 B2Granted
Observing network behavior using characteristics of network protocols
AssigneeArista Networks, Inc.
InventorsThomas Benjamin Emmons, Hugh Weber Holbrook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Network monitoring systems and methods that utilize packet characteristics to perform network monitoring by capturing a limited subset of packets are disclosed. These captured packets can be correlated to monitor flows within the network and determine performance characteristics of the applications or the network with respect to those flows using the captured packets.
Claims21
A network device comprising:
- one or more processors configured for:
- receiving, at the network device, a set of packets communicated from a first host to a second host over the network, wherein the network device is an intermediary network device situated in the network between the first and second hosts, and wherein the set of packets include a first packet;
- determining the first packet indicates a start of a data transfer;
- capturing the first packet at the network device based on the determination the first packet indicates the start of the data transfer;
- receiving a second packet at the network device;
- determining the second packet indicates an end of the data transfer;
- capturing the second packet at the network device based on the determination the second packet indicates the end of the data transfer;
- determining the second packet indicates the end of the data transfer corresponding to the first packet indicating the start of the data transfer;
- associating the first packet and the second packet with a flow;
- and
- determining data associated with the network or the flow based on the first packet and the second packet,
- wherein data packets received by the network device that do not indicate a start or an end of a data transfer are not captured.
9 more elements
A method performed by a network device for monitoring a network, comprising:
- receiving a set of packets communicated from a first host to a second host over the network, wherein the network device is an intermediary network device situated in the network between the first and second hosts, and wherein the set of packets include a first packet;
- determining the first packet should be captured based on determination that the first packet is a write first packet or a write last packet;
- capturing the first packet at the network device based on the determination the first packet is the write first packet associated with a first data write;
- determining a flow associated with the first packet;
- when there is an entry associated with the determined flow in network monitoring data, associating the captured first packet with the entry for the flow;
- when there is no entry associated with the determined flow in the network monitoring data, creating the entry associated with the determined flow and associating the captured first packet with the created entry for the flow;
- when the first packet is a write last packet, determining a second packet associated with the flow where the second packet is the write first packet corresponding to the first packet and associating the first packet with the second packet in the network monitoring data;
- and
- determining data associated with the network or the flow based on the first packet or the second packet,
- wherein packets in the set of packets that are neither the write first packet or the write last packet are not captured.
7 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising instructions executable by a network device for:
- obtaining a captured first ROCE packet associated with a data write, wherein the first ROCE packet was captured from a set of packets at the network device based on a determination that the first ROCE packet is a write first packet;
- obtaining a captured second ROCE packet, wherein the second ROCE packet was captured from the set of packets at the network device based on a determination that the second ROCE packet is a write last packet;
- determining the second ROCE packet is the write last packet corresponding to the first ROCE packet that is the write first packet associated with the data write;
- associating the first ROCE packet and the second ROCE packet with a flow;
- and
- determining network data associated with the network or the flow based on the first ROCE packet and the second ROCE packet,
- wherein the set of packets are communicated from a first host to a second host over the network, and wherein the network device is an intermediary network device situated in the network between the first and second hosts,
- wherein packets in the set of packets that are neither the write first packet or the write last packet are not captured.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.