Information processing apparatus and method thereof

An information processing method comprising:

• relaying, by a computer, flows each including a stream of packets;
• collecting information of a candidate flow based on information of the relayed flows, the candidate flow being a candidate for a flow to be estimated as a target flow having a predetermined characteristic;
• calculating a penalty value for the candidate flow based on information included in a packet of the candidate flow, the penalty value indicating a possibility that the candidate flow does not have the predetermined characteristic;
• estimating the candidate flow as the target flow based on the calculated penalty value;
• and
• outputting information of the candidate flow estimated as the target flow.

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:

• relaying flows each including a stream of packets;
• collecting information of a candidate flow based on information of the relayed flows, the candidate flow being a candidate for a flow to be estimated as a target flow having a predetermined characteristic;
• calculating a penalty value for the candidate flow based on information included in a packet of the candidate flow, the penalty value indicating a possibility that the candidate flow does not have the predetermined characteristic;
• estimating the candidate flow as the target flow based on the calculated penalty value;
• and
• outputting information of the candidate flow estimated as the target flow.