Methods and systems for removing data inconsistencies for a network simulation

A method comprising:

• noting an inconsistency in at least one network setting included in one or more of a plurality of reports, the network setting including one or more computers, wherein:
• each report is provided by a respective one of a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a processor, a memory, and a network connection device interconnecting the nodes in a network;
• and
• each one of the plurality of nodes performs neighbor monitoring;
• constructing an inconsistency graph for the noted inconsistency that references one or more nodes;
• finding a set of nodes referenced in the inconsistency graph that explain the inconsistency, wherein the finding comprises the processor deriving the set of nodes that explain the inconsistency as a smallest set of vertices that cover the inconsistency graph, wherein each vertex corresponds to a respective node;
• and
• supplying corresponding network settings from the reports after removing the reports from the nodes that are identified as supplying inconsistent information to a simulator to form a network simulation of the network.

A system comprising a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a processor, a memory, and a network connection device, that are communicatively coupled, one to another, to form a network, wherein:

• one or more of the plurality of nodes includes a data collection module, wherein the data collection module performs acts comprising:
• collecting trace data from at least two of the plurality of nodes;
• and
• forming a report that includes the collected trace data for communication over the network;
• and
• at least one node includes a manager module that:
• receives each report;
• detects an inconsistency in the trace data in one report when compared with corresponding trace data in another report, wherein detecting the inconsistency comprises:
• constructing an inconsistency graph that references one or more nodes;
• and
• deriving a set of nodes that explain the inconsistency as a smallest set of vertices that cover the inconsistency graph, wherein each vertex corresponds to a respective node;
• finds a set of nodes that formed each report having the inconsistent trace data;
• and
• supplies the collected trace data after removing the data from the nodes that are identified as supplying inconsistent trace data to form a network simulation of the network.

A node comprising:

• a processor;
• a network connection device configured to communicatively couple the processor with a network;
• and
• a memory configured to maintain a manager module that is executable on the processor, wherein the manager module performs acts comprising:
• collecting a plurality of reports at the network connection device from the network, wherein each report:
• is formed by a respective one of a plurality of nodes, each one of the plurality of nodes comprising a processor, a memory, and a network connection device interconnecting the nodes in the network;
• and
• describes one or more network settings of the respective node and at least one other node;
• removing an inconsistency in at least one network setting of one report when compared with a corresponding network setting in at least one other report, wherein the removing resolves the inconsistency in the at least one network setting, wherein the manager module is executable on the processor to remove the inconsistency by deriving a set of nodes that explain the inconsistency as a smallest set of vertices that cover an inconsistency graph, wherein each vertex corresponds to a respective node;
• and
• supplying resolved network settings to a network simulation thereby providing a network simulation of the network.