METHOD AND SYSTEM OF PROVIDING QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE VISIBILITY IN AN SD-WAN

Abstract

In one aspect, a computerized method useful for providing quality of experience visibility in a software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) includes the step of providing a path state machine. With the path state machine, the method establishes a set of flags configured to determine a path eligibility that meets a specified scheduling criteria for a path selection condition. The method provides a link state machine. With the link state machine, the method establishes another set of flags configured to determine a link eligibility that meets a scheduling criteria for an event reporting parameter.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates generally to computer networking, and more specifically to a system, article of manufacture and method of providing quality of experience visibility in an SD-WAN.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

An SD-WAN network can be a specific application of software-defined networking (SDN) technology applied to WAN connections, which are used to connect enterprise networks (e.g. branch offices, data centers, etc.) over geographic distances. In the SD-WAN Network, the quality of paths is continuously monitored for loss, latency and jitter. These metrics can be used to select the best possible path for transmitting network traffic.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a computerized method useful for providing quality of experience visibility in a software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) includes the step of providing a path state machine. With the path state machine, the method establishes a set of flags configured to determine a path eligibility that meets a specified scheduling criteria for a path selection condition. The method provides a link state machine. With the link state machine, the method establishes another set of flags configured to determine a link eligibility that meets a scheduling criteria for an event reporting parameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for providing quality of experience visibility in an SD-WAN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example use case, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process of path selection, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot illustrating exemplary eligibility flag information, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for quality score generation, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computing system that can be configured to perform any one of the processes provided herein.

The Figures described above are a representative set, and are not exhaustive with respect to embodying the invention.

DESCRIPTION

Disclosed are a system, method, and article of manufacture for providing quality of experience visibility in an SD-WAN. The following description is presented to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the various embodiments. Descriptions of specific devices, techniques, and applications are provided only as examples. Various modifications to the examples described herein can be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the various embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” ‘one example,’ or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art can recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

The schematic flow chart diagrams included herein are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of the method. Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flow chart diagrams, and they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted method. Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown.

Definitions

Example definitions for some embodiments are now provided.

Path can refer to (e.g. a MultiPath tunnels/path) that is established between two endpoints of a computer network (e.g. a VPN, SD-WAN, etc.).

Gateway can be a node (e.g. a router) on a computer network that serves as an access point to another network.

Jitter can refer to the deviation from true periodicity of a presumably periodic signal.

Latency can be a measure of the time delay experienced by a system.

Link can refer to a physical and/or logical network component used to interconnect hosts or nodes in a computer network. A link can be a collection of paths to a remote network endpoint that originate from the same source.

Link state machine can be a finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update the state of links.

Orchestrator can include a software component that provides multi-tenant and role based centralized configuration management and visibility.

Packet loss can refer to when one or more data packets travelling across a computer network fail to reach their destination. Packet loss can be measured as a percentage of data packets lost with respect to data packets sent.

Path state machine can be a finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update the state of paths between network endpoints.

SD-WAN (software-defined networking in a wide area network (WAN)) can refer to a specific application of software-defined networking (SDN) technology applied to WAN connections, which are used to connect enterprise networks (e.g. branch offices, data centers, etc.) over geographic distances.

Additional example definitions are provided herein.

Examples Processes

It is noted that an SD-WAN can include the following computer network elements, inter alia: edges, gateways, controllers and orchestrator(s). Edges can be enterprise-class appliances for zero-touch branch deployment and/or flexible datacenter insertion. Edge can provide secure and optimized connectivity to on-premises applications and resources. Edges can perform various operations, such as, inter alia: deep application recognition, application steering, performance metrics, end to end quality of experience in addition to hosting virtual services, etc. The SD-WAN can be delivered via a cloud-computing platform. The SD-WAN can incorporate a distributed network of gateways deployed at top tier cloud datacenters around the world to also provide direct, optimized paths to cloud applications and services. Gateways can provide the scalability, redundancy and on-demand flexibility of a network-as-a-service to support migrations to hybrid cloud architectures. An orchestrator and distributed controllers can provide centralized enterprise-wide installation, configuration and/or real-time monitoring in addition to orchestrating the dataflow through the cloud network. The orchestrator can enable one-click provisioning of virtual services and easy service chaining of distributed services.

In a SD-WAN Network, the quality of paths is continuously monitored for loss, latency and jitter. These metrics can be used to determine the quality of an individual path for transmitting voice, video, transactional or bulk traffic across the path. Based on measurements taken to establish thresholds for “good”, “degraded” and “unacceptable” quality for the different traffic types, thresholds have been established and mapped to “green”, “yellow” and “red” respectively to easily display this quality to the user and use the data to select the best possible path for transmitting traffic. In addition, once these measurements are performed, error correction techniques can be performed and the quality of the underlying paths can be improved and this improved state can also be displayed. Additionally, for all the paths from a given source (i.e. a WAN link), a composite view of the quality can be provided by taking the best measurements of each individual path.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example process 100 for providing quality of experience visibility in an SD-WAN, according to some embodiments. In step 102, process 100 can provide a path state machine. In step 104, with the path state machine, process 100 can establish a set of flags to determine the eligibility of a path to meet scheduling criteria for path selection. Example flags are provided infra. In step 106, process 100 can provide a link state machine. In step 108, with the link state machine, process 100 can establish a set of flags to determine the eligibility of a link to meet scheduling criteria for event reporting.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example use case 200, according to some embodiments. In the present example, a single DSL 202 is connected to two gateway A 204 and gateway B 206. Accordingly, there is one link and two paths as shown. Path DSL->A has 1% loss 208 and Path DSL->B has 0% loss 210. During path selection, the dataflow determines that Path DSL->A as REALTIME_VOICE_RED and Path DSL->B as REALTIME_VOICE_GREEN. Accordingly, traffic to Gateway A 204 would tend to avoid this link while traffic to Gateway B206 would not. However, this will not generate an event because the issue is on the DSL->A path itself and does not appear to be local to the user's link. This abstracts network problems from the user.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 of path selection, according to some embodiments. In step 302, process 300 can set a jitter and loss eligibility criteria for each traffic type of a dataflow selecting the path. In step 304, based on output of 302, process 300 can generate a score for each path. During path selection, each packet can first check for the path with the lowest score that meet the jitter and loss eligibility criteria outlined for the traffic type of the flow selecting the path. In step 306, each data packet checks for the path with the lowest score. The data packet can then be sent using the path with the lowest score.

For example, on the first selection of a data packet in real-time (e.g. assuming networking and/or processing latencies) the check can be as follows:

if((jitter_flags & REALTIME_VOICE_RED)∥

(loss_flags & REALTIME_VOICE_RED))

• • continue;

If all the path fails, the path with the lowest score can still be chosen with the appropriate flags noted. For example, if there are multiple eligible paths the following can be implement. A ‘fixed’ path select can pick the lowest score eligible path and stick to it. A ‘replicate’ path select can send on the best scoring path for each packet and only start replicating if loss becomes an issue. A ‘loadbalance” path select can pick the best scoring path for each packet, eventually using all the eligible path if the load is high enough.

Jitter-related examples are now discussed. It is noted that when an eligible path is found, the dataflow can select the path with jitter correction disabled. If no eligible paths are found, the dataflow can fall back to traditional path selection with jitter correction enabled. A flag (e.g. see eligibility flag examples of FIG. 4) can be set in the header indicating to a receive side to implement a jitter buffer. Once enabled for a dataflow, a jitter buffer can remain in place for the life of the dataflow, regardless of whether the situation clears.

Loss-related examples are now discussed. When eligible paths are found, the dataflow can select the path with loss correction disabled. If no eligible paths are found, the dataflow can fall back to a traditional path selection methodology with loss correction enabled. For example, a loss correction state can be toggled dynamically on a per-packet basis based on the latest network conditions.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot 400 illustrating exemplary eligibility flag information, according to some embodiments. Eligibility Flags information include eligibility flags and a condition statement template. The condition statement can be used to determine when to utilize a respective eligibility flag.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for quality score generation, according to some embodiments. In step 502, the applicable link-state machine can check if the applicable conditions (e.g. see supra) are met. In step 504, the applicable link-state machine can set/clear flags appropriately. In step 506, network events can be generated when the flags are set or cleared. In step 508, the orchestrator can display a summary chart of the quality of the respective link(s) as measured. The orchestrator can also display the estimated quality once error corrections are applied. In step 510, the target metrics for voice, video, transactional, bulk traffic, etc. are measured separately. These target metrics can be user-configurable with applicable recommended values. In step 512, these target metrics and quality measurements are used to generate a Quality Score (QS) and color-coded chart.

Example color-coded chart codes are now provided. In one example, the following color code can be used for the before state:

Good (“Green”) can indicate that all metrics are better than the objective (obj) thresholds—App. SLA met/exceeded.

Fair (“Yellow”) can indicate that all metrics are between the objective (obj) and maximum (max) values—App. SLA is partially met.

Poor (“Red”) can indicate that some or all metrics have reached or exceeded the maximum (max) value—Application SLA is not met/

In one example, the following color code can be used for the after state:

Green can indicate that the best link meets the objective threshold or best link is yellow but can be corrected to green.

Yellow can indicate that the best link does not meet the objective threshold and is yellow or best link is red but can be corrected to yellow.

Red can indicate that best link does not meet the objective threshold (is red), and cannot be corrected.

QS calculation can be implemented with the following equation: Quality Score=10*(% of time link was Green)+5*(% of time link was Yellow)+0*(% of time link was Red).

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computing system 600 that can be configured to perform any one of the processes provided herein. In this context, computing system 600 may include, for example, a processor, memory, storage, and I/O devices (e.g., monitor, keyboard, disk drive, Internet connection, etc.). However, computing system 600 may include circuitry or other specialized hardware for carrying out some or all aspects of the processes. In some operational settings, computing system 600 may be configured as a system that includes one or more units, each of which is configured to carry out some aspects of the processes either in software, hardware, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 6 depicts computing system 600 with a number of components that may be used to perform any of the processes described herein. The main system 602 includes a motherboard 604 having an I/O section 606, one or more central processing units (CPU) 608, and a memory section 610, which may have a flash memory card 612 related to it. The I/O section 606 can be connected to a display 614, a keyboard and/or other user input (not shown), a disk storage unit 616, and a media drive unit 618. The media drive unit 618 can read/write a computer-readable medium 620, which can contain programs 622 and/or data. Computing system 600 can include a web browser. Moreover, it is noted that computing system 600 can be configured to include additional systems in order to fulfill various functionalities. Computing system 600 can communicate with other computing devices based on various computer communication protocols such a Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® (and/or other standards for exchanging data over short distances includes those using short-wavelength radio transmissions), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet, cellular, an ultrasonic local area communication protocol, etc.

CONCLUSION

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. For example, the various devices, modules, etc. described herein can be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry, firmware, software or any combination of hardware, firmware, and software (e.g., embodied in a machine-readable medium).

In addition, it can be appreciated that the various operations, processes, and methods disclosed herein can be embodied in a machine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatible with a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and can be performed in any order (e.g., including using means for achieving the various operations). Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. In some embodiments, the machine-readable medium can be a non-transitory form of machine-readable medium.

Claims

1. A computerized method useful for providing quality of experience visibility in a software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) comprising: providing a path state machine;with the path state machine, establishing a set of flags configured to determine a path eligibility that meets a specified scheduling criteria for a path selection condition;providing a link state machine;with the link state machine, establishing another set of flags configured to determine a link eligibility that meets a scheduling criteria for an event reporting parameter.

2. The computerized method of claim 1 further, wherein the link state machine determines that the path selection conditions are met before setting and clearing a flag.

3. The computerized method of claim 2, wherein a network event is generated when the flag is set or cleared.

4. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein an orchestrator displays a summary chart of a quality of a link as measured by the link state machine.

5. The computerized method of claim 4, wherein the orchestrator displays a summary chart of a quality of the link as measured for a set of target metrics.

6. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein a voice data network traffic, a video data network traffic, a transactional data network traffic or a bulk data network traffic are measured separately.

7. The computerized method of claim 6 further comprising: generating a quality score based on the target metrics and quality measurements.

8. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the path state machine comprises a finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update a state of set of paths between a set of network endpoints in the wide area network.

9. The computerized method of claim 2, wherein the link state machine comprises another finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update the state of links in the wide area network.

10. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein a link comprises a collection of paths to a remote network endpoint that originates from a common network source.

11. A computer system useful for providing quality of experience visibility in a software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) comprising: at least one processor configured to execute instructions;a memory containing instructions when executed on the processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations that: provide a path state machine;with the path state machine, establish a set of flags configured to determine a path eligibility that meets a specified scheduling criteria for a path selection parameter;provide a link state machine;with the link state machine, establish another set of flags configured to determine a link eligibility that meets a scheduling criteria for an event reporting parameter.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the path state machine comprises a finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update a state of set of paths between a set of network endpoints in the wide area network.

13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the link state machine comprises another finite state machine that runs periodically to monitor and update the state of links in the wide area network.

14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein a link comprises a collection of paths to a remote network endpoint that originates from a common network source.