Inferring connectivity in the presence of conflicting network data
View Patent ↗The connectivity information provided by a variety of inference engines is integrated to provide a set of inferred links within a network. A consolidation is performed among inference engines that operate at a base level of connectivity detail to create a model of the network at this base level. The connectivity information provided by inference engines at each subsequent higher level of connectivity abstraction is then overlaid on the base level connectivity. By separately consolidating the connectivity information at each level of abstraction, the rules for dealing with conflicts can be simplified and/or better focused to resolve the conflict. By assuming that the more detailed lower level information is likely to be more accurate, rules can be developed to modify the connectivity models produced by the higher level techniques to conform to the lower level connectivity details while still maintaining the integrity of the higher level connectivity models.
1. A system for determining connections among nodes of a network, the system comprising:
a plurality of connectivity inference engines, each inference engine being configured to process information from one of a plurality of levels to provide a connectivity graph,
a first link merger that is configured to merge the connectivity graphs of each of the inference engines associated with a first level to provide a consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level,
a second link merger that is configured to merge the connectivity graph of each of the inference engines associated with a second level with the consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level to provide an aggregate consolidated connectivity model, and
a physical path creator that is configured to identify at least one physical path between a pair of nodes of the network based on the aggregate consolidated connectivity model.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of nodes correspond to end points of an identified logical connection.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the logical connection includes at least one of a tunnel and a virtual circuit.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the inference engines includes inference rules.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the link mergers includes merge rules.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the link mergers are configured to conform to user-defined golden rules that supersede one or more conflicting inference rules.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the inference engines are configured to conform to user-defined golden rules that supersede one or more conflicting inferences.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the information from the first level includes at least two of: forwarding table information, neighbor discovery information, and link layer discovery information.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the information from the second level includes IP addressing information.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one connectivity graph includes metadata associated with one or more inferred links that facilitates the merging of the at least one connectivity graph with other connectivity graphs.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the inference engines include an intra engine link merger that is configured to merge links that are inferred within the inference engine.
12. A method for determining connections among nodes of a network, the method comprising:
processing information, via each of a plurality of inference engines, to provide a corresponding plurality of connectivity graphs, each connectivity graph corresponding to one of a plurality of levels,
merging, via a first link merger, the connectivity graphs of each of the inference engines associated with a first level to provide a consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level,
merging, via a second link merger, the connectivity graph of each of the inference engines associated with a second level with the consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level to provide an aggregate consolidated connectivity model, and
identifying, via a physical path creation component, at least one physical path between a pair of nodes of the network based on the aggregate consolidated connectivity model.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the pair of nodes correspond to end points of an identified logical connection.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the logical connection includes at least one of a tunnel and a virtual circuit.
15. The method of claim 12 , including applying inference rules to provide at least one of the plurality of connectivity graphs.
16. The method of claim 12 , including applying merge rules to merge at least one connectivity graph to at least one of: another connectivity graph, and the consolidated connectivity model.
17. The method of claim 12 , including superseding one or more conflicting inference rules to conform to user-defined golden rules.
18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information from the first level includes at least two of: forwarding table information, neighbor discovery information, and link layer discovery information.
19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information from the second level includes IP addressing information.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least one connectivity graph includes metadata associated with one or more inferred links that facilitates the merging of the at least one connectivity graph with other connectivity graphs.
21. The method of claim 12 , including merging links that are inferred within at least one of the inference engines.
22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that is configured to store a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
process information from a plurality of sources of connectivity information to provide a corresponding plurality of connectivity graphs, each connectivity graph being associated with one of a plurality of levels,
merge each of the connectivity graphs associated with a first level to provide a consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level,
merge each of the connectivity graphs associated with a second level with the consolidated connectivity model corresponding to the first level to provide an aggregate consolidated connectivity model, and
identify at least one physical path between a pair of nodes of the network based on the aggregate consolidated connectivity model.
23. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the pair of nodes correspond to end points of an identified logical connection.
24. The medium of claim 23 , wherein the logical connection includes at least one of a tunnel and a virtual circuit.
25. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the computer program causes the processor to apply inference rules to provide at least one of the connectivity graphs.
26. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the computer program causes the processor to apply merge rules to merge at least one connectivity graph to at least one of: another connectivity graph, and the consolidated connectivity model.
27. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the computer program causes the processor to supersede one or more conflicting inference rules to conform to user-defined golden rules.
28. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the information from the first level includes at least two of: forwarding table information, neighbor discovery information, and link layer discovery information.
29. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the information from the second level includes IP addressing information.
30. The medium of claim 22 , wherein at least one connectivity graph includes metadata associated with one or more inferred links that facilitates the merging of the at least one connectivity graph with other connectivity graphs.
31. The medium of claim 22 , wherein the computer program causes the processor to merge links that are inferred within at least one of the inference engines.