Indirect measurement of user traffic on links

1. A method for measuring traffic flow on a first link, comprising:

generating, by a processor, aggregate egress data for each of a plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of egress traffic detected by servers processing the egress traffic at the respective endpoints;

obtaining, by the processor, for a plurality of pairs of endpoints from the plurality of endpoints, proportions of traffic flows that traverse each of a plurality of paths between respective pairs of endpoints, wherein each of the plurality of paths includes a corresponding plurality of network links, and at least one path between a first of the endpoint pairs and at least one path between a second of the endpoint pairs both include the first link; and

computing, by the processor, an amount of traffic flow on the first link based on the aggregate egress data and the obtained proportions.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computation of an amount of traffic flow on the first link in the plurality of links uses the equation,

V

l

=

∑

e

⁢

∑

p

⁢

f

ep

⁢

U

e

wherein

V l corresponds to the amount of traffic flow on the first link l;

U e corresponds to the total amount of traffic flow between an endpoint pair e; and

f ep corresponds to the proportion of traffic flow that traverses the path p in the plurality of paths between the endpoint pair e that crosses the link l.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein an endpoint pair comprises an origin endpoint and a destination endpoint, wherein traffic flows from the origin endpoint to the destination endpoint.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring, by the servers, the egress traffic at at least one endpoint.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating aggregate egress data comprises separately aggregating amounts of egress data associated with a plurality of users or a plurality of computing applications.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, the flow capacity on the first link; and

in response to the processor determining that the computed traffic flow on the first link exceeds a threshold percentage of the flow capacity on the first link, adjusting, by the processor, the proportion of traffic flow on a path comprising the first link thereby adjusting the traffic flow on the first link.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, the flow capacity on the first link; and based on the computed traffic flow on the first link and the flow capacity on the first link,

decreasing, by the processor, the flow over the first link for a user or computing application with a first level of priority, and

increasing, by the processor, the flow over the first link for a user or computing application with a second level of priority greater than the first level of priority.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, by the processor, aggregate ingress data for each of the plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of ingress traffic detected by servers processing the ingress traffic at the respective endpoints.

9. A system for measuring traffic flow on a first link, comprising a processor configured to:

generate aggregate egress data for each of a plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of egress traffic detected by servers processing the egress traffic at the respective endpoints;

obtain, for a plurality of pairs of endpoints from the plurality of endpoints, proportions of traffic flows that traverse each of a plurality of paths between respective pairs of endpoints, wherein each of the plurality of paths includes a corresponding plurality of network links, and at least one path between a first of the endpoint pairs and at least one path between a second of the endpoint pairs both include the first link; and

compute an amount of traffic flow on the first link based on the aggregate egress data and the obtained proportions.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor computes an amount of traffic flow on the first link by using the equation,

V

l

=

∑

e

⁢

∑

p

⁢

f

ep

⁢

U

e

wherein

V l corresponds to the amount of traffic flow on the first link l;

U e corresponds to the total amount of traffic flow between an endpoint pair e; and

f ep corresponds to the proportion of traffic flow that traverses the path p in the plurality of paths between the endpoint pair e that crosses the link l.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein an endpoint pair comprises an origin endpoint and a destination endpoint, wherein traffic flows from the origin endpoint to the destination endpoint.

12. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a server that monitors the egress traffic at at least one endpoint.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor generates aggregate egress data by separately aggregating amounts of egress data associated with a plurality of users or a plurality of computing applications.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the flow capacity on the first link; and

if the computed traffic flow on the first link exceeds a threshold percentage of the flow capacity on the first link, adjust the proportion of traffic flow on a path comprising the first link thereby adjusting the traffic flow on the first link.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the flow capacity on the first link; and based on the computed traffic flow on the first link and the flow capacity on the first link,

decrease the flow over the first link for a user or computing application with a first level of priority, and

increase the flow over the first link for a user or computing application with a second level of priority greater than the first level of priority.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate aggregate ingress data for each of the plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of ingress traffic detected by servers processing the ingress traffic at the respective endpoints.

17. A method for measuring traffic flow on a first link, comprising:

generating, by a processor, aggregate ingress data for each of the plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of ingress traffic detected by servers processing the ingress traffic at the respective endpoints;

obtaining, by the processor, for a plurality of pairs of endpoints from the plurality of endpoints, proportions of traffic flows that traverse each of a plurality of paths between respective pairs of endpoints, wherein each of the plurality of paths includes a corresponding plurality of network links, and at least one path between a first of the endpoint pairs and at least one path between a second of the endpoint pairs both include the first link; and

computing, by the processor, an amount of traffic flow on the first link based on the aggregate ingress data and the obtained proportions.

18. A system for measuring traffic flow on a first link, comprising a processor configured to:

generate aggregate ingress data for each of the plurality of endpoints by aggregating amounts of ingress traffic detected by servers processing the ingress traffic at the respective endpoints;

obtain, for a plurality of pairs of endpoints from the plurality of endpoints, proportions of traffic flows that traverse each of a plurality of paths between respective pairs of endpoints, wherein each of the plurality of paths includes a corresponding plurality of network links, and at least one path between a first of the endpoint pairs and at least one path between a second of the endpoint pairs both include the first link; and

compute an amount of traffic flow on the first link based on the aggregate ingress data and the obtained proportions.