Learning or emulation approach to traffic engineering in information-centric networks

1. A method implemented in a network element (NE) configured to operate in an information centric network (ICN), comprising:

receiving a test traffic flow as a copy of a traffic flow in a forwarding plane of the ICN during a defined interval;

emulating the ICN at a state determined at an arrival time of the test traffic flow based on an active traffic flow in the ICN;

measuring a first impact of a first candidate path for the test traffic flow in the emulated ICN to the active traffic flow;

selecting the first candidate path based on the first impact measurement; and

constructing a forwarding rule based on the state and the selection of the first candidate path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first impact is a measurement of completion time of the active traffic flow.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the test traffic flow is a subset of a total number of traffic flow received in the forwarding plane of the ICN during the defined interval.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forwarding rule defines a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a percentage of total packet flow through the given traffic flow.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forwarding rule defines a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a packet size within a given traffic flow.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forwarding rule defines a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a congestion level of the ICN.

7. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium such that when executed by a processor cause a network element (NE) to:

receive a plurality of test traffic flow objects, wherein the test traffic flow objects are copies of a subset of traffic flow objects received in a forwarding plane of an information centric network (ICN) during a defined interval;

emulate the ICN in a control plane based on a network state of the ICN determined at an arrival time of the test traffic flow objects to the NE and defined based on a plurality of active traffic flow objects in the ICN;

determine a plurality of first candidate paths for a first test traffic flow object from the test traffic flow objects;

measure a first impact of the first candidate paths on the active traffic flow objects in the emulated ICN;

select one of the first candidate paths based on the first impact measurement;

determine a plurality of subsequent candidate paths for all remaining test traffic flow objects from the test traffic flow objects subsequent to the first test traffic flow object consecutively;

measure a subsequent impact of each of the subsequent candidate paths on the active traffic flow objects and all subsequent test candidates selected;

select one of the subsequent candidate paths based on the subsequent impact measurement; and

construct a plurality of forwarding rules based on the network state and the candidate paths selections.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the forwarding rules define a single routing path for a given traffic flow.

9. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the first impact is a measurement of completion time for all the active traffic flow objects.

10. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the defined interval is determined based on a configuration of the NE.

11. A network element (NE) configured to operate in an information centric network (ICN), comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a plurality of test traffic flows, wherein the test traffic flows are copies of a number of traffic flows received in a forwarding plane of the ICN during a defined interval;

a memory storing instructions;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the processor to:

emulate the ICN at a state determined at an arrival time of the test traffic flows to the NE and defined based on a plurality of active traffic flows in the ICN;

measure a first impact of a plurality of first candidate paths for a first test traffic flow from the test traffic flows in the emulated ICN to the active traffic flows;

select one of the first candidate paths based on the first impact measurement;

measure a second impact of a plurality of second candidate paths for a second test traffic flow from the test traffic flows in the emulated ICN to active traffic flows and the selected first candidate test path;

select one of the second candidate paths based on the second impact measurement; and

construct a plurality of forwarding rules based on the state and the candidate paths selections.

12. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the first impact is a measurement of completion time of the active traffic flows.

13. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the test traffic flows are a subset of a total number of traffic flows received in a forwarding plane of the ICN during the defined interval.

14. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the forwarding rules define a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a percentage of total packet flow through the given traffic flow.

15. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the forwarding rules define a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a packet size within a given traffic flow.

16. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the forwarding rules define a plurality of routing paths for a given traffic flow based on a congestion level of the ICN.

17. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the forwarding rules define a single routing path for a given traffic flow.

18. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the forwarding rules comprise a routing table or a flow table.

19. The network element of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to construct a plurality of replacement forwarding rules based on the forwarding rules.

20. The network element of claim 19 , wherein the receiver is further configured to receive additional batches of test traffic flows, and wherein a duration between the additional batches of test traffic flows is determined based on a configuration of the network element.