Monitoring, Visualization, and Control of High-Speed Networks with Emphasis on Multi-Layer Protocols and Human- in-the-Loop

计算机网络（如互联网和全球信息基础设施）已成为教育，研究，商业和军事行动的关键。 网络基础设施技术（例如千兆以太网、ATM和IPv6）的最新进展使得能够开发高性能局域网和广域网。 对这些网络的有效管理至关重要。然而，现有的用于管理网络的算法方法还没有成熟到可以可扩展地自动化性能瓶颈和故障检测、隔离、关联和校正的程度。 因此，构建高效且用户友好的网络监控、可视化和控制（NMVC）系统至关重要。 所提出的努力的目的是设计，原型实现，并展示了一个高度可扩展的NMVC系统，先进的算法和人在回路中的能力。 此功能允许网络管理员根据观察到的流量模式实时校准和微调网络和应用程序参数。 NMVC系统的目标是确保网络用户的服务质量，同时保持高的网络资源利用率。 拟议的系统利用以下创新来实现其目标： * 一种价格低廉、性能卓越的网络监控和观察探头，不会干扰高速网络流量。 该探测器可以编程为在协议层次结构中的任何层收集相关信息（包括应用程序特定的信息）。 * 用于端系统的有效探测机制（即，工作站和服务器），可以从应用程序和内核驻留协议（如Unix中的TCP/IP）收集相关的性能统计数据。 终端系统探测器对协议操作的干扰最小，可以动态远程调用和配置感兴趣的信息。 * 一种高度灵活和高效的软件网络管理代理设计，通过基于可编程标准（如协议报头属性或应用级帧）过滤数据，扩展了网络探测器的功能和可扩展性。 管理员或自动化管理应用程序可以在网络节点上远程配置、安装和控制此代理。 * 高效的在线事件排序算法，可以使用在整个大规模高速网络中收集的事件，帮助合成和显示网络健康、状态和性能的一致视图。 * 一种视图编排器，允许管理应用程序和管理员指定网络事件到更高级别事件以及可视化对象和更新的映射。 Choreographer使用语义引导的过滤算法来实现显示的低延迟更新，从而呈现当前网络状态的准确实时快照。 * 一种高度可配置的可视化系统，可以支持大规模网络的多个同时实时显示视图。 * 一种可执行关键网络管理功能的动态和交互式引导机制，如协议参数调整以获得更好的端到端性能、带宽强制、故障检测和恢复以及服务质量监控和控制。 * 在高速IP/ATM试验台上演示的原型系统可运行多种应用（包括多媒体电话会议系统和高速数字成像）。

Computer networks (such as the Internet and the Global Information Infrastructure) have become critical for education, research, business, and military operations. Recent advances in network infrastructure technology (such as gigabit Ethernet, ATM and Ipv6) have enabled the development of high performance local area and wide area networks. Efficient management of these networks is essential. However, existing algorithmic methods for managing networks have not matured to the point where performance bottleneck and fault detection, isolation, correlation, and correction can be automated scalably. Thus, it is crucial to build efficient and user-friendly network monitoring, visualization, and control (NMVC) systems. The proposed effort is aimed at the design, prototype implementation, and demonstration of a highly scalable NMVC system with advanced algorithmic and human-in-the-loop capability. This capability allows network administrators to calibrate and fine-tune network and application parameters in real-time according to observed traffic patterns. The goal of the NMVC system is to ensure adequate quality of service to network users, while maintaining high network resource utilization. The proposed system leverages the following innovations to meet its objectives: * An inexpensive, yet high performance network monitoring and observation probe that does not interfere with high speed network traffic. This probe can be programmed to collect pertinent information at any layer in the protocol hierarchy (including application-specific information). * An efficient probing mechanism for endsystems (i.e., workstations and servers) that can collect relevant performance satistics from both applications and kernel resident protocols (such as TCP/IP in Unix). The endsystem probes introduce minimum interference with protocol operation and can be dynamically and remotely invoked and configured for the information of interest. * A highly flexible and highly efficient software network man agement agent design that extends the functionality and scalability of the network probe by filtering data based on programmable criteria (such as protocol header attributes or application-level frames). This agent can be configured, installed, and controlled remotely at network nodes by administrators or automated management applications. * Efficient online event ordering algorithms that can help synthesize and display a consistent view of network health, status, and performance using events collected throughout a large-scale high speed network. * A View Choreographer that allows management applications and administrators to specify the mapping of network events to higher-level events and to visualization objects and updates. The Choreographer uses semantically-guided filtering algorithms to enable low latency updates of displays that present an accurate real-time snapshot of current network state. * A visualization system that is highly configurable and can support multiple simultaneous real-time display views of a large-scale network. * Algorithmic and interactive steering mechanisms that perform critical network management functions such as protocol parameter tuning for better end-to-end performance, bandwidth enforcement, fault detection and recovery, and quality of service monitoring and control. * A prototype system to be demonstrated on a high speed IP/ATM testbed running a variety of applications (including multimedia teleconferencing systems and high speed digital imaging).