Patent ID: 9578061
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method for representing a networking device, the method comprising: modeling at least one network device policy rule of a network device policy, utilizing at least one processor, as at least one bit string comprising a plurality of bits representing the at least one network device policy rule; creating a first hierarchical decision diagram comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of connections between the plurality of nodes from the at least one bit string wherein each of the plurality of nodes of the first hierarchical decision diagram represents a bit of the plurality of bits of the at least one bit string; translating the first hierarchical decision diagram into a second hierarchical decision diagram; obtaining a plurality of numerical intervals defined by the second hierarchical decision diagram, the plurality of numerical intervals corresponding to paths through the second hierarchical decision diagram defining a portion of a solution space of a network device policy by traversing the second hierarchical decision diagram from a first root node of the second hierarchical decision diagram to a plurality of end nodes of the second hierarchical decision diagram, wherein the plurality of numerical intervals each comprise bit string values defining the paths through the second hierarchical decision diagram from the first root node to each of the plurality of end nodes; converting the plurality of numerical intervals into one or more network device policy rules based at least on a heuristically defined transition point between a first portion of the solution space of the network device policy and a second portion of the solution space of the network device policy, wherein the heuristically defined transition point occurs in the second hierarchical decision diagram between the first root node and the plurality of end nodes of the second hierarchical decision diagram as the second hierarchical decision diagram is traversed, wherein converting the plurality of numerical intervals into one or more network device policy rules comprises converting the plurality of bit string values defined by the second hierarchical decision diagram into a plurality of decimal intervals and combining at least two of the plurality of decimal intervals when the at least two decimal intervals are the same; providing the one or more network device policy rules as a policy rule set; and applying the policy rule set to the networking device as a de-correlated device policy.