Patent ID: 8335160
Filing Date: 2012-12-18
Classification: H04L,Y02D

Abstract:
1. A method in a network device for performing sampling-based monitoring of flows in a plurality of buckets, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a packet at a forwarding plane of the network device; determining whether the packet is part of an existing flow already tracked in one of the plurality of buckets ranging from a least-significant bucket to a most-significant bucket in terms of a predetermined criteria that identifies top talkers, wherein the top talkers are the flows that most impact traffic of the network device, wherein each of the plurality of buckets sort the flows tracked therein by order of least recently used at a tail of each bucket and most recently used at a head of each bucket; upon determination that the packet is part of the existing flow already tracked in one of the plurality of buckets, performing the following steps: upon determination that the packet is not part of any existing flows already tracked in one of the plurality of buckets, performing the following steps: reporting information on the flows tracked in the plurality of buckets upon the flows' expiration from the forwarding plane to a control plane of the network device, exporting the information on the flows reported to the control plane from the control plane to an external collector for further analysis or processing by the external collector.