# Patent

## Title
Method and apparatus to balance flow loads in a multipurpose networking device

## Abstract

A method and apparatus for allocating access to a scarce resource. A load of each flow on the resource is calculated. The aggregate load is compared to a maximum steady state load. A drop policy is established responsive to the comparison. The drop policy is applied to the flows at an input interface of the device.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This utility application is a continuation of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/870,252 filed on May 29, 2001, the benefit of which is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120, and is further incorporated herein by reference.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to networking. More specifically, the invention relates to traffic control in a distributed network.
BACKGROUND
Routers in a traditional distributed network typically perform a routing function for a plurality of clients. Each client may send packets to be routed out over the internet, for example. A routing function is primarily a passthrough function and is dependent on egress bandwidth. When more packets come in than the router is able to send out during a particular time window, the packets are queued at the output of the router to wait for an available sending opportunity. If a backup in the pipe is sufficient that the queue reaches a predetermined threshold, the router institutes a drop policy to drop packets at the output interface when the queue is too full. Among the known drop policies are: Dynamic Window, Slow Start, and Nagles Algorithm. While these policies work satisfactorily, where, as in this example, the only resource at issue is output bandwidth, they are not satisfactory for allocation of other scarce resources, such as, Central Processing Unit (CPU) time in a multipurpose networking device.
A multipurpose network device such as, for example, a combination router and file server performs, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) routing functions, file server functions, management functions, and other activities based on incoming packets. These various activities must compete for shared resources within the device. As noted above, among the scarce shared resources are CPU time. While traditional systems allocate CPU time by task prioritization, task prioritization does not consistently provide desired and predictable performance.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
FIG. 1a is a block diagram of the system of one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 1b is a bar diagram reflecting an example of load balancing in one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of operation of flow control in one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of packet handling in one embodiment of the invention.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION
While the discussion below is primarily in the context of balancing the load imposed on a processor by various data flows, the discussion can be generalized to any scarce resource. Such generalization is within the scope and contemplation of the invention.
FIG. 1a is a block diagram of the system of one embodiment of the invention. A multipurpose network element 110 is coupled via a local area network (LAN) 102 to a plurality of clients 100. Clients 100 send both passthrough flows such as a flow including traffic stream 106 for which network element 110 may perform routing functions and flows to be handled internally by the element 110, such as one including traffic stream 104. These may include control flows, file server flows, etc. In one embodiment, typical traffic is in one form of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) packets.
Multipurpose device 110 includes a processor 114 coupled to a memory 116. Processor 114 handles the processing required for the various types of flows between the device and the outside world. The memory 116, may be for example, a read only memory (ROM). In one embodiment, the memory 116 stores one or more drop buffers 118 to implement a drop policy when the processor 114 is over utilized. The device 110 also includes an input interface 112 through which all flows from the client 100 to the device 110 flow. An output interface including an output queue 120 is provided for passthrough flows, such as, flow 106 to pass on to a distributed network, such as internet 122. Any number of other devices may be coupled to internet 122 including, for example, an internet server 124.
As used herein, a “flow” is deemed to be an aggregation of packets of a particular type or category regardless of source. Thus, if two different clients were sending packets directed to internet 122. The packets from both clients would constitute one passthrough flow. It is desirable that all flows have some guaranteed Central Processing Unit (CPU) time to avoid starvation of the associated activity. Different types of packets will have different costs in terms of processor time required to service them. The packet load on the system depends on a number of factors. As noted above, one major distinction is between pass through flows (packets received by the network element 110) at one interface and passed through to another interface of network element 110 and flows to be handled internal to network element 110. Packets to be handled internally can further be differentiated between i) control and management packets used by a remote operator who monitors the system; and ii) packets to a file server within network element 110. Accordingly, a non-exclusive list of packets expected in one embodiment includes: i) packets routed through the network element without encryption; ii) packets routed through the network element with encryption; iii) management and control packets; and iv) packets addressed to the file server.
In one embodiment, the cost is used as a scaling factor to normalized the load of a flow or the processor 114. The system load is given by the equation {right arrow over (L)}=(L1, L2, . . . LN) where there are N flows, and N is an arbitrarily large number. The load in packets per second (pps) for each flow Fi is given by the equation Li=Ci×Ii where Ii is the input rate in pps and Ci is the cost scaling factor. Thus, Li is express in normalized pps.
To avoid over utilization of the scarce resource (here CPU time) ΣiLi=L≦P where P is the threshold processing rate measured in normalized pps. An ideal steady state for the system is given by the load vector {right arrow over (P)}=(P1, P2, . . . PN) such that ΣiPi=P. The processor is over utilized when L>P and a particular flow is excessive when Li>Pi. A particular flow is under utilized if Li<Pi. When a flow is under utilized, a portion of its share may be allocated to an excessive flow such that as long as P≧L all packets will be serviced. This share that may be reallocated is computed as a sum of flows over-utilizing their shares and unused capacity in flows under-utilizing their shares and is given by




  
    
      
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FIG. 1b is a bar diagram reflecting an example of load balancing in one embodiment of the invention. In this diagram, four flows are shown. Flow 1 has an allocated maximum steady state of ten packets, flow 2 has five packets, flow 3 has three packets and flow 4 has ten packets. Thus, P for this system is twenty-five. The load for flow 1 is six packets, for flow 2 is five packets, for flow 3 is fourteen packets and for flow 4 is six packets. Thus, the aggregate load L is thirty-one. This reflects an overloaded condition. Looking to the individual flows, flow 1 has an unused capacity of 4 packets, flow 3 has excessive usage of 6 packets and flow 4 has an over usage of 4 packets. The appropriate scaling factor calculated using the equation set forth above is [(8+2)+4]/(14+6)=0.7. This indicates that flow 3 should be scaled down to ten packets and flow 4 should be scaled down to four packets. The numbers are arrived at using the scaling factor and an integer function, e.g., int(14×0.7)=int(9.8)=10. Alternatively, a floor function could be used to make absolutely certain that the scaled load does not result in an overloaded condition. For example, floor (14×0.7)=floor(9.8)=9. The integer function rounds to nearest integer while the floor function rounds to a next smaller integer.
To implement this scaling, a drop policy could be employed in which four consecutive packets from flow 3 and two packets from flow 4 are dropped. However, it is desirable to employ a random or pseudorandom (or simulated random) drop policy to avoid synchronization of multiple sources. A drop schedule is a function of K and the current load Li. Thus, the reduction factor is given by Ri=Li×(1−K). In one embodiment, the drop factor may be implemented as a cyclic buffer such as, drop buffer 118, in which a “1” indicates a packet drop and a 0 indicates the packet is serviced. After the drop or service decision is made, a drop schedule pointer is advanced to the next location in the drop buffer 118. In one embodiment, all drop schedules are based on a number of packets dropped out of eight possible packets. Thus, eight separate drop buffers may be retained in memory 116 and an appropriate one for the selected scaling factor is selected from the set of existing drop buffers. Packets to be dropped are dropped at the input interface 112.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of operation of flow control in one embodiment of the invention. At functional block 202, incoming packets are classified into flows. Classification may take the form of grouping packets based on the type of activity to which they are directed, e.g., file serving or internet traffic. At functional block 204, a load of each flow for a current time slice is calculated. In one embodiment, the cost is merely based on a type of incoming packet. In another embodiment, cost may be calculated taking packet length into consideration. In such an embodiment, Cl=Co+fo(l) where Co is the minimum cost for a packet of the particular type and fo is the function relating packet length to scarce resource usage.
At decision block 206, a determination is made if the aggregate load of all of the flows and exceeds a predicted steady state threshold. At decision block 208, if the aggregate flow does not exceed the steady state threshold, the determination is made if the processor is over utilized. If the processor is not over utilized, the system advances to the next time slice and no drop policy is employed at functional block 210. In one embodiment, a time slice is 200 ms, other embodiment may employ longer or shorter time slices. If the load is greater than the steady state threshold at decision block 206, at decision block 214 a determination is made if the processor is under utilized. If the processor is under utilized the steady state threshold is raised to more efficiently use the processor. In one embodiment, there is a range in which the steady state threshold may be established. In one such embodiment, the rate at which the steady state threshold is reduced responsive to over utilization exceeds the rate at which the steady state threshold is increased responsive to under utilization. In another embodiment, the steady state threshold is fixed and unchangeable after manufacture. In such an embodiment, blocks 212-216 are effectively omitted.
After the steady state threshold is lowered or if at decision block 214 the processor is not under utilized, or after the steady state threshold is raised, a drop policy for the next time slice is calculated at functional block 216. Then at functional block 220, the processor selects an appropriate drop buffer reflecting the drop factor calculated at functional block 218. At functional block 222, the system advances at the next time slice and applies the drop policy reflected in the previously selected drop buffer. Accordingly, the drop policy for a time slice Tl is established based on actual traffic in time slice To.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of packet handling in one embodiment of the invention. At functional block 302, a packet is received at the input interface. At functional block 304, the packet is classified into a flow. At functional block 306, the cost of the packet is calculated and added to the cost for the corresponding flow during the current time slice. The determination is made at decision block 308 whether the flow was excessive during the prior time slice. If the flow was excessive, a determination is made whether the drop buffer indicates that the packet should be dropped at functional block 310. If the drop buffer indicates the packet should be dropped, the packet is dropped at the input interface at functional block 312. If the flow was not excessive in the prior time slice, or the drop buffer does not indicate the packet is to be dropped, the packet is serviced at functional block 314.

## Claims

1. An apparatus for load balancing loads on a network, comprising:
a memory arranged to store data;
a network interface; and
a processor arranged to enable actions comprising:
estimating normalized loads for one or more flows of packets based on at least one cost scaling factor;
dropping at least one flow of packets if the estimation exceeds a predicted threshold;
enabling a drop policy by computing a drop factor based on aggregating over utilization of the processor; and
distributing excess resource capacity from flows of packets that do not exceed their resource allocation to those flows of packets that have exceeded their resource allocation.

2. A system for allocating access to a resource over a network, comprising:
a server that provides access to the resource;
a client that requests access to the resource; and
a multipurpose network device that enables actions, including:
classifying each incoming packet from the client requesting access to the resource into at least one of a plurality of flows;
determining an estimate of a load of the plurality of flows on the requested resource; and
implementing a drop policy for at least one flow when the estimate exceeds a predicted threshold, wherein the drop policy comprises:
accessing a location in a buffer;
dropping a current packet if the location has a first value;
forwarding the current packet to the server if the location has a second value; and
advancing a buffer pointer to point to a next buffer location after applying the drop policy to the current packet.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein determining further comprises classifying each incoming packet from a plurality of clients requesting access to the resource into at least one of the plurality of flows, and forwarding the current packet to at least one of a plurality of servers if the location has the second value.

4. The system of claim 2 further comprising allocating a portion of the resource to each flow of an expected plurality of flows.

5. The system of claim 2 further comprising:
identifying each flow of the plurality of flows that exceeds their predicted threshold; and
distributing excess capacity from at least one of the plurality of flows to at least one other of the plurality flows that is exceeding its predicted threshold.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein the drop policy is established on a flow by flow basis.

7. The system of claim 2 further comprising:
decreasing the predicted threshold if the resource is over utilized when the load is relatively equivalent to the predicted threshold; and
increasing the predicted threshold to a new value if the resource is under utilized at a current value of the predicted threshold.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the multipurpose network device includes at least one of a router and a file server.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the network device further comprises an input interface, and wherein the drop policy is further applied to at least one of the plurality of flows received at the input interface to the multipurpose network device.

10. A method for allocating access to a resource over a network, comprising;
receiving at least one of a plurality of flows of packets for accessing the resource at an input interface of a multipurpose network device;
enabling the multipurpose network device to classify each incoming packet associated with providing a client access to the resource into one of a plurality of flows;
enabling the multipurpose network device to determine an estimate of a load of each of the plurality of flows on the requested resource; and
enabling the multipurpose network device to implement a drop policy for at least one of the plurality of flows if the estimate exceeds a predicted threshold, wherein the drop policy comprises:
accessing a location in a buffer;
dropping a current packet if the location has a first value;
forwarding the current packet to a server that provides access to the resource if the location has a second value; and
advancing a buffer pointer to point to a next buffer location after applying the drop policy to the current packet.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein determining further comprises enabling the multipurpose network device to perform further actions, including:
aggregating a cost estimate of all packets within a flow to generate a flow load estimate for each flow; and
summing normalized the generated flow load estimates to yield a total load estimate.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprises enabling the multipurpose network device to perform further actions, including allocating a portion of the resource to each flow of an expected plurality of flows.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprises enabling the multipurpose network device to perform further actions, including:
identifying each flow of the plurality of flows that exceeds their predicted threshold; and
distributing excess capacity from at least one of the plurality of flows to at least one of the other plurality of flows that exceed its predicted threshold.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein implementing the drop policy comprises:
computing a drop factor based on aggregate over utilization of the resource, and enabling the dropping of a packet based on the drop factor on a flow by flow basis.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein determining comprises generating for an incoming packet at least one of a plurality of cost scaling factors based on at least one of packet type and packet length.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprises enabling the multipurpose network device to perform further actions, including:
decreasing the predicted threshold if the resource is over utilized when the load is equal to the predicted threshold; and
increasing the predicted threshold if the resource is under utilized at the predicted threshold.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the multipurpose network device includes at least one of a router and a file server.

18. An apparatus for allocating access to a resource over a network, comprising:
a memory arranged to store data;
an input interface for receiving a plurality of flows of packets; and
a processor arranged to enable actions embodied by at least a portion of the stored data comprising:
classifying each incoming packet associated with providing the client access to the resource into one of the plurality of flows;
determining an estimate of a load of the plurality of flows on the requested resource; and
implementing a drop policy for at least one flow when the estimate exceeds a predicted threshold, wherein the drop policy comprises:
accessing a location in a buffer;
dropping a current packet if the location has a first value;
forwarding the current packet to the server if the location has a second value; and
advancing a buffer pointer to point to a next buffer location after applying the drop policy to the current packet.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
identifying each flow of the plurality of flows that exceeds their predicted threshold; and
distributing excess capacity from at least one of the plurality of flows to at least one other of the plurality of flows that exceeds its predicted threshold.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the drop policy is established on a flow by flow basis.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein determining comprises generating for an incoming packet at least one of a plurality of cost scaling factors based on at least one of packet type and packet length.

22. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:
decreasing a current value of the predicted threshold if the resource is over utilized and if the load is relatively equivalent to the predicted threshold; and
increasing the current value of the predicted threshold if the resource is under utilized at the predicted threshold.

23. A computer readable storage medium storing a program which if executed by a processor causes a system to perform a method comprising:
classifying each incoming packet associated with providing the client access to the resource into one of the plurality of flows;
determining an estimate of a load of the plurality of flows on the requested resource; and
implementing a drop policy for at least one flow when the estimate exceeds a predicted threshold, wherein the drop policy comprises:
accessing a location in a buffer;
dropping a current packet if the location has a first value;
forwarding the current packet to the server if the location has a second value; and
advancing a buffer pointer to point to a next buffer location after applying the drop policy to the current packet.

24. The computer readable storage media medium storing a program of claim 23 which if executed by a processor causes a system to perform the method that further comprises:
identifying each flow of the plurality of flows that exceeds their predicted threshold; and
distributing excess capacity from at least one of the plurality of flows to at least one other of the plurality flows that is exceeding its predicted threshold.

25. The computer readable storage medium storing a program of claim 23 which if executed by a processor causes a system to perform the method that further comprises:
decreasing the predicted threshold if the resource is over utilized when the load is relatively equivalent to the predicted threshold; and

increasing the predicted threshold to a new value if the resource is under utilized at a current value of the predicted threshold.