Patent Publication Number: US-11652573-B2

Title: Error correction in network packets using soft information

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE(S) 
     This Non-Provisional Patent Application is a continuation of, and claims priority benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/688,718, filed on Mar. 7, 2022, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/158,817, filed on Mar. 9, 2021. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, including all references cited therein. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally data processing, and more specifically to error correction in network packets. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Neural networks can be used to estimate positions of unreliable bits in a network packet based on corrupted copies of the network packet. However, neural networks may have computational complexities higher than desirable for practical applications. Thus, estimating positions of unreliable bits in the network packet can require optimizing a neural network for that specific purpose. 
     SUMMARY 
     One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a method including receiving copies of a network packet; extracting soft information from the copies of the network packet; using the soft information to select K positions in a payload of the network packet with uncertain values of bits; selecting the K positions having largest levels of uncertainty; changing the uncertain values at the K positions to a selected combination of values to obtain a modified payload of the network packet; and calculating an error detection code for the modified payload, wherein when the modified payload matches an error detection code in the network packet, errors in the payload are corrected. 
     One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a system having a processor; and a memory for storing instructions, the processor executing the instructions to: receive copies of a network packet; extract soft information from the copies of the network packet; use the soft information to select K positions in a payload of the network packet with uncertain values of bits; select the K positions having largest levels of uncertainty; change the uncertain values at the K positions to selected combination of values to obtain a modified payload of the network packet; and calculate an error detection code for the modified payload, wherein when the modified payload matches an error detection code in the network packet, errors in the payload are corrected. 
     One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a method including extracting soft information from copies of a network packet; using the soft information to select positions in a payload of the network packet with uncertain values of bits; changing values at the positions to a combination of values to obtain a modified payload of the network packet; and calculating an error detection code for the modified payload, wherein when the modified payload matches an error detection code in the network packet, errors in the payload are corrected. 
     One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a method including receiving a sequence of corrupted copies of a network packet; forming an input table having the corrupted copies of the network packet as columns and values of bits at the same positions in the corrupted copies as rows; determining, based on at least one lookup table and based on values of bits in the rows of the input table, logit values corresponding to the rows of input table; and determining, based on the logit values, values of bits in the network packet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements. 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of an environment, in which systems and methods for error correction in network packets can be implemented, according to some example embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram showing an example network packet and an automatic repeat request (ARQ) method for data transmission, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a flow chart of the overall NPP method that includes a method for error correction in network packets, according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram illustrating an NPP machine learning model, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram showing a lookup table, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a diagram showing performance of a lookup table for three rounds, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG.  7 A  is a schematic diagram showing an original lookup table setup process. 
         FIG.  7 B  illustrates a potential size reduction of the look-up table for a high number of rounds. 
         FIG.  8    is a diagram showing performance of the lookup table for ten rounds, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a schematic diagram illustrating 8-bit (1-byte) block comparison and intra-block window scan, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    shows a computing system that can be used to implement a system and a method for error correction in network packets, according to an example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG.  1    is a block diagram of environment  100 , in which systems and methods for error correction in network packets can be implemented, according to some example embodiments. 
     The environment  100  may include a transmitter  110 , a receiver  120 , and a communication channel  140 . The transmitter  110  may send network packets over the communication channel  140 . The receiver  120  may receive the network packets and analyze the integrity of the network packets. If the receiver  120  determines that a network packet is corrupted, then the receiver  120  may request that the transmitter  110  retransmit the network packet. 
     In various embodiments, the transmitter  110  or receiver  120  may include a computer (e.g., laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer), a server, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a gaming console, a multimedia system, a smart television device, wireless headphones, set-top box, an infotainment system, in-vehicle computing device, informational kiosk, smart home computer, software application, computer operating system, a modem, a router, and so forth. 
     The communication channel  140  may include the Internet or any other network capable of communicating data between devices. Suitable networks may include or interface with any one or more of, for instance, a local intranet, a corporate data network, a data center network, a home data network, a Personal Area Network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network, a virtual private network, a storage area network, a frame relay connection, an Advanced Intelligent Network connection, a synchronous optical network connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 or E3 line, Digital Data Service connection, Digital Subscriber Line connection, an Ethernet connection, an Integrated Services Digital Network line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34 or V.34bis analog modem connection, a cable modem, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode connection, or a Fiber Distributed Data Interface or Copper Distributed Data Interface connection. Furthermore, communications may also include links to any of a variety of wireless networks, including Wireless Application Protocol, General Packet Radio Service, Global System for Mobile Communication, Code Division Multiple Access or Time Division Multiple Access, cellular phone networks, Global Positioning System, cellular digital packet data, Research in Motion, Limited duplex paging network, Bluetooth radio, or an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency network. The communication channel  140  can further include or interface with any one or more of a Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232) serial connection, an IEEE-1394 (FireWire) connection, a Fiber Channel connection, an IrDA (infrared) port, a Small Computer Systems Interface connection, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection or other wired or wireless, digital or analog interface or connection, mesh or Digi® networking. 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram showing an example network packet  210  and an automatic repeat request (ARQ) method  220  for data transmission. Transmitter  110  may send, via communication channel  140 , a network packet including a binary message xϵ{0,  &lt;}·&gt;·   t     n   . The receiver  120  may receive a binary message γϵ{0,  &lt;}·&gt;·   t     n   , the message x corrupted by the communication channel  140 . Typically, the message is corrupted due to the noise in communication channels, which is the main cause of packet loss. The packet loss results in inefficiencies, such as reduced throughput of the transmitted data, degraded audio quality, and so forth. Typically, communication schemes such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and the ARQ are used to mitigate packet loss. 
     CRC  225  is an error-detecting code used to determine whether a network packet is corrupted. CRC  225  is generated by CRC generator  215  based on an original packet  205  (a payload) and added to the original packet  205  (a payload) to form the network packet  210 . The network packet  210  is transmitted from the transmitter  110  to receiver  120  via the communication channel  140 . CRC  225  is typically 3 bytes regardless of the length of the payload. When the network packet with CRC  225  is received, the receiver  120  computes the new CRC from the received payload of the network packet and compares the new CRC to the appended CRC  225 . If the appended CRC  225  mismatches the new CRC computed from the received payload, the network packet  210  is corrupted. 
     The ARQ is a communication method in which if the network packet  210  is determined to be corrupted, the receiver  120  requests the transmitter  110  to retransmit the network packet  210 . The ARQ stops when the network packet  210  is received correctly or the maximum timeout is reached. Typically, ARQ discards previously received network packets, and thus, the information from the previously received packets is not used. 
     ARQ+CRC is an approach widely used in Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi™ and 3G/4G/LTE/5G networks. However, ARQ+CRC may not be efficient because even if only one bit in the received network packet is erroneous (resulting in a CRC check failure), the whole network packet must be retransmitted. Thus, the Block Error Rate (BLER) of ARQ+CRC scheme can be higher than required. 
     Prior to requesting retransmission of the network packet, the receiver  120  can modify a few bits in the payload and test the CRC again. Given a payload of length L, and assuming that only one bit in the payload is erroneous, modifying all possible 1-bits in the payload requires checking CRC L times. However, very often due to the nature of communication systems, there will be more than 1 bit error. Flipping all possible bits requires &lt;z&gt; L  CRC checks. This is computationally infeasible and can drastically reduce the validity of the CRC. 
     Hence, to reduce the number of all possible bit flips, one can think about extracting soft information to determine which bits in the payload are the most unreliable (uncertain). Some embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a method for modifying the unreliable bits to test the CRC, without drastically reducing the validity of the CRC. 
       FIG.  3    is a flow chart of method  300  for an error correction in network packets. The method  300  is also referred to as a neural packet processor (NPP) method  300 . The method  300  can be performed by receiver  120  in environment  100  as shown in  FIG.  1   . The NPP method  300  includes ARQ, CRC, and soft information processing. In general, the NPP method  300  includes the following: (1) checking the CRC of received network packet, and if CRC fails then (2) using previously received network packets to extract soft information to propose multiple alternative sequences of bits and to check the CRC again. 
     The NPP method  300  may commence in block  305  with receiving a network packet having a payload of x bits and the CRC. In decision block  310 , the NPP method  300  may calculate CRC for the received payload and compare the calculated CRC with received CRC. If CRC check passes, then the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  315 , with processing the next network packet. 
     If CRC check fails, then the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  320 , with concatenating the network packet with previously received copies of the network packet. The current copy of the network packet can be stored in a memory for use in the next round (attempt) of receiving and processing a copy of the network packet. 
     In block  325 , the NPP method  300  may extract soft information from the copies of the network packet. In some embodiments, the soft information may include expected values for bits in positions of payload of the network packet. For example, the expected values can be real numbers from 0 to 1. An expected value for a position j can be obtained by a machine learning (ML) model  330  based on values of bits at position j in all the copies of the network packet and values of bits in positions neighboring to j in all the copies of the network packet (due to the correlation caused by real world channel and modulations). Therefore, the ML model  330  determines the uncertainty level according to logit value p/(1−p). 
     In block  335 , the NPP method  300  may include using the soft information to select K positions in the payload with most uncertain values of bits. For example, the NPP method  300  may include determining levels of uncertainty for positions of bits in the payload. A level of uncertainty for a position j can be found as minimum between a distance of an expected value at the position j from 0 and a distance of the expected value at the position j from 1. The NPP method  300  may select positions having K largest levels of uncertainty. 
     In block  340 , the NPP method  300  may proceed with selecting a combination of values of K bits from 2 K  possible combinations of values of bits at the selected K positions. The NPP method  300  may change the values at the selected K positions to the selected combination of values to obtain a modified payload of the network packet. 
     In block  345 , the NPP method  300  may proceed with calculating the CRC for the modified payload. If the CRC of the modified payload matches the CRC in the received network packet, errors in the payload are corrected and the NPP method  300  may process the next network packet in block  315 . 
     If the CRC of the modified payload does not match the CRC in the received network packet, the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  350 , with checking whether all possible combinations of values of K bits have been selected and tested. If not all the possible combinations have been tested, the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  340 , with selecting the next combination. 
     If all possible combinations have been selected and tested, then the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  355 , with the determination that the network packet cannot be corrected. In this case, the NPP method  300  may request that the network packet be retransmitted. Note that since CRC has a linear structure, which could be further optimized to improve the runtime performance via another filed patent (9865US). 
     If all possible combinations have been selected and tested, then the NPP method  300  may proceed, in block  355 , with the determination that the network packet cannot be corrected. In this case, the NPP method  300  may request that the network packet be retransmitted. 
     The ML model to extract soft information is a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) with 1-dimension inputs, as shown in  FIG.  4   .  FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram  400  illustrating an NPP ML model (also referred to as a ML model), according to an example embodiment. The ML model is composed of one layer of CNN with 100 filters, and one dense layer. As shown in  FIG.  4   , the number of rounds is R, a block length is L in bits, a CNN filter size is F, and a kernel size is 3. The output is an uncertainty logit, which means that the more the value is larger than 0, the higher is the likelihood that this value can decode 1, and vice versa. 
     Although the ML model is simple, direct running of this ML model, for example, on a central processing unit (CPU) of a personal computer, may require over 200 ms runtime latency, and over 450 KB memory. This latency may be problematic for deploying deep learning models to any edge devices, especially Internet of things (IoT) devices like Bluetooth microcontrollers. 
     Currently used TinyML research, such as quantization, pruning, and model distillation, are still in their early stages, and are designed to be general purpose TinyML techniques. The computational cost of applying the current conventional interpreter-based framework (such as TF Lite Micro) is still beyond what can be allocated for microcontrollers, as shown in Table 1. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Runtime and memory footprint. 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Number of 
                 Runtime for 1 
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 Parameters 
                 packet 
                 Model Size 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 NPP TF Full 
                 7209 
                 200 ms 
                 450 
                 KB 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (on Intel Core i7- 
               
               
                   
                   
                 9750H CPU @ 
               
               
                   
                   
                 2.60 GHz) 
               
               
                 NPP TF Lite Micro 
                 3410 
                  10 ms 
                 18 
                 KB 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (on Nordic Devkit 
               
               
                   
                   
                 with 64 MHz ARM 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Cortex M4 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Processor) 
               
               
                 BT Requirement 
                   
                  &lt;1 ms 
                 &lt;10 
                 KB 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     To satisfy Bluetooth microcontroller requirements, the systems and methods of the present disclosure utilize special properties of the NPP. Due to the very special properties of digital communication systems, multiple implementations of the Bluetooth microcontroller can be provided. The NPP soft information extraction is a simple and small CNN model, which only contains Conv1D and Dense layers. TF Lite Micro has multiple optimizations for other layers, which is not useful for the NPP. Thus, building an optimized implementation of the NPP using the systems and methods of the present disclosure can reduce the framework overhead of TF Micro by a large margin. 
     Moreover, the input space of the NPP is limited as the received sequence only contains binary values, and the convolutional window has a limited kernel size, which can potentially use memory-runtime tradeoff, through hashing, to improve the runtime efficiency. 
     Compared to the implementation of the NPP via common TinyML frameworks, like TF Lite Micro, in the conventional systems, the present disclosure provides methods developed specifically for the NPP, which can lead to a very low latency and memory footprint. 
     With respect to the size and the possible combinations of the input for NPP, the CNN has kernel size 3, with the number of rounds R, which means that for each output value, it only depends on the input of size 3R. Because the filter of the CNN filter is constant across all positions, the input space is restricted. Moreover, Bluetooth communication only takes binary inputs, which makes enumeration of all possible inputs possible. For two rounds, there are in total 2{circumflex over ( )}6=64 possible inputs, and for three rounds, there are in total 2{circumflex over ( )}9=512 possible inputs. 
       FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram  500  showing an NPP lookup table, according to an example embodiment. Implementing a convolution by a lookup table reduces the computation from a 2-layer neural network to O(1), which drastically reduces the computational complexity. Moreover, since the size of the lookup table is not very large for round 2 and 3 (It&#39;s 64 Bytes for the 2-round table, and 512 Bytes for the 3-round look-up table), this technique makes it possible to deploy the NPP to microcontrollers. 
       FIG.  6    is a diagram  600  showing performance of the lookup table for three rounds. As shown in  FIG.  6   , the performance of the lookup table matches the TF full accuracy CNN model. 
       FIG.  7 A  is a schematic diagram showing an original lookup table  710 . In the original lookup table  710 , the corrupted copies of a network packet are provided in columns and values of bits at the same positions in the corrupted copies are provided in rows. Typically, 10 rounds of retransmission are needed for most communication systems. R rounds of NPP with kernel size 3 require a 2{circumflex over ( )}{3R} lookup table, which is exponential with respect to the number of rounds, which makes using the lookup table not scalable to a large number of retransmission rounds. 
     To support more rounds of the NPP, an additive lookup table is provided. An additive property is assumed, which means the soft information of a+b-th round equals the sum of soft information of the first a rounds, and soft information of next consecutive b rounds (i.e., from round a+1 to round a+b) or, more formally, it is assumed that:
 
 f ( R _(1, . . . ), R _ M )= f ( R _1, . . . , R _ i )+ f ( R _( i+ 1), R _ M ), for  iϵ{ 2, . . . , M− 1}
 
     This is a very crude assumption that allows computing a large number of rounds by composing multiple results just from round 2 and 3, as shown in  FIG.  7 B  for R=6, according to an example embodiment. Taking the original lookup table can result in 2{circumflex over ( )}18 table size, which is intractable. Using two 3-round lookup tables, the soft information can be computed without exponentially increasing the size of the lookup table. The detailed combination of look-up table calls is as follows: Round 2: one 2-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2); Round 3: one 3-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2,3); Round 4: two 2-round look-up table calls on rounds (1,2) and (3,4), then add; Round 5: one 3-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2,3) and one 2-round look-up table call on rounds (4,5), then add; Round 6: two 3-round look-up table calls on rounds (1,2,3) and (4,5,6), then add; Round 7: one 3-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2,3) and two 2-round look-up table calls on rounds (4,5) and (6,7), then add; Round 8: two 3-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2,3) and (4,5,6), and one 2-round look-up table call on rounds (7,8), then add; Round 9: three 3-round look-up table calls on rounds (1,2,3) and (4,5,6) and (7,8,9), then add; Round 10: two 3-round look-up table call on rounds (1,2,3) and (4,5,6), and two 2-round look-up table calls on rounds (7,8) and (9, 10), and so forth. 
       FIG.  8    is a diagram  800  showing performance of the lookup table for 10 rounds. Although the assumption described with reference to  FIGS.  7 A  and B may be too strong, the result in  FIG.  8    shows that the additive lookup table works and shows the NPP implemented by CNN, which indicates that using the additive lookup table shows a minimal performance loss. In return, the additive lookup table uses a minimal memory, enabling the CNN model to run on microcontrollers with a large number of rounds. 
     The solution number 1, set forth above, describes keeping track of the number of rounds so it comes up with the proper combination of look-up table calls as mentioned, as well as buffering all the previously received packets up to the round R, which would require sizable memory storage. It would require a memory space of size R*L which increases linearly with R. 
     Also, the number of required calls for the lookup table increases as R grows. For example, for R=6, we have 2 calls to the lookup table, while for R=10 we would have 4 calls. 
     A second yet related solution would be a “Round Agnostic” approach: At any given round R, we have access to the accumulated soft information in the past that is stored in a buffer, and then compute the soft info (i.e., via calling look-up table) only for the most recently received packets. 
     We are required to store only up to 3 previous rounds (R−2, R−1, R) so we call the look-up table on these most recently received rounds, then store the soft information at specific rounds to be used in the future. 
     An example configuration of an algorithm is provided for explanatory purposes: Set the buffer initially as 0: 
     The buffer is actually an array of length L (same length as the original packet received) which stores the most recent soft information for all the packet bits. Let&#39;s set all the initial soft information values at 0. 
     b) At any round R&gt;1, compute the soft information: 
     
         
         
           
             If R=3*k (R mod 3=0):
           Call the 3-round look up table on rounds R−2, R−1, R as LUT(R−2, R−1, R)   Soft information=buffer+LUT(R−2, R−1, R)   Update the buffer as: buffer=buffer+LUT(R−2, R−1, R)   
         
             If R=3*k+1 (R mod 3=1):
           Call the 3-round look up table on rounds R−2, R−1, R as LUT(R−2, R−1, R)   Soft information=buffer+LUT(R−2, R−1, R)   
         
             If R=3*k+2 (R mod 3=2):
           Call a 2-round look up table on rounds R−1, R as LUT(R−1, R)   Soft information=buffer+LUT(R−1, R)   
         
           
         
       
    
     Note that the buffer is only updated at the rounds that are multiples of 3 (i.e. R=3, 6, 9, etc.) to be used at the future calls. We also can see that at any given round R, we need to store at most three recent rounds R−2, R−1, and R, which would require a memory space of only 3*L. 
     Also note that the additive logic from 2b still carries over to here as well, i.e. the soft information is still actually computed in an additive fashion. The performance of the round-agnostic Look-up Table shows minimal performance loss, with significant improvement on memory space reduction. 
     One of the challenges to tackle while implementing NPP on a microcontroller is that the look-up table cannot have an indefinitely high numerical precision, as it would take up too much memory and require too much computational power to do the downstream operations on it if we store the soft information look-up table as, say, float numbers. 
     Therefore, to enable implementing the lookup table in a microcontroller, which only supports int8 type, rather than float type, the performance difference between original float value and integer values, which is rounded to adjacent integers, is investigated. The performance of rounded values and float values is the same, as shown in  FIG.  8   , see rounded dict (dictionary) values. Therefore, the memory used by the lookup table can be further reduced. Table 2 shows the NPP performance, which enables the NPP to run on Bluetooth microcontrollers. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 NPP execution performance 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                 Runtime for 1 packet 
                 Model Size 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 NPP Lookup Table 
                 &lt;350 
                 us 
                  &lt;8 KB 
               
               
                   
                 BT Requirement 
                 &lt;1 
                 ms 
                 &lt;10 KB 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Based on the output of the NPP lookup table, it can be seen that, for any i-th bit position where the observed bit is equal across all the received rounds (for example, the bit number 10 is equal to 0 on all the received sequences), the NPP simply returns that observed value with high confidence. In other words, the NPP is actually only needed at the bit positions where the received bits across the rounds are not equal. This means that there definitely is an error at that particular position on one or more of the receptions. 
     Some embodiments can involve skipping NPP calls in the case of equal bits/bytes. Given this observation, whenever all the received bits are equal at a particular position i, the observed value with high confidence can be quickly returned and the next bit is then analyzed. 
     Furthermore, a plurality of bits can be compared, e.g., full bytes, across the rounds together. For example, the entire 10th received byte can be compared across all the rounds. If the bits are fully equal together, the entire byte can be returned as an error-free byte confidently and then the next byte is processed. The lookup table can be called and scanned with the moving window only when the bytes are not fully equal to each other, which means that there are reception errors within that byte, which need to be resolved with using the NPP. This approach saves a lot of time for the NPP on the microcontroller especially when the number of the total errors (i.e., the number of unequal bits) is not too large. 
       FIG.  9    is a schematic diagram  900  illustrating 8-bit (1-byte) block comparison and intra-block window scan to improve runtime performance. As shown in  FIG.  9   , copies of packets can be read byte by byte. If the byte is identical in all copies of a packet (see block  905 ), no lookup table is needed. If the byte is not identical (see block  910 ), certain bits and uncertain bits are found using the lookup tables as described with reference to  FIG.  5   .  FIG.  10    illustrates an exemplary computer system  1000  that may be used to implement some embodiments of the present invention. The computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10    may be implemented in the contexts of the likes of computing systems, networks, servers, or combinations thereof. The computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10    includes one or more processor units  1010  and main memory  1020 . Main memory  1020  stores, in part, instructions and data for execution by processor units  1010 . Main memory  1020  stores the executable code when in operation, in this example. The computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10    further includes a mass data storage  1030 , portable storage device  1040 , output devices  1050 , user input devices  1060 , a graphics display system  1070 , and peripheral devices  1080 . 
     The components shown in  FIG.  10    are depicted as being connected via a single bus  1090 . The components may be connected through one or more data transport means. Processor unit  1010  and main memory  1020  is connected via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass data storage  1030 , peripheral device(s)  1080 , portable storage device  1040 , and graphics display system  1070  are connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses. 
     Mass data storage  1030 , which can be implemented with a magnetic disk drive, solid state drive, or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor unit  1010 . Mass data storage  1030  stores the system software for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of loading that software into main memory  1020 . 
     Portable storage device  1040  operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a flash drive, floppy disk, compact disk, digital video disc, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage device, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10   . The system software for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is stored on such a portable medium and input to the computer system  1000  via the portable storage device  1040 . 
     User input devices  1060  can provide a portion of a user interface. User input devices  1060  may include one or more microphones, an alphanumeric keypad, such as a keyboard, for inputting alphanumeric and other information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys. User input devices  1060  can also include a touchscreen. Additionally, the computer system  1000  as shown in  FIG.  10    includes output devices  1050 . Suitable output devices  1050  include speakers, printers, network interfaces, and monitors. 
     Graphics display system  1070  includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other suitable display device. Graphics display system  1070  is configurable to receive textual and graphical information and processes the information for output to the display device. Peripheral devices  1080  may include any type of computer support device to add additional functionality to the computer system. The components provided in the computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10    are those typically found in computer systems that may be suitable for use with embodiments of the present disclosure and are intended to represent a broad category of such computer components that are well known in the art. Thus, the computer system  1000  of  FIG.  10    can be a personal computer (PC), handheld computer system, telephone, mobile computer system, workstation, tablet, phablet, mobile phone, server, minicomputer, mainframe computer, wearable, or any other computer system. The computer may also include different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, and the like. Various operating systems may be used including UNIX, LINUX, WINDOWS, MAC OS, PALM OS, QNX ANDROID, IOS, CHROME, and other suitable operating systems. 
     The processing for various embodiments may be implemented in software that is cloud-based. In some embodiments, the computer system  1000  is implemented as a cloud-based computing environment, such as a virtual machine operating within a computing cloud. In other embodiments, the computer system  1000  may itself include a cloud-based computing environment, where the functionalities of the computer system  1000  are executed in a distributed fashion. Thus, the computer system  1000 , when configured as a computing cloud, may include pluralities of computing devices in various forms, as will be described in greater detail below. 
     In general, a cloud-based computing environment is a resource that typically combines the computational power of a large grouping of processors (such as within web servers) and/or that combines the storage capacity of a large grouping of computer memories or storage devices. Systems that provide cloud-based resources may be utilized exclusively by their owners or such systems may be accessible to outside users who deploy applications within the computing infrastructure to obtain the benefit of large computational or storage resources. 
     The cloud may be formed, for example, by a network of web servers that comprise a plurality of computing devices, such as the computer system  1000 , with each server (or at least a plurality thereof) providing processor and/or storage resources. These servers may manage workloads provided by multiple users (e.g., cloud resource customers or other users). Typically, each user places workload demands upon the cloud that vary in real-time, sometimes dramatically. The nature and extent of these variations typically depends on the type of business associated with the user. The present technology is described above with reference to example embodiments. Therefore, other variations upon the example embodiments are intended to be covered by the present disclosure.