Reliable telemetry

Abstract

A system and methods for reliable telemetry are disclosed herein. In an example of reliable in-band telemetry in a communications network, intent information for a destination device may be generated at a network device indicating a type of telemetry data to be collected. The network device may update a locally stored invertible Bloom function (IBF) by applying one or more hash function to the intent information, a destination identifier (ID) associated with the destination device, and/or a local timestamp, and periodically forward the locally stored IBF to the destination device. The network device may receive a notification message by the destination device that the intent information is missing at the destination device and re-forward the intent information to the destination device. In another example, a network device may maintain and periodically forward a locally stored IBF based on response data and the destination ID.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A network device comprising:
 a processor coupled to at least one interface;   the processor and the at least one interface configured to:
 generate intent information for a destination device, wherein the intent information indicates a type of telemetry data to be collected along a network path to the destination device; 
 update a locally stored invertible Bloom function (IBF) by applying at least one hash function to at least the intent information and a destination identifier (ID) associated with the destination device; and 
 periodically forward the locally stored IBF to the destination device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The network device of a  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 forward the intent information to the destination device, wherein the locally stored IBF is forwarded with the intent information.   
     
     
         3 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 receive a notification message that the intent information is missing at the destination device based at least in part on the locally stored IBF; and   re-forward the intent information to the destination device.   
     
     
         4 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 apply the at least one hash function to a local timestamp in addition to the intent information and the destination ID to update the locally stored IBF.   
     
     
         5 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 periodically receive a destination IBF calculated at the destination device; and   compute a set different between the locally stored IBF and the destination IBF to determine if the intent information is missing at the destination device.   
     
     
         6 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 apply a digital signature to the intent information.   
     
     
         7 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 apply a keyed hash function to at least a secret symmetric key and a packet or frame to generate a keyed hash function value; and   forward the keyed hash function value with the locally stored IBF in the packet or frame to the destination device.   
     
     
         8 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 generate second intent information for a second destination device, wherein the second intent information indicates a type of telemetry data to be collected along a second network path to the second destination device;   update a second locally stored IBF by applying at least a second hash function to at least the second intent information and a destination identifier (ID) associated with the second destination device; and   periodically forward the second locally stored IBF to the second destination device.   
     
     
         9 . A network device comprising:
 a processor coupled to at least one interface;   the processor and the at least one interface configured to:
 receive a packet or frame including intent information, wherein the intent information indicates a type of telemetry data to be collected along a network path to a destination device; 
 read and translate the intent information to generate a device-specific action; 
 execute the device-specific action to generate a local response corresponding to the intent information; 
 encode the local response; 
 update a locally stored invertible Bloom function (IBF) by applying at least one hash function to at least the local response and a destination identifier (ID) associated with the destination device; and 
 periodically forward the locally stored IBF to the destination device. 
   
     
     
         10 . The network device of a  claim 9 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 forward the encoded local response to the destination device, wherein the locally stored IBF is forwarded with the encoded local response.   
     
     
         11 . The network device of a  claim 9 , wherein the packet or frame further includes a plurality of responses generated by other devices along the network path, and wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 apply the least one hash function to the plurality of responses in addition to the local response and the destination ID to update the locally stored IBF; and   append the local response to the plurality of responses carried un the packet or frame.   
     
     
         12 . The network device of  claim 9 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 receive a notification message that the response is missing at the destination device based at least in part on the locally stored IBF; and   re-forward the local response to the destination device.   
     
     
         13 . The network device of  claim 9 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 receive a secret symmetric key;   apply a keyed hash function to at least the secret symmetric key and the packet or frame to generate a keyed hash function value; and   forward the keyed hash function value with the locally stored IBF to the destination device.   
     
     
         14 . The network device of  claim 9 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 periodically receive a destination IBF calculated at the destination device; and   compute a set different between the locally stored IBF and the destination IBF to determine if the local response is missing at the destination device.   
     
     
         15 . The network device of  claim 9 , wherein the processor and the at least one interface are further configured to:
 receive a second packet or frame including second intent information, wherein the second intent information indicates a type of telemetry data to be collected along a second network path to a second destination device;   read and translate the second intent information to generate a second device-specific action;   execute the second device-specific action to generate a second local response corresponding to the second intent;   encode the second local response;   update a second locally stored IBF by applying at least a second hash function to at least the second local response and a destination ID associated with the second destination device; and   periodically forward the second locally stored IBF to the second destination device.   
     
     
         16 . A method performed by a network device, the method comprising:
 generating intent information for a destination device, wherein the intent information indicates a type of telemetry data to be collected along a network path to the destination device;   updating a locally stored invertible Bloom function (IBF) by applying at least one hash function to at least the intent information and a destination identifier (ID) associated with the destination device; and   periodically forwarding the locally stored IBF to the destination device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of a  claim 16 , further comprising:
 forwarding the intent information to the destination device, wherein the locally stored IBF is forwarded with the intent information.   
     
     
         18 . The method of a  claim 16 , further comprising::
 receiving a notification message that the intent information is missing at the destination device based at least in part on the locally stored IBF; and   re-forwarding the intent information to the destination device.   
     
     
         19 . The method of a  claim 16 , further comprising:
 applying the at least one hash function to a local timestamp in addition to the intent information and the destination ID to update the locally stored IBF.   
     
     
         20 . The method of a  claim 16 , further comprising:
 periodically receiving a destination IBF calculated at the destination device; and   computing a set different between the locally stored IBF and the destination IBF to determine if the intent information is missing at the destination device.