Detection and Localization of Network Black Holes

— Internet backbone networks are under constant flux, struggling to keep up with increasing demand. The pace of technology change often outstrips the deployment of associated fault monitoring capabilities that are built into today’s IP protocols and routers. Moreover, some of these new technologies cross networking layers, raising the potential for unanticipated interactions and service disruptions that the built-in monitoring systems cannot detect. In such instances, failures may cause data packets to be silently dropped inside the network without triggering any alarms or responses (e.g., the failure is not routed around). So-called “silent failures” or “black holes” represent a critical threat to today’s rapidly evolving networks. In this paper, we present a simple and effective method to detect and diagnose such silent failures. Our method uses active measurement between edge routers to raise alarms whenever endto-end connectivity is disrupted, regardless of the cause...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Ramana Rao Kompella, Jennifer Yates, Albert G. Greenberg, Alex C. Snoeren
• Keywords: Black Holes, Communications, Fault Monitoring Capabilities, INFOCOM 2007, Silent Failures