Devices, systems, and methods for updating remote databases via flooded packet fragments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12411837-B2
Application number	US-202318310400-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2023
Priority date	May 1, 2023
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

A disclosed computing device may include (1) a storage device configured to store a database that identifies states of nodes included in a network and (2) circuitry configured to (A) receive one or more packet fragments that account for at least one change made to a state of one of the nodes in a transaction, (B) identify, among the packet fragments, a transaction identifier corresponding to the transaction and an indication of a total number of packet fragments representing the transaction, and (C) update the database to account for the change upon ensuring receipt of all the packet fragments representing the transaction based at least in part on the transaction identifier and the indication. Various other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computing device comprising:
a storage device configured to store a database that identifies states of nodes included in a network; and
circuitry configured to:
receive packet fragments that account for at least one change made to a state of one of the nodes in a transaction;
identify, in each of the packet fragments, a global transaction identifier that indicates the transaction and is represented by a single number;
identify, among the packet fragments, identifiers for the packet fragments; and
update the database to account for the change upon ensuring receipt of all the packet fragments based at least in part on the global transaction identifier and the identifiers for the packet fragments.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the packet fragments each comprise the global transaction identifier and a list of every other packet fragment representative of the transaction.

3. The computing device of claim 2 , wherein the list comprises a packet identifier for every other packet fragment representative of the transaction.

4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the packet fragments each include the global transaction identifier; and
at least one of the packet fragments includes information that identifies a cardinality of the packet fragments corresponding to the transaction.

5. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the information comprises a catalog that identifies a sequence of all the packet fragments representative of the transaction.

6. The computing device of claim 5 , wherein the catalog identifies which of the packet fragments represent the change relative to another transaction that preceded the transaction.

7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to update the database to reflect the state of the one of the nodes such that the database and the state of the one of the nodes are consistent with one another.

8. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
determine at least one dependency external to the transaction that is necessary for the database to reflect the state of the one of the nodes; and
address the dependency to ensure that the database reflects the state of the one of the nodes upon accounting for the change.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the dependency comprises at least one packet fragment representative of another transaction that preceded the transaction; and
the circuitry is further configured to address the dependency by awaiting receipt of the packet fragment representative of the another transaction before updating the database based at least in part on the packet fragment representative of the another transaction and the packet fragments representative of the transaction.

10. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the dependency comprises at least one packet fragment representative of another transaction that preceded the transaction; and
the circuitry is further configured to address the dependency by:
determining that the packet fragment representative of the another transaction has been rendered obsolete; and
updating the database based at least in part on the packet fragments representative of the transaction due at least in part to the packet fragment having been rendered obsolete.

11. The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine that the packet fragment representative of the another transaction has been rendered obsolete by at least one of:
identifying one of the packet fragments representative of the transaction that supplants the packet fragment representative of the another transaction in connection with the change; or
identifying a packet fragment representative of a further transaction that supplants the packet fragment representative of the another transaction in connection with the change.

12. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the packet fragments comprise a first fragment and a second fragment that both represent the transaction; and
the circuitry is further configured to:
receive the first fragment;
determine, based at least in part on the identifiers, that the second fragment is necessary to account for the change; and
in response to determining that the second fragment is necessary, awaiting receipt of the second fragment before updating the database based at least in part on the first fragment and the second fragment.

13. A system comprising:
a first node included in a network and configured to:
change a state of a database in a transaction; and
transmit packet fragments that account for the change through the network; and

a second node included in the network and configured to:
receive the packet fragments;
identify, in each of the packet fragments, a global transaction identifier that indicates the transaction and is represented by a single number;
identify, among the packet fragments, identifiers for the packet fragments; and
update an additional database to account for the change upon ensuring receipt of all the packet fragments.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the packet fragments each comprise the global transaction identifier and a list of every other packet fragment representative of the transaction.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the list comprises a packet identifier for every other packet fragment representative of the transaction.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein:
the packet fragments each include the global transaction identifier; and
at least one of the packet fragments includes information that identifies a cardinality of the packet fragments corresponding to the transaction.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the information comprises a catalog that identifies a sequence of all the packet fragments representative of the transaction.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the catalog identifies which of the packet fragments represent the change relative to another transaction that preceded the transaction.

19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the second node is further configured to update the additional database to reflect the state of the database such that the database and the additional database are consistent with one another.

20. A method comprising:
receiving packet fragments that account for at least one change made to a state of a node in a transaction;
identifying, in each of the packet fragments, a global transaction identifier that indicates the transaction and is represented by a single number;
identifying, among the packet fragments, identifiers for the packet fragments; and
updating a database to account for the change upon ensuring receipt of all the packet fragments based at least in part on the global transaction identifier and the identifiers for the packet fragments.

Assignees

• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Przygienda Antoni B
• Scudder John G
• Beeram Vishnu Pavan Kumar
• Hegde Shraddha
• Li Anthony Joseph
• Barth Jonathan C

Classifications

• G06F16/2379 Primary

  Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing · CPC title

• G06F16/2365

  Ensuring data consistency and integrity · CPC title

• H04L69/22

  Parsing or analysis of headers · CPC title

• H04L47/36

  by determining packet size, e.g. maximum transfer unit [MTU] · CPC title

• H04L45/32

  Flooding (denial of service attacks H04L63/1458) · CPC title