Elephant flow detection in network access

摘要

A network element connected to a data network holds a flow of data packets in a queue and periodically determines a metric of the queue. Responsively to a predetermined value of the metric the queue is associated with an elephant flow or a mouse flow. The packets are marked according to the associated flow, and the network element sends the marked packets into the data network. Other network elements process the packets according to the associated flow marked therein.