Scout: A Framework for Querying Networks

There are two kinds of network data: Network telemetry (e.g. packet counters) and business data (e.g. user roles). Existing approaches to querying network data keep these separate, increasing the number and complexity of queries users must write to answer questions about networks. We present Scout, a framework for creating tools which combine these two types of data. It is comprised of: An information model which can represent both network telemetry and business-domain data in use-case-specific schemas; a nascent query language for this information model; and an algorithm for executing queries on schemas. A preliminary evaluation showed that a Scout-based tool can answer questions pertaining to both network telemetry and business data, and reduces the knowledge and number of queries needed to answer realistic questions about networks.