Analysis of operator errors in routing policy configurations

Routing policy configurations are one of the crucial element of network configurations since they deal with a network's connectivity, quality of service, and security. However, the languages and user interfaces used to configure routing policies are not well suited to network operators' needs. This often leads to configuration errors and lengthens the time taken to resolve problems. To better understand the causes of this problem, we analyze configuration errors that we collected in four production networks over an eight-month period. We also learn from network operators, who provide feedback about the features that cause mistakes and delays. We observe that current routing policy configuration management have four major problems, including both technical and usability problems: (i) the large number of obsolete and irrelevant configurations, (ii) subtle interactions with multiple relevant technologies, (iii) the overlapping, complex set of configuration options, and (iv) insufficient support for the efficient reuse of common configuration segments. Based on this observation, we propose a set of guidelines for creating more usable configuration management.