Software modelling of network traffic filtering process in information system regulating the access to Internet content via HTTP

Abstract

One of the most popular ways to restrict the access to information hosted on the network, which is necessary to comply with the requirements of security, copyright, labor regime, etc., is filtering of requests to an Internet resource by its URL. It allows using a selective approach to information resources located on one and the same IP-address and prohibiting access when necessary. It can be considered as the most balanced in terms of the advantages and disadvantages. The authors carried out simulation computer modeling of the filtering process for the information web-system, in which a filtering device is built in using specially developed software. Filter processes requested flows to a server by a group of users connected to it and countered information from a server. All network interfaces were simulated by software, and all network data flows proceeded in the memory of the simulating computer. This approach allows eliminating the influence of the network infrastructure on the operation of the model. Two filtering methods: the standard method of preliminary analysis of requests and the proposed post-analysis method were compared in the process of modeling. The decrease of the average waiting time for a response from the web-server when a user request to a web-resource passed through the simulated filtering device, which worked in the post-analysis mode, up to 14% compared to the device that worked in standard mode were shown during computer simulation. Filter throughput increased by up to 54%.