A method and system for profiling network flows at a measurement point within
a
computer network is provided. The method includes measuring network flows having
invariant features at a measurement point located within routing infrastructure
of the computer network to obtain flow statistics. The method also includes aggregating
the flow statistics to obtain a traffic profile of the network flows at the measurement
point. The method and system utilize the natural hierarchy in the Internet addressing
scheme to provide a means for making tractable measurements of network traffic
in high-speed networks. Moreover, the method and system adapt dynamically to the
changing underlying traffic characteristics to maintain a maximum memory footprint
for the profiles. The method and system adapt by adjusting the level of aggregation
of the traffic endpoints along a scale from Interface to fully specified network address.