Method and apparatus for computing priorities between conflicting rules for network services

摘要

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that resolves conflicts between rules for network services. During operation, the system receives a set of network service rules for network data traffic from multiple network services, wherein network service rules from different network services can possibly conflict. Next, the system identifies conflicts between pairs of network service rules in the set of network service rules. The system then determines a priority relationship between each pair of conflicting network service rules, and assigns priorities to the network service rules in a manner consistent with the determined priority relationships. This allows conflicts between network service rules to be subsequently resolved based on the assigned priorities.