32 lines
1.5 KiB
Plaintext
32 lines
1.5 KiB
Plaintext
[[ml-time-functions]]
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=== Time Functions
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The {xpackml} features include the following time functions:
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* `time_of_day`
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* `time_of_week`
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The time functions detect events that happen at unusual times, either of the day
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or of the week. These functions can be used to find unusual patterns of behavior,
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typically associated with suspicious user activity.
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[NOTE]
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====
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* The `time_of_day` function is not aware of the difference between days, for instance
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work days and weekends. When modeling different days, use the `time_of_week` function.
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In general, the `time_of_week` function is more suited to modeling the behavior of people
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rather than machines, as people vary their behavior according to the day of the week.
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* Shorter bucket spans (for example, 10 minutes) are recommended when performing a
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`time_of_day` or `time_of_week` analysis. The time of the events being modeled are not
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affected by the bucket span, but a shorter bucket span enables quicker alerting on unusual
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events.
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* Unusual events are flagged based on the previous pattern of the data, not on what we
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might think of as unusual based on human experience. So, if events typically occur
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between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., and event occurring at 3 p.m. is be flagged as unusual.
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* When Daylight Saving Time starts or stops, regular events can be flagged as anomalous.
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This situation occurs because the actual time of the event (as measured against a UTC
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baseline) has changed. This situation is treated as a step change in behavior and the new
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times will be learned quickly.
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====
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