Session aggregator brokering of data stream communication

• US 10,536,373 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2019
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Bales, Mark R., Bertz, Lyle T., Paczkowski, Lyle W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Liang Che A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang, Kaylee J
• Application Number:
  US16/276,311
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: 709231, 709230, 709238, 709239
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/302 Route determination based on requested QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/64 using an overlay routing layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/70 Routing based on monitoring results
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks

Abstract

A system for proving secure streamed data sessions is disclosed. The system comprises a first computer system executing an orchestrator virtualized network function (VNF). The orchestrator VNF collects performance metrics on routers, receives a request for a secure streamed data session, analyzes the metrics based on the request, determines a secure routing path, creates a routing instruction set that defines the secure routing path, and transmits the routing instruction set to a session aggregator. The system further comprises a second computer system that executes the session aggregator in a trusted security zone. The session aggregator establishes trusted end-to-end communication links with a first edge router, a second edge router, and at least one of the plurality of routers and configures the routing instruction set into each of the CPE node, the first edge router, the second edge router, and the at least one router via the trusted end-to-end communication link.

Claims

1. A method of providing streamed data sessions over the Internet, comprising:

collecting a set of data communication performance metrics at a first time by an orchestrator virtualized network function (VNF) on a first plurality of routers associated with a first data network service provider and on a second plurality of routers associated with a second data network service provider, where the first data network service provider is different from the second data network service provider, where the orchestrator VNF is provided by execution on a virtual computing platform;

receiving a request for a streamed data session by the orchestrator VNF from a customer premises equipment (CPE) node, where the request identifies a service level agreement (SLA) to be supported by the streamed data session;

analyzing the set of data communication performance metrics based on the SLA identification in the request;

determining a first routing path in a first data network associated with the first plurality of routers and the CPE node by the orchestrator VNF based on the analyzing;

creating by the orchestrator VNF a first routing instruction set that defines the first routing path;

determining a second routing path in a second data network associated with the second plurality of routers by the orchestrator VNF based on the analyzing;

creating by the orchestrator VNF a second routing instruction set that defines the second routing path;

transmitting the first routing instruction set by the orchestrator VNF to a first session aggregator node associated with the first data network;

configuring at least some of the first plurality of routers by the first session aggregator node in accordance with the first routing instruction set;

transmitting the second routing instruction set by the orchestrator VNF to a second session aggregator node associated with the second data network; and

configuring at least some of the second plurality of routers by the second session aggregator node in accordance with the second routing instruction set, wherein the streamed data session is dynamically defined and initiated that crosses two different data networks without the use of a network-to-network interface (NNI) between the two different data networks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first routing path based on the analyzing comprises using an application layer traffic optimizer (ALTO) algorithm.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the CPE node couples a business local area network to the streamed data session.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the streamed data session couples the CPE node to an enterprise location.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the streamed data session couples the CPE node to a data center.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the set of data communication performance metrics comprises collection metrics that are less than a threshold time duration old.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the collection metrics are less than one day old.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the collection metrics are less than one hour old.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating by the orchestrator VNF a different routing instruction set;

transmitting by the orchestrator VNF the different routing instruction set to the first session aggregator node; and

configuring at least some of the first plurality of routers by the first session aggregator node in accordance with the different routing instruction set, wherein a throughput capacity of the streamed data session is expanded by configuring the different routing instruction set into at least some of the first plurality of routers.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the orchestrator VNF is triggered to create the different routing instruction set by analyzing updated metrics on the first plurality of routers and determining that additional throughput capacity is needed to meet the SLA associated with the streamed data session.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating by the orchestrator VNF a different routing instruction set;

transmitting by the orchestrator VNF the different routing instruction set to the first session aggregator node; and

configuring at least some of the first plurality of routers by the first session aggregator node in accordance with the different routing instruction set, wherein a throughput capacity of the streamed data session is reduced by configuring the different routing instruction set into at least some of the first plurality of routers.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the orchestrator VNF is triggered to create the different routing instruction set by analyzing updated metrics on the first plurality of routers and determining that reduced throughput capacity is sufficient to meet the SLA associated with the streamed data session.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating by the orchestrator VNF a different routing instruction set;

transmitting by the orchestrator VNF the different routing instruction set to the second session aggregator node; and

configuring at least some of the second plurality of routers by the second session aggregator node in accordance with the different routing instruction set, wherein a throughput capacity of the streamed data session is expanded by configuring the different routing instruction set into at least some of the second plurality of routers.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the orchestrator VNF is triggered to create the different routing instruction set by analyzing updated metrics on the second plurality of routers and determining that additional throughput capacity is needed to meet the SLA associated with the streamed data session.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating by the orchestrator VNF a different routing instruction set;

transmitting by the orchestrator VNF the different routing instruction set to the second session aggregator node; and

configuring at least some of the second plurality of routers by the second session aggregator node in accordance with the different routing instruction set, wherein a throughput capacity of the streamed data session is reduced by configuring the different routing instruction set into at least some of the second plurality of routers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the orchestrator VNF is triggered to create the different routing instruction set by analyzing updated metrics on the second plurality of routers and determining that reduced throughput capacity is sufficient to meet the SLA associated with the streamed data session.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of data communication performance metrics comprises a jitter metric.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of data communication performance metrics comprises a latency metric.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the latency metric is provided by the CPE node.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first plurality of routers or the second plurality of routers comprises a plurality of edge routers and a plurality of core routers.