Method and system of dispatching socks traffic using type of service (TOS) field of IP datagrams

• US 20010023451A1
• Filed: 01/05/2001
• Published: 09/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines SA (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Hericourt, Olivier
• Granted Patent: US 7,082,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1006 with static server selection, e.g. the same server being selected for a specific client
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method of dispatching an IP datagram comprising socks traffic on a socks server, in an Internet Protocol (IP) network comprising a plurality of socks servers, the IP datagram comprising an IP header comprising a Type Of Service (TOS) field. The method comprises in a socks dispatcher the steps of retrieving the value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field from the IP header of the IP datagram and selecting a socks server referring to a first table, said first table defining for each value of the TOS field one or a plurality of socks servers. The IP datagram is sent by an IP network device with a given priority. The step of retrieving the value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field is followed by the further step of determining the priority of the IP datagram by referring to a second table, the second table defining a priority for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field. The IP datagram comprising data according to a given application level protocol, the step of determining the priority of the IP datagram comprises the further step of determining the application level protocol of data transported in the IP datagram by referring to the second table, the second table defining a priority and an application level protocol for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field. In case of congestion in one or a plurality of output queues, the step of determining the priority of the IP datagram is followed by the further steps of discarding in the one or plurality of output queues IP datagrams having the lowest priority until there is no more congestion, and discarding the IP datagram when said IP datagram compared with IP datagrams in said one or plurality of output queues, has the lowest priority.

Claims

1. A method of dispatching an IP datagram comprising socks traffic on a socks server, in an Internet Protocol (IP) network comprising a plurality of socks servers, said IP datagram comprising an IP header comprising a Type Of Service (TOS) field, said method comprising the steps of:

in a socks dispatcher;

retrieving the value of a Type Of Service (TOS) field from the IP header of the IP datagram; and

selecting a socks server \ referring to a first table \, said first table defining for each value of the TOS field one or a plurality of socks servers.

2. The method according to

claim 1

wherein said IP datagram is sent by an IP network device with a given priority, and wherein said step of retrieving the value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field is followed by the further step of:

in the socks dispatcher;

determining the priority of the IP datagram by referring to a second table, said second table defining a priority for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field.

3. The method according to

claim 2

wherein said IP datagram comprises data according to a given application level protocol, said step of determining the priority of the IP datagram comprising the further step of:

determining the application level protocol of data transported in said IP datagram by referring to said second table , said second table defining a priority and an application level protocol for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field .

4. The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein in case of congestion in one or a plurality of output queues, said step of determining the priority of the IP datagram is followed by the further steps of:

discarding in said one or plurality of output queues IP datagrams having the lowest priority until there is no more congestion, and

discarding the IP datagram when said IP datagram compared with IP datagrams in said one or plurality of output queues, has the lowest priority.

5. The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein said first table comprises for each sock server:

an identifier, preferably an address,

one or a plurality of TOS field values,

optionally, a sock server capacity,

optionally, application level protocols supported by the socks server.

6. The method according to

claim 2

comprising the initial steps of:

configuring said first and second tables,

defining a default socks server for values of the Type Of Service (TOS) field not defined in the first table, and

defining a default priority and optionally a default application level protocol for values of the Type Of Service (TOS) field not defined in the second table.

7. The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the step of selecting a socks server referring to a first table, said first table defining for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field one or a plurality of socks servers, comprises the further steps of:

determining the number of socks servers defined for the value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field retrieved from the IP datagram;

if only one socks server is defined in the first table, forwarding the IP datagram to said socks server, and

if more that one socks server is defined in the first table, forwarding the IP datagram to a socks server selected according to its capacity and the priority of the IP datagram.

8. A socks dispatcher comprising:

an ip network comprising a plurality of socks servers, and

an IP datagram comprising an IP header, said IP header comprising a Type of Service (TOS) field wherein said socks dispatcher

retrieves a value of said TOS field from the IP header of the IP datagram, and

selects a socks server referring to a first table, said first table defining for each value of the TOS field, one or a plurality of socks servers.

9. A dispatcher according to

claim 8

further comprising an IP network device wherein said IP datagram is sent by said IP network device with a given priority, and wherein said retrieving step is followed by a step of:

determining the priority of the IP datagram by referring to a second table, said second table defining a priority for each value of the Type of Service (TOS) field.

10. A computer program product having computer readable program code for dispatching an IP datagram comprising socks traffic on a socks server, in an Internet Protocol (IP) network comprising a plurality of socks servers, said IP datagram comprising an IP header comprising a Type Of Service (TOS) field, said computer readable program code comprising the steps of:

in a socks dispatcher;

computer readable program code means for retrieving the value of a Type Of Service (TOS) field from the IP header of the IP datagram; and

computer readable program code means for selecting a socks server referring to a first table, said first table defining for each value of the TOS field one or a plurality of socks servers.

11. The computer program product according to

claim 10

wherein said IP datagram is sent by an IP network device with a given priority, and wherein said step of retrieving the value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field is followed by the further step of:

in the socks dispatcher;

computer readable program code means for determining the priority of the IP datagram by referring to a second table, said second table defining a priority for each value of the Type Of Service (TOS) field.