Micro-flow management

• US 20020057651A1
• Filed: 12/06/2001
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sable Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lawrence G. Roberts
• Inventors: Roberts, Lawrence G.
• Granted Patent: US 6,954,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5045 Making service definitions prior to deployment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/302 Route determination based on requested QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/38 Flow based routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/22 Traffic shaping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2483 involving identification of individual flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/283 in response to processing delays, e.g. caused by jitter or round trip time [RTT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes

Abstract

New switching technology relies upon state information for providing a previously unavailable degree of quality of service. In particular, by providing the ability to give service guarantees to uniquely identifiable sets of packets (“micro-flows”), different qualities of service can be offered for each transmission. The QoS associated with each micro-flow is characterized by a set of descriptors. These descriptors are communicated to each switch by the first packet of the micro-flow associated with the descriptors.

Claims

1. A method for managing data traffic through a network, the data traffic comprised of a plurality of microflows, the method comprising:

determining a capacity of a buffer containing a microflow based on a characteristic;

assigning an acceptable threshold value for the capacity of the buffer over a predetermined period of time;

delegating a portion of available bandwidth in the network to the microflow; and

using the buffer for damping jitter associated with the microflow.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a data rate value for the microflow to travel through the network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with guaranteed rate traffic.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with maximum rate traffic.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with available rate traffic.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a traffic characteristic.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein delegating the portion of available bandwidth further comprises dynamically setting a weighting factor to partition a bandwidth allocation for the microflow.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a packet discard time limit.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes a microflow burst.

10. A system for managing data traffic through a network, the data traffic comprised of a plurality of microflows, the system comprising:

a means for determining a capacity of a buffer containing a microflow based on a characteristic;

a means for assigning an acceptable threshold value for the capacity of the buffer over a predetermined period of time;

a means for delegating a portion of available bandwidth in the network to the microflow; and

a means for using the buffer for damping jitter associated with the microflow.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a meansfor assigning a data rate value for the microflow to travel through the network.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with guaranteed rate traffic.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with maximum rate traffic.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the data rate value and the characteristic corresponds with available rate traffic.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the characteristic is a traffic characteristic.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for delegating the portion of available bandwidth further comprises a means for dynamically setting a weighting factor to partition a bandwidth allocation for the microflow.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising a means for setting a packet discard time limit.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the characteristic includes a microflow burst.

20. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the packet discard time substructure is configured to address a burst size of a microflow.

21. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the packet discard time substructure, the weighting factor substructure, and the delay variation substructure are quality of service descriptors.

22. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein at least of the wherein the packet discard time substructure, the microflow timeout period substructure, the weighting factor substructure, and the delay variation substructure is used to determine a behavior of a microflow.

23. The microflow classification structure of claim 21, wherein a behavior of the microflow can be characterized as one from a group comprising an available rate traffic, a maximum rate traffic, and a guaranteed rate traffic.

24. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the packet discard time substructure comprises a value of less than 500 milliseconds.

25. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the weighting factor substructure comprises a value of zero.

26. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the weighting factor substructure comprises a value comprised of a percentage of available bandwidth in the network.

27. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, wherein the buffer value for the delay variation substructure is a time value less than 200 milliseconds.

28. The microflow classification structure of claim 19, further comprising a microflow timeout period substructure configured to provide a predetermined value for a duration to detect a microflow termination.

29. The microflow classification structure of claim 28, wherein the predetermined value for the microflow timeout period substructure comprises is less than 32 seconds.

19. In a network management system for controlling data traffic through a network, the data traffic comprised of a plurality of microflows, a microflow classification structure to determine data traffic type comprising:

a packet discard time substructure configured to provide a time value to ensure buffer capacity for a microflow;

a weighting factor substructure configured to partition available bandwidth among the plurality of microflows to be transmitted through the network; and

a delay variation substructure configured to provide a buffer value to dampen jitter in a transmission of the microflow.