Method and system for routing broadband internet traffic
First Claim
1. A routing device comprising:
- a plurality of ports that input and output network traffic that is separated into at least one channel per port;
a plurality of network interfaces, each comprising at least one channel; and
a plurality of routers, wherein any one of the plurality of network interfaces is assigned to any one of the plurality of individual routers.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing broadband Internet access, possibly on a wholesale basis. High-bandwidth Internet traffic over an Internet backbone is channelized onto input/output ports of a routing device. The routing device contains multiple, individual, full-function routers, each capable of routing at least some portion of the high-bandwidth Internet traffic. The channels and/or ports are grouped to define a network interface, and traffic over the network interface is assigned to one of the individual routers for processing. Routing and forwarding information is stored on a plurality of line cards, which forward the Internet traffic at line speed once routing instantiations are performed by the routers. A network interface and router(s) can be assigned to a customer, either for the customer to use or to provide to a secondary user. Customer access can be altered as needed, simply by reassigning, adding or removing the router(s) and/or line card(s). Each of the routers are logically and physically independent of one another, to provide reliability and flexibility in routing the Internet traffic. In one embodiment, all of the routers and associated ports and line cards are contained within a single chassis.
168 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A routing device comprising:
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a plurality of ports that input and output network traffic that is separated into at least one channel per port;
a plurality of network interfaces, each comprising at least one channel; and
a plurality of routers, wherein any one of the plurality of network interfaces is assigned to any one of the plurality of individual routers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32)
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16. The routing device of claim l, wherein the plurality of routing devices are logically and physically independent of one another.
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18. An apparatus for routing data in accordance with routing schemes for a plurality of customers, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of input/output modules, each module including at least one port including at least one data channel, a plurality of independent routers each having associated therewith a plurality of data channels; and
a control fabric coupled to said input/output modules;
wherein one of said plurality of input/output modules includes a plurality of channels, a first subset of which are associated with a first one of said plurality of independent routers and a second subset of which are associated with a second one of said plurality of independent routers.
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23. An apparatus for routing data in accordance with routing schemes for a plurality of customers, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of input/output modules, each module including at least one port, including at least one data channel;
a plurality of routing modules, wherein one of said plurality of routing modules includes a plurality of routing tables wherein said plurality of routing tables define routing requirements for a plurality of routers; and
a router fabric coupled between said plurality of input/output modules and said plurality of routing modules.
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29. A method for managing data flow in a data routing environment, the method comprising:
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receiving first data packets on a first channel of an input/output module;
querying a first router for routing information for the received first data packets;
routing said first data packets through a control fabric, based on a response to the querying of the first router;
receiving second data packets on a second channel of the input/output module;
querying a second router for routing information for the received second data packets; and
routing said second data packets through the control fabric, based on a response to the querying of the second router.
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33. A method of routing and forwarding network traffic, comprising:
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defining a network interface by assigning at least one channel on an input/output port to the network interface;
assigning the network interface to any one of a plurality of routers;
assigning the interface and the router to a user;
inputting the network traffic through the interface; and
routing and forwarding the network traffic using the assigned router. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification