Network element and a method for preventing a disorder of a sequence of data packets traversing the network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for preventing a disorder of a sequence of data packets from an input port to an output port of a multiport network element, wherein a plurality of local paths interconnect the input port of the network element to the output port of the network element the method comprising the steps of:
- mapping flow class indications to local paths across each network element, each local path interconnecting a pair of input port and output port of the network element, a flow class indication being representative of a class of flows to which the data packet belongs;
receiving a data packet at the input port and processing a portion of the data packet to determine a destination output port and to provide a flow class indication;
selecting a selected local path across the network element in view of the destination output port, the flow class indication and the mapping between the flow class indication and the local paths across the network element; and
providing the data packet to the selected local path.
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Abstract
The invention provides a network element and method for preventing a disorder of a sequence of data packets traversing a network. Each network element balances the traffic load among local paths across the network element by applying a distribution function such as a hashing function. Data packets that belong to the same class of flows are sent to the same local path across the network element.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A method for preventing a disorder of a sequence of data packets from an input port to an output port of a multiport network element, wherein a plurality of local paths interconnect the input port of the network element to the output port of the network element the method comprising the steps of:
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mapping flow class indications to local paths across each network element, each local path interconnecting a pair of input port and output port of the network element, a flow class indication being representative of a class of flows to which the data packet belongs;
receiving a data packet at the input port and processing a portion of the data packet to determine a destination output port and to provide a flow class indication;
selecting a selected local path across the network element in view of the destination output port, the flow class indication and the mapping between the flow class indication and the local paths across the network element; and
providing the data packet to the selected local path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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15. In a network comprising of a plurality of interconnected network elements and configured to accommodate a plurality of optical paths across the network, a method for selecting a local path across a network element, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating and storing at each network element a look up table, the look up table stores sets of local paths across the network element, each set associated with an optical path indication;
receiving a data packet and an attached optical path indication;
processing the data packet to provide a class flow indication;
looking up the switched level path indication and the class flow indication at the look up table to retrieve a selected local path across the network element; and
providing the data packet across the selected local path.
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28. A network element comprising:
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a network control component configured to establish optical path across a network including the network element;
a local control component configured to;
(a) map local paths across the network element to flow class indications, (b) receive a data packet, (c) process the data packet to generate flow class indications, and (d) configure an intermediate module in view of the generated flow class indication and of the mapping of local paths;
a flow class indication being representative of a class flows to which the data packet belong; and
a plurality input ports and output ports interconnected by a configurable intermediate module, the configurable intermediate module, the input and output ports configured to accommodate a plurality of local paths.
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41. A method for preventing a disorder of a sequence of data packets traversing a network, the network comprises a plurality of network elements interconnected by optical links, the network is configured to accommodate a plurality of optical paths, each optical path comprises a plurality of local paths across network elements, each local path starts at an input port of a network element and ends at an output port of the network element, the method comprising the steps of:
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establishing optical paths , each optical path characterized by a set of selected pairs of input ports and output ports of network elements;
mapping flow class indications to local paths across each network element, each local path interconnecting a pair of selected input port and output port of the network element, a flow class indication being representative of a class of flows to which the data packet belongs;
receiving a data packet at an ingress edge network element and selecting an optical path;
sending the data packet across the optical path;
wherein at each network element along the selected optical path performing the steps of;
receiving a data packet and processing a portion of the data packet to provide a flow class indication;
selecting a selected local path across the network element in view of the flow class indication and the mapping between the flow class indication and the local paths across the network element; and
providing the data packet to the selected local path. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification