Communications networks with converged services
First Claim
1. A method of providing a communications system to a plurality of customers, comprising:
- providing, on a communications network, at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) accessible by a first set of customers for a shared service, permitting communication between users of different customers subscribed to that service; and
providing, on the communications network, at least one private data VPN for handling private customer information, the at least one private data VPN being associated With a respective customer.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A communications network provides one or more shared services, such as voice or video, to customers over a respective virtual private network (VPN). At the same time, each customer may have its own private data VPN for handling private company data. The shared service VPN permits users from different customers to communicate directly over the shared service VPN. Trust and security are established at the edge of the network, as the information enters from the customer'"'"'s site. As a result, no additional security measures are required within the shared service VPN for the communications between users. This architecture results in a fast, high quality, shared service.
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Citations
106 Claims
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1. A method of providing a communications system to a plurality of customers, comprising:
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providing, on a communications network, at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) accessible by a first set of customers for a shared service, permitting communication between users of different customers subscribed to that service; and
providing, on the communications network, at least one private data VPN for handling private customer information, the at least one private data VPN being associated With a respective customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A communications system for providing communications services to a plurality of customers, comprising:
a communications network configured with at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN), at least a first set of customers being connected respectively to the at least one shared service VPN for sharing a respective service on the at least one shared service VPN, and at least one private data VPN for handling private customer information, the at least one private data VPN being associated with a respective customer. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A system for providing centralized services to customers on a converged service network, comprising:
a communications network configured with at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) accessible by multiple customers to receive a service in a shared environment on the converged service network; and
a central services VPN, common service units being connected to the central services VPN, the central services VPN being connected to the at least one shared service VPN via at least one security device. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method for providing centralized services to customers on a converged service, communications network, comprising:
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providing at least one shared virtual private network (VPN) accessible by multiple customers to receive a service in a shared environment on the converged service network;
providing a central services VPN;
connecting common service units to the central services VPN; and
connecting the central services VPN to the at least one shared service VPN via at least one security device. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A system for connecting a customer to a communications network, comprising:
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a customer edge (CE) router;
a provider edge (PE) router; and
a connection between the CE router and the PE router;
wherein the CE router is configured to select a VPN over which an IP packet received from the customer is to travel, the CE router selecting from i) at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) connected to the PE router and configured for providing a shared service to multiple customers on the communications network and ii) a private data VPN (PD-VPN) connected to the PE router. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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78. A method of connecting a customer to a communications network having at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) for providing a shared service to multiple customers and a private data VPN (PD-VPN), the method comprising:
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selecting a VPN from i) at least the one shared service virtual private network (VPN) connected to a PE router and configured for providing a shared service to multiple customers on the communications network and ii) a private data VPN (PD-VPN) connected to the PE router; and
directing IP traffic to the selected VPN. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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92. A method of directing IP traffic from a customer onto a communications network configured with at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) and at least one private data VPN (PD-VPN), the method comprising:
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determining which VPN the IP traffic is to be directed to from i) the at least the one shared service VPN and ii) a private data VPN (PD-VPN); and
applying quality of service (QoS) rules to the IP traffic based on the determined VPN. - View Dependent Claims (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99)
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100. A communications system providing converged IP services to customers, the system comprising:
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a communications network configured with at least one shared service virtual private network (VPN) for providing a shared service a first set of the customers and at least one private data VPN (PD-VPN) for carrying private data of at least one respective customer, the network including at least one customer edge (CE) router configured to determine which VPN, from i) the at least the one shared service VPN and ii) a private data VPN (PD-VPN), IP traffic received from an associated customer is to be directed to, the CE router further being configured to apply quality of service (QoS) rules to the IP traffic based on the determined VPN. - View Dependent Claims (101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106)
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Specification