Scalable and dynamic quality of service control
First Claim
1. A system for managing quality of service (QoS) for traffic flows generated by a plurality of hosts separated by one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said system comprising:
- a services manager, and a middleware module at at least one of the plurality of hosts, wherein said middleware module at the one host receives a QoS request for a traffic flow the host generates and conveys the QoS provisioning request to the services manager upon receiving the QoS request for the traffic flow, and wherein said services manager receives the QoS provisioning request from said middleware module, obtains a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value for the traffic flow if the networks the traffic flow traverses can support the flow, and if a DSCP value is obtained, conveys the obtained DSCP value for the traffic flow to said middleware module, and wherein said middleware module uses the obtained DSCP value received from the services manager to mark the DSCP field of packets of the traffic flow.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Applications and users dynamically make QoS provisioning requests for individual traffic flows traversing client and server hosts. A traffic flow provisioning request is conveyed to a services manager, which determines a set of traffic attributes for the flow and determines the networks the flow traverses between the client and server hosts. The services manger then oversees the admission of the flow to appropriate traffic classes in each determined network and the obtaining of a DSCP value for each network. Lastly, the services manger conveys the DSCP value of the first network traversed back to the client or server host, depending on the direction of the flow, which host is then configured to appropriately mark the DSCP field of the traffic flow packets. In a further embodiment, the services manager also instructs the client or server host to perform packet policing and shaping for the flow.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for managing quality of service (QoS) for traffic flows generated by a plurality of hosts separated by one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said system comprising:
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a services manager, and a middleware module at at least one of the plurality of hosts, wherein said middleware module at the one host receives a QoS request for a traffic flow the host generates and conveys the QoS provisioning request to the services manager upon receiving the QoS request for the traffic flow, and wherein said services manager receives the QoS provisioning request from said middleware module, obtains a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value for the traffic flow if the networks the traffic flow traverses can support the flow, and if a DSCP value is obtained, conveys the obtained DSCP value for the traffic flow to said middleware module, and wherein said middleware module uses the obtained DSCP value received from the services manager to mark the DSCP field of packets of the traffic flow. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7)
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6. The system of 5 wherein the services manager further conveys, when a DSCP value is obtained for the second traffic flow, packet policing and packet shaping instructions to the policy enforcement module, and
wherein the policy enforcement module uses the packet policing and packet shaping instructions received from the services manager to police and shape the packets of the second traffic flow.
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8. A services manager for managing quality of service (QoS) for traffic flows generated by a/plurality of hosts interconnected by one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said services manager comprising:
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means for receiving a QoS provisioning request for any given traffic flow, means for determining traffic attributes for the given traffic flow, means for obtaining a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value for the given traffic flow based on whether the networks the traffic flow traverses can support the flow given the determined traffic attributes, means for conveying an obtained DSCP value to a first of two hosts when the traffic flow is from a first to a second host. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system at a host for managing quality of service (QoS) for a plurality of traffic flows traversing one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said system comprising:
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a middleware control module for receiving QoS provisioning requests for the plurality of traffic flows and for conveying the requests to a services manager intended for determining which of the one or more networks any given traffic flow of the plurality of traffic flows traverses and for obtaining a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value that corresponds to a determined network that is traffic class enabled and is the first network the any given traffic flow traverses, and wherein the middleware control module is for receiving the determined DSCP values for one or more of the traffic flows generated by the host, and means responsive to the middleware control module for using the DSCP values for the one or more of the traffic flows generated by the host to mark the transmitted packets corresponding to these traffic flows. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A system at a host for managing quality of service (QoS) for a plurality of traffic flows traversing one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said system comprising:
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a signaling client for generating QoS provisioning requests for one or more of the plurality of traffic flows, a middleware control module for receiving the QoS provisioning requests and for conveying the requests to a services manager intended for determining which of the one or more networks any given traffic flow of the plurality of traffic flows traverses and for obtaining a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value that corresponds to a determined network that is traffic class enabled and is the first network the any given traffic flow traverses, and a policy enforcement module for receiving the determined DSCP values for the one or more of the plurality of traffic flows that are generated by the host wherein said policy enforcement module uses the DSCP values to mark the transmitted packets corresponding to the one or more of the plurality of traffic flows that are generated by the host. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method for managing quality of service (QoS) for traffic flows generated by a plurality of hosts interconnected by one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said method comprising:
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receiving a QoS provisioning request for any given traffic flow, determining traffic attributes for the given traffic flow, obtaining a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value for the given traffic flow based on whether the networks the traffic flow traverses can support the flow given the determined traffic attributes, conveying an obtained DSCP value to a first of two hosts when the traffic flow is from a first to a second host. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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20. The method 19 further comprising the step of conveying the obtained DSCP value to the second host when the traffic flow is from the second to the first host.
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24. A method executed by a first host for managing quality of service (QoS) for a plurality of traffic flows traversing one or more networks wherein at least one of the networks is enabled with a set of traffic classes, said method comprising:
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receiving a QoS provisioning request for any given traffic flow, conveying the request to a services manager intended for determining which of the one or more networks the any given traffic flow traverses and for obtaining a DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value corresponding to a determined network that is traffic class enabled and is the first network the traffic flow traverses, receiving the determined DSCP value when the given traffic flow is generated by the host, and marking the transmitted packets of the given traffic flow with the DSCP value. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification