Method and apparatus for processing labeled flows in a communications access network

• US 20050220022A1
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Bencheck, Michael U., DelRegno, Nick, McDysan, David E., Kotrla, Scott R., Turlington, Matthew W., Drake, William, Hardin, Ross S., Bengston, Lee D., Schell, Richard C., Chiu, Howard
• Granted Patent: US 7,869,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control

Abstract

A system and method is provided for managing access communications between the service edge of a communications service provider and a customer. Access communications are carried in the form of carrier-tagged flows, the communications traffic being appended with carrier tags having significance to handling of the traffic through access network elements. A building aggregation system is provided which couples to customer premise equipment and interfaces customer flows to carrier-tagged flows used in the access network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a service emulation instance mapping identifier associated with the first traffic flow;

receiving traffic via a first traffic flow;

determining a service emulation instance associated with the first traffic flow based on the service emulation instance mapping identifier; and

sending the traffic via the service emulation instance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the service emulation instance is pseudo-wire.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the service emulation instance mapping identifier is received from the service edge.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the service emulation instance mapping identifier is received at the customer premises.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending the traffic includes sending the traffic from the customer premises to the service edge.

6. A method for coupling a customer traffic flow to a service edge, comprising:

receiving traffic via a service emulation instance mapping identifier;

receiving a first traffic flow from customer premises equipment (CPE);

determining a service emulation instance associated with the first traffic flow based on the service emulation instance mapping identifier; and

sending the traffic to a service edge via the service emulation instance.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the service emulation instance mapping identifier is received from the service edge.

8. A method comprising:

receiving traffic via a first traffic flow from a service edge;

identifying a second traffic flow based on a flow id included with the first traffic flow;

removing the flow id from the first traffic flow; and

sending the traffic to customer premises equipment via the second traffic flow.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the flow id comprises a VLAN tag in accordance with 802.1q.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the flow id comprises a virtual networking identifier.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the flow id comprises a virtual circuit label.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the flow id includes a stackable virtual circuit label.

13. A method for network traffic, the method comprising:

receiving a first traffic flow on a first transport;

determining a first flow id associated with the first traffic flow; and

transmitting the first traffic flow on a second transport with the first flow id.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a second traffic flow with a second flow id on the second transport;

identifying the first transport based on the second flow id; and

transmitting the traffic flow on the first transport without the flow id.

15. A method for coupling customer traffic flow to a service edge, the method comprising:

receiving a traffic flow from customer premises equipment (CPE);

determining a service emulation instance associated with the traffic flow; and

sending the traffic flow to a service edge via the service emulation instance.