Multiplexing several individual application sessions over a pre-allocated reservation protocol session

• US 20060056298A1
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Winterspring Digital LLC
• Original Assignee: Prominence Networks, Inc
• Inventors: Nag, Siddhartha, Alam, Naveed, D'Souza, Alfred
• Granted Patent: US 8,458,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2416 Real-time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/724 at intermediate nodes, e.g. resource reservation protocol [RSVP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/803 Application aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/828 Allocation of resources per group of connections, e.g. per group of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/83 based on usage prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for multiplexing application flows. According to one embodiment, a predetermined portion of available bandwidth is reserved over a path through a network communicatively coupling a first network device associated with a first set of terminals and a second network device associated with a second set of terminals for real-time communication sessions among multiple applications running on the first set of terminals and the second set of terminals as a real-time bandwidth pool. The real-time bandwidth pool is thereafter shared among multiple real-time communication sessions involving one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and one or more terminals in the second set of terminals by selectively admitting application sessions involving the one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and the one or more terminals in the second set of terminals based upon currently available resources in the real-time bandwidth pool.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

reserving a predetermined portion of available bandwidth over a path through a network communicatively coupling a first network device associated with a first set of terminals and a second network device associated with a second set of terminals for real-time communication sessions among a plurality of applications running on the first set of terminals and the second set of terminals as a real-time bandwidth pool; and

sharing the real-time bandwidth pool among a plurality of real-time communication sessions involving one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and one or more terminals in the second set of terminals by selectively admitting application sessions involving the one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and the one or more terminals in the second set of terminals based upon currently available resources in the real-time bandwidth pool.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said sharing the real-time bandwidth pool among a plurality of real-time communication sessions includes dynamically multiplexing application flows associated with the plurality of real-time communication sessions onto the pre-allocated reservation protocol session at the first network device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reservation protocol session comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) session.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the real-time communication sessions includes a H.323 session and a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) session.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

forming an encapsulated packet by appending a tag to a media packet received at the first network device from a source local application/endpoint associated with the first set of terminals, the tag including information to allow the second network device to determine a destination local application/endpoint associated with the second set of terminals; and

removing the tag at the second network device prior to forwarding the media packet to the destination local application/endpoint.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tag includes a network address associated with the source local application/endpoint.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the tag includes a network address associated with the destination local application/endpoint.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the tag includes a packet type indicator that specifies how to further identify a subprocess within the destination local application/endpoint.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein establishment of at least one application session associated with a real-time communication session of the plurality of real-time communication sessions involves use of H.323.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein establishment of at least one application session associated with a real-time communication session of the plurality of real-time communication sessions involves use of Session Initiation Protocol.

2. The method of claim 29, wherein said reserving a predetermined portion of available bandwidth includes pre-allocating a reservation protocol session over the path based upon an estimated usage of the path for real-time communications sessions among the plurality of applications.

12. A method comprising:

establishing a reservation protocol session over a path between a first network device associated with a first set of terminals and a second network device associated with a second set of terminals;

receiving, at the first network device from one or more of terminals in the first set of terminals, media streams associated with a plurality of application sessions involving the one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and one or more terminals in the second set of terminals; and

transferring the media streams from the first network device to the second network device over the path by multiplexing application flows associated with the plurality of application sessions onto the reservation protocol session.

13. A method comprising:

a first network device, acting as a reservation protocol proxy on behalf of a first set of terminals associated with a first network device, reserving a predetermined portion of available bandwidth over a path through a network communicatively coupling the first network device and a second network device associated with a second set of terminals for real-time communication sessions among a plurality of applications running on the first set of terminals and the second set of terminals as a real-time bandwidth pool; and

sharing the real-time bandwidth pool among a plurality of real-time communication sessions involving one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and one or more terminals in the second set of terminals by selectively admitting application sessions involving the one or more terminals in the first set of terminals and the one or more terminals in the second set of terminals based upon currently available resources in the real-time bandwidth pool.

14. A network device comprising:

one or more storage devices having stored therein one or more routines for establishing and managing a reservation protocol session between the network device, acting as a reservation protocol proxy on behalf of a local set of terminals and another network device, acting as a reservation protocol proxy on behalf of a remote set of terminals;

one or more processors coupled to the one or more storage devices for executing the one or more routines to allocate the reservation protocol session and thereafter share the reservation protocol session among a plurality of individual application sessions involving one or more terminals in the local set of terminals and one or more terminals in the remote set of terminals, where;

the plurality of individual application sessions are established between one or more local application/endpoints running on the one or more terminals in the local set of terminals and one or more remote application/endpoints running on the one or more terminals in the remote set of terminals, and

the reservation protocol session is shared by multiplexing outbound media packets originated by the one or more local application/endpoints onto the reservation protocol session, and demultiplexing inbound media packets originated by the one or more remote application/endpoints from the reservation protocol session.