Method and apparatus for prioritizing encrypted traffic at an intermediate node in a communications network

• US 20060172722A1
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Vikberg, Jari Tapio, Nylander, Tomas, Hallenstal, Magnus, Christensen, Lars-Torholm
• Granted Patent: US 7,506,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/17 Interaction among intermediate nodes, e.g. hop by hop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2416 Real-time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/36 by determining packet size, e.g. maximum transfer unit [MTU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for prioritizing encrypted traffic at an intermediate node within a communications network. The present invention provides a method and an intermediate node that prioritizes the processing of a packet based on one or more size-based criteria, the packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload. The one or more size-based criteria are satisfied whenever a size of the received packet is equal to a packet size limit, the size of the received packet is less than or equal to the packet size limit, the size of the received packet is less than the packet size limit, or the size of the received packet is within a range of the packet size limit.

Claims

1. A method of prioritizing encrypted packets at an intermediate node within a communications network comprising the steps of:

receiving a packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload; and

processing the received packet at a higher priority whenever the received packet satisfies one or more size-based criteria.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the intermediate node comprises an access point, a modem, a router or a switch.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a size of the received packet from one of the headers.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the received packet satisfies the one or more size-based criteria whenever a size of the received packet is equal to a packet size limit, the size of the received packet is less than or equal to the packet size limit, the size of the received packet is less than the packet size limit, or the size of the received packet is within a range of the packet size limit.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the packet size limit comprises a downlink packet size limit and an uplink packet size limit.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the packet size limit is set to process a voice packet at a higher priority than one or more other packet types.

7. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the packet size limit is less than 272 bytes.

8. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the packet size limit comprises a minimum packet size limit and a maximum size limit.

9. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the packet size limit comprises a fixed value or a dynamic value.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising the step of determining the dynamic value for the packet size limit by setting the packet size limit to a size of the received packet whenever the size of the received packet corresponds to a voice packet and a total number of the voice packets have been received within a first time period.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising the step of clearing the packet size limit whenever no voice packets have been received within a second time period.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of processing the packet at a second higher priority whenever the received packet satisfies the one or more size-based criteria and one of the headers of the received packet contains a specified priority indicator.

13. A method comprising the step of prioritizing the processing of a packet at an intermediate node within a communications network based on one or more size-based criteria, the packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the packet satisfies the one or more size-based criteria whenever a size of the packet is equal to a packet size limit, the size of the packet is less than or equal to the packet size limit, the size of the packet is less than the packet size limit, or the size of the packet is within a range of the packet size limit.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the packet size limit is set to process a voice packet at a higher priority than one or more other packet types.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium comprising a code segment for prioritizing the processing of a packet at an intermediate node within a communications network based on one or more size-based criteria, the packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload.

17. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for prioritizing encrypted packets at an intermediate node within a communications network comprising:

a code segment for receiving a packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload; and

a code segment for processing the received packet at a higher priority whenever the received packet satisfies one or more size-based criteria.

18. An intermediate node within a communications network that prioritizes the processing of a packet based on one or more size-based criteria, the packet comprising one or more headers and an encrypted payload.

19. The intermediate node as recited in claim 18, wherein the packet satisfies the one or more size-based criteria whenever a size of the packet is equal to a packet size limit, the size of the packet is less than or equal to the packet size limit, the size of the packet is less than the packet size limit, or the size of the packet is within a range of the packet size limit.

20. The intermediate node as recited in claim 19, wherein the packet size limit is set to process a voice packet at a higher priority than one or more other packet types.