Packet forwarding apparatus

• US 20060209688A1
• Filed: 12/02/2005
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Communication Technologies, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tsuge, Munetoshi, Oouchi, Ken
• Granted Patent: US 7,643,421 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/38 Flow based routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/60 Router architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/80 Ingress point selection by the source endpoint, e.g. selection of ISP or POP
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs

Abstract

A BAS/load balancer which combines the functions of a BAS (Broadband Access Server) providing a dynamic network connection to a user network, and a load balancing relaying the communications traffic of the user network to one of plural load balancing target apparatuses, and which can apply an arbitrary load balancing algorithm. When the BAS/load balancer of the invention sets up a dynamic connection between the user networks, the balancer determines the load balancing target apparatus which is a relay destination using an arbitrary load balancing algorithm for both send and receive communications traffic in the user network.

Claims

1. A packet forwarding apparatus for connecting a first and second communication apparatus via a network, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of load balancers for processing a packet

a memory and

a processor,

wherein the apparatus transmits a packet addressed to the second communication apparatus received from the first communication apparatus to one of said plurality of load balancers, and the apparatus transmits the packet processed by said one of said plurality of load balancers to the second communication apparatus; and

when said processor receives, from the first communication apparatus, a packet including information specifying a user of the first communication apparatus, said processor determines which of said plurality of load balancers transmitted the packet received from the first communication apparatus based on information specifying the user.

2. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information specifying the user of the first communication apparatus and information specifying the load balancer is stored in said memory.

3. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information specifying the user is information identifying a connection between the first communication apparatus and the packet forwarding apparatus.

4. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information identifying the connection between the first communication apparatus and the packet forwarding apparatus is a session identifier.

5. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information specifying the user is an IP address of the first communication apparatus.

6. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correspondence information specifying the IP address of the first communication apparatus and the information specifying the load balancer is stored in the memory;

and wherein when said processor receives a packet addressed to the first communication apparatus from the second communication apparatus, said processor decides to transmit the packet addressed to the first communication apparatus to the load balancer based on a destination IP address and the correspondence information of the packet addressed to the first communication apparatus.

7. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when said processor receives the packet including the information specifying the user of the first communication apparatus, said processor determines the load balancer which should process a packet received from the first communication apparatus according to a specific algorithm.

8. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a first and a second virtual communication apparatus, wherein said first virtual communication apparatus receives a packet addressed to said second communication apparatus from the first communication apparatus, and transmits this packet to said load balancer; and

said second virtual communication apparatus receives a packet from the load balancer, and transmits the packet to the second communication apparatus.

9. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said second virtual communication apparatus receives a packet addressed to the first communication apparatus from the second communication apparatus, and transmits the packet to the load balancer, and said first virtual communication apparatus receives a packet from the load balancer, and transmits the packet to the first communication apparatus.

10. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 8, comprising:

a plurality of first virtual communication apparatuses; and

a plurality of second virtual communication apparatuses.

11. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an authentication apparatus connected to the apparatus,

wherein when the interface receives a packet from the first communication apparatus, the interface transmits authentication data about the first communication apparatus to said authentication apparatus, and receives information specifying the user of the first communication apparatus from said authentication apparatus.

12. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processor determines which of said plurality of load balancers transmits a packet received from the first communication apparatus based on information specifying the user of the first communication apparatus, and information specifying a service level of the user;

correspondence information between information specifying the user, and information specifying the determined load balancer, is stored in the memory; and

the interface transmits a packet received from the first communication apparatus to the load balancing based on the correspondence information.

13. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 12, wherein information specifying a service level of a user is received and acquired from the first communication apparatus.

14. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

an authentication apparatus connected to the packet forwarding apparatus,

wherein information specifying said service level of the user is received and acquired from said authentication apparatus.

15. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 14, wherein remote authentication dial-in user service is used as a communication protocol with said authentication apparatus.

16. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein point-to-point protocol is used as a communication protocol with the first communication apparatus.

17. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein dynamic host configuration protocol is used as a connection protocol with the first communication apparatus.

18. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 11, wherein remote authentication dial-in user service is used as a communication protocol with said authentication apparatus.

19. The packet forwarding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pluralilty of load balancers are installed in the same apparatus.