System and Method for Providing Session Admission Control

• US 20070076603A1
• Filed: 11/17/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acme Packet Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Acme Packet Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Penfield, Robert, MeLampy, Patrick, Klett, Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for providing session admission control are provided. Generally, a source of a communication request and a session director are utilized. The session director allocates bandwidth to accommodate a bandwidth allocation request from the source, ensures that quantity of the allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets from the source to the session director, and ensures that quality of service of the allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide a flow of the multimedia packets via the allocated bandwidth.

Claims

1. A method of providing session admission control, comprising the steps of:

allocating bandwidth to accommodate a bandwidth allocation request;

ensuring that quantity of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets; and

ensuring that quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide a flow of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said bandwidth allocation request is a session initiation protocol (SIP) request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said bandwidth allocation request is received at an edge of a network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of allocating bandwidth, further comprises the step of:

allocating a measure of bandwidth that is equivalent to a maximum supported type of bandwidth allowed by said source that receives said bandwidth allocation request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of ensuring that quantity of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets, further comprises the steps of:

comparing said allocated bandwidth to a maximum bandwidth allowed by an originating realm where said source of said bandwidth allocation request is located;

allowing said transmission of said multimedia packets if said allocated bandwidth is smaller than said maximum bandwidth allowed by said originating realm; and

not allowing said transmission of said multimedia packets if said allocated bandwidth is larger than said maximum bandwidth allowed by said originating realm.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of ensuring that quantity of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets, further comprises the step of:

allocating bandwidth for a part of realm in which said originating realm is located, if said quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide said multimedia packet flow via said allocated bandwidth.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of ensuring that quality of service of said allocated bandwidth, further comprises the steps of:

determining a bandwidth quality of said allocated bandwidth by searching and retrieving a quality of service score associated with an originating realm where a source of said bandwidth allocation request is located;

comparing said retrieved quality of service score to a default bandwidth quality level required for transmission of multimedia packets from said source;

allowing transmission of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth if said retrieved quality of service score is more than said default bandwidth quality level; and

not allowing transmission of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth if said retrieved quality of service score is less than said default bandwidth quality level.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said quality of service score is a numerical representation of bandwidth quality based upon measured jitter, packet loss and latency of multimedia packet flows originating from said originating realm.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of ensuring that quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide said flow of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth, further comprises the step of:

determining quality of bandwidth allocated for a part of realm in which said originating realm is located.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing said multimedia packet flow via said allocated bandwidth, if said bandwidth is allocated and said quality of service is appropriate.

11. A system for providing session admission control, comprising:

means for allocating bandwidth to accommodate a bandwidth allocation request;

means for ensuring that quantity of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets; and

means for ensuring that quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide a multimedia packet flow via said allocated bandwidth.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for providing said multimedia packet flow via said allocated bandwidth if said bandwidth is allocated and said quality of service is appropriate.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for allocating a measure of bandwidth that is equivalent to a maximum supported type of bandwidth allowed by said source that receives said bandwidth allocation request.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

means for comparing said allocated bandwidth to a maximum bandwidth allowed by an originating realm where said source of said bandwidth allocation request is located; and

means for allowing said transmission of said multimedia packets if said allocated bandwidth is smaller than said maximum bandwidth allowed by said originating realm.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising means allocating bandwidth for a part of realm in which said originating realm is located, if said quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide said multimedia packet flow via said allocated bandwidth.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for determining a bandwidth quality of said allocated bandwidth by searching and retrieving a quality of service score associated with an originating realm where a source of said bandwidth allocation request is located;

means for comparing said retrieved quality of service score to a default quality level required for transmission of multimedia packets from said source; and

means for allowing transmission of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth if said retrieved quality of service score is more than said default bandwidth quality level.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising means for determining quality of bandwidth allocated for a part of realm in which said originating realm is located.

18. A session director, comprising:

a packet classifier for determining if a packet received by said session director is a signaling packet or a multimedia packet; and

a signaling proxy for allocating bandwidth to accommodate a bandwidth allocation request from a source, ensuring that quantity of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate for transmission of multimedia packets from said source to said session director, and ensuring that quality of service of said allocated bandwidth is appropriate to provide a flow of said multimedia packets via said allocated bandwidth.

19. The session director of claim 18, wherein said session director further comprises a database table for use by said signaling proxy, said database table comprising an originating realm column, a part of realm column, an address column, a maximum bandwidth column, an allocated bandwidth column and a quality of service score column.