Broadband access method with great capacity and the system thereof

• US 20070159971A1
• Filed: 03/01/2004
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Shifa, Wu, Hiajun
• Granted Patent: US 7,684,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

The present invention discloses a high-capacity broadband access method, comprising: a broadband subscriber initiating an access request to an access unit; the access unit sending the subscriber authentication information to a control unit via a route switching unit; the control unit authenticating the subscriber with an internal or external authentication, authorization and accounting server, returning the authentication result to the access unit via the route switching unit, and sending the configuration information to the accessed subscriber; the route switching unit and the access unit accomplishing configuration of the subscriber information, allocating corresponding resource to the subscriber, and establishing a data channel for network access of the subscriber. The present invention also discloses a high-capacity broadband access device and a system thereof.

Claims

1. A high-capacity broadband access method, comprising the following steps of:

A. a broadband subscriber initiating an access request to an access unit;

B. the access unit sending the subscriber authentication information to a control unit via a route switching unit;

C. the control unit authenticating the subscriber with an internal or external authentication, authorization and accounting server, returning the authentication result to the access unit via the route switching unit, and sending the configuration information to the accessed subscriber;

D. the route switching unit and the access unit accomplishing configuration of the subscriber information, allocating corresponding resource to the subscriber, and establishing a data channel for network access of the subscriber.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step B further comprises the following steps of:

the access unit establishing a link between itself and the subscriber;

the access unit receiving the authentication request message from the subscriber and obtaining the subscriber authentication information from the request message;

sending the subscriber authentication information to the control unit via the route switching unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data message from the subscriber to the network is forwarded through the following steps of:

the access unit checking the validity of data message received from subscriber;

for a valid message, removing the encapsulation of point-to-point protocol, ATM protocol or other subscriber side link layer protocols from the data message as required, to obtain an internal message of the subscriber;

performing a link layer protocol encapsulation at the access network side on the internal message of the subscriber, and sends the encapsulated data packet to the route switching unit;

the route switching unit accomplishing a route switching for the data packet and removing the access network side encapsulation from the data packet;

if the destination address of the data packet is at the network side, performing a link layer encapsulation at the network side and sending the data packet to the network;

if the destination address of the data packet is at the subscriber side, performing a link layer encapsulation at the access network side and sending the encapsulated data message to the corresponding access unit.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data message from the network to the subscriber is forwarded through the following steps of:

when receiving a data packet sent from the network, the route switching unit determining the destination access unit of the data packet;

the route switching unit removing the link layer encapsulation at the network side from the data packet, performing a link layer encapsulation at the access network side, and sending the encapsulated data message to the corresponding access unit;

the access unit determining the destination subscriber of the data packet according to the destination address of the data packet;

the access unit removing the link layer encapsulation at the access network side from the data packet, performing a link layer encapsulation at the subscriber side, and sending to the destination subscriber.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein before said step A, the route switching unit and the access unit log in the control unit in advance and are configured according to the configuration information sent by the control unit.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit monitors and controls the state of each unit by sending state information periodically between the control unit and the route switching unit as well as between the control unit and the access unit.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein part or all of the access units share the same group of address pools in the route switching unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a primary L3 interface and a plurality of secondary L3 interfaces are configured on each L2 interface in the route switching unit;

during route allocation, the addresses in the address pool corresponding to the primary L3 interface are allocated first, and then the addresses in the address pool corresponding to the secondary L3 interfaces are allocated.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit manages the route switching unit and the access unit in direct management mode or proxy management mode;

cluster management of device, routing protocol, dynamic host configuration protocol, or address translation protocol is used between the access unit, the route switching unit and the control unit.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the subscriber gets offline positively, the process comprises the following steps of:

the subscriber sending an offline request message;

the access unit sending the offline request message to the control unit via the route switching unit;

the control unit performing the offline processing and resource releasing, and returning the result to the access unit;

the access unit responding to the offline request from the subscriber and releasing the resource occupied by the subscriber.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit or the access unit detects a subscriber link failure or abnormality, the control unit performs offline processing on the subscriber and release the occupied resource.

12. A high-capacity broadband access device, comprising:

an access unit, designed to aggregate terminal subscribers, in order to process and forward data messages from subscribers, and to process data messages sent from the network and forward to the terminal subscribers;

a route switching unit with a network interface for network access, which is connected with the access unit and designed to forward messages according to the destination addresses of the received data messages;

a control unit, connected with the route switching unit, and designed to control the route switching unit and the access unit and authenticate the terminal subscribers.

13. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein said control unit comprises:

an AAA server, designed to perform authentication, authorization and accounting on the subscribers;

a communication interface module, designed to connect the route switching unit;

a management module, connected with the AAA server and the communication interface module, designed to control the AAA server in authentication, authorization and accounting, and intercommunicate with the route switching unit via the communication interface module;

a console interface module, connected with the management module, in order to intercommunicate with the console via the console interface module under control of the management module.

14. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein said access unit comprises:

a control and management module, designed to control and manage each module of the access device;

a subscriber line interface/modem module, connected with the control and management module through a control channel, designed to provide a service interface for subscribers and implement modulation and demodulation on the physical layer;

a subscriber link layer protocol adapting module, connected with the control and management module through a control channel and connected with the subscriber line interface/modem module through a data channel;

a L3 processing module, connected with the control and management module through a control channel and connected with the subscriber link layer protocol adapting module through a data channel;

a network side protocol adapting module, connected with the control and management module through a control channel and connected with the L3 processing module through a data channel.

15. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein one or all of said control unit, route switching unit and access unit are integrated together and are inter-connected through internal bus.

16. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 13, wherein the AAA server of the control unit may be an internal or external one.

17. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein the route switching unit is connected with the access unit via an Ethernet interface (FE/GE), an ATM interface, or a RPR interface.

18. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of access units are connected with the route switching unit in cascade mode.

19. The high-capacity broadband access device according to claim 12, wherein said route switching unit is two route switching units that share load and backup with each other;

the control unit and the access unit are connected with the two route switching units in dual homing manner.

20. A high-capacity broadband access system, comprising a network, a terminal subscriber, and a subscriber access device connecting the subscriber with the network, wherein said subscriber access device comprises a control unit, a route switching unit, and an access unit;

said route switching unit connects the access unit with the network;

said access unit is connected with the terminal subscriber;

said control unit is connected with said route switching unit and manages and controls said route switching unit and said access unit and accomplishes authentication of the terminal subscriber for access.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein a plurality of access units are connected with the route switching unit in cascade mode.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein said route switching unit is two route switching units that operate simultaneously, share load and backup with each other;

the control unit and the access unit are connected with the two route switching units in dual homing manner.