Resource reservation and admission control for IP network

• US 20070206607A1
• Filed: 03/06/2006
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Liu, Xiaomei, Chapman, John, Bommareddy, Satish, Parandekar, Harsh
• Granted Patent: US 7,701,951 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/395.520
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/465 wherein a single frame includes a plurality of VLAN tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/68 Pseudowire emulation, e.g. IETF WG PWE3
• 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 47/728 for backup paths
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/825 Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS

Abstract

A resource reservation and admission control scheme uses pseudowires to reserve bandwidth over a layer-2 and/or layer-3 network. The pseudowires are associated with ports on different network processing devices. During a resource reservation and admission control session, the physical links used by the pseudowire are selected and reserved to more effectively allocate network bandwidth. The negotiated pseudowire is then used to transport content for a communication session over the network. In one example application, the resource reservation and admission control scheme is used during a Downstream External PHY Interface (DEPI) session for pseudowires established between a Modular Cable Modem Termination System (M-CMTS) Core and an Edge Quadrature Amplitude Modulation Interface (EQAM) device. However, the reservation protocol can be used in any application that needs to reserve bandwidth over an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

Claims

1. A processing device, comprising:

a processor to receive content for transporting over an Internet Protocol (IP) network and identifying both a local port and a remote port on a remote device having available bandwidth for transmitting the content, the processor then using the identified ports to establish a pseudowire for transporting the content over the IP network.

2. The processing device according to claim 1 wherein the processor sends a required connect speed and a list of tags associated with local ports that can connect to the remote device and that have available bandwidth for transporting the content at the required connect speed, the processor receiving back a selected one of the tags that is also associated with a remote port on the remote device that also has available bandwidth for receiving the content at the required connect speed and then using the tag to establish the pseudowire over the IP network.

3. The processing device according to claim 1 wherein the local and remote ports are associated with Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tags and the processor sends a list of the VLAN tags associated with the local ports to the remote device, the processor then receiving back an identified one of the VLAN tags.

4. The processing device according to claim 4 wherein the processor operates in a Modular Cable Modem Termination System (M-CMTS) Core that negotiates the VLAN tag with an Edge Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (EQAM) device for use during a Downstream External PHY Interface (DEPI) session.

5. The processing device according to claim 4 including:

a first framer to negotiate a first VLAN tag for establishing a first pseudowire for carrying the content between the M-CMTS Core and the EQAM device over the IP network; and

a second framer to negotiate a second VLAN tag with the EQAM for establishing a second backup pseudowire for carrying the content between the M-CMTS Core and the EQAM device over the IP network if the first pseudowire fails.

6. A method for reserving resources over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, comprising:

receiving content;

generating a list of tags associated with local links available for transporting the content to a remote device identified for receiving the content;

sending the list of tags to the remote device;

receiving a selected one of the tags back from the remote device associated with a remote link on the remote device available for receiving the content; and

using the selected tag to establish a virtual connection for carrying the content over the IP network.

7. The method according to claim 6 including:

identifying a required bandwidth for transporting the content over the IP network;

generating a list of tags associated with local links that have the required bandwidth available for transporting the content;

sending both the list of tags and the identified amount of required bandwidth to the remote device; and

receiving one of the tags back from the remote device also associated with a remote link having the required bandwidth available for transporting the content.

8. The method according to claim 7 including:

reserving the list of tags sent to the remote device;

using the tag received back from the remote device for transporting packets carrying the content; and

releasing the other tags from the list for use in establishing other virtual connections for carrying other content.

9. The method according to claim 6 including:

using the selected tag to establish a first virtual connection for carrying the content over the IP network;

generating a second list of tags associated with local links available for also transporting the content;

sending the second list of tags to the same remote device identified for receiving the content;

receiving a selected second one of the tags back from the remote device; and

using the selected second tag to establish a second backup virtual connection for carrying the content over the IP network when the first virtual connection fails.

10. A network processing device, comprising:

a processor to receive a list of tags associated with links on a remote device available for conducting a communication session over an Internet Protocol (IP) network and selecting one of the tags from the list that has an associated local link available for conducting the communication session, the selected tag then used for establishing a pseudowire over the IP network with the remote device.

11. The network processing device according to claim 10 wherein the processor receives a connect speed requirement for the communication session from the remote device and selects one of the tags from the list having an associated local link with sufficient bandwidth for the required connect speed.

12. The network processing device according to claim 11 wherein the processor is located in a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) interface and receives the list of tags and the connect speed during initiation of a Downstream External PHY Interface (DEPI) session.

13. The network processing device according to claim 10 wherein the processor selects from a first list of tags for establishing a first pseudowire with the remote device for conducting the communication session and selects from a second list of tags for establishing a second pseudowire for conducting the communication session with the remote device when the first pseudowire fails.

14. A method for reserving resources on a network, comprising:

negotiating with a remote device for reserving bandwidth for a communication session;

identifying a layer-2 identifier during the negotiation associated with a physical link that has bandwidth available for supporting the communication session;

establishing a virtual connection over the network using the negotiated layer-2 identifier; and

conducting the communication session over the virtual connection.

15. The method according to claim 14 including:

identifying a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag that is associated with Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports having sufficient bandwidth for conducting the communication session; and

using the VLAN tag to establish the virtual connection over a GE network.

16. The method according to claim 15 including:

receiving a list of VLAN tags that are associated with GE ports on a remote device that have available bandwidth for conducting the communication session;

selecting one of the VLAN tags from the list that also corresponds with a local GE port that has sufficient bandwidth for conducting the communication session;

sending the selected VLAN tag back to the remote device; and

establishing the virtual connection with the remote device using the selected VLAN tag.

17. The method according to claim 16 including:

receiving the VLAN tags from a Modular Cable Modem Termination System (M-CMTS) Core during initiation of a Downstream External PHY Interface (DEPI) session;

selecting one of the VLAN tags and sending the selected VLAN tag back to the M-CMTS Core;

using the selected VLAN tag to establish the virtual connection over the GE network between the M-CMTS Core and a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) device; and

conducting the DEPI session over the virtual connection.

18. A system for reserving resources over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, comprising:

means for receiving content;

means for generating a list of tags associated with local links available for transporting the content to a remote device identified for receiving the content;

means for sending the list of tags to the remote device;

means for receiving a selected one of the tags back from the remote device associated with a remote link on the remote device available for receiving the content; and

means for using the selected tag to establish a virtual connection for carrying the content over the IP network.

19. The system according to claim 18 including:

means for identifying a required bandwidth for transporting the content over the IP network;

means for generating a list of tags associated with local links that have the required bandwidth available for transporting the content;

means for sending both the list of tags and the identified amount of required bandwidth to the remote device; and

means for receiving one of the tags back from the remote device also associated with a remote link having the required bandwidth available for transporting the content.

20. The system according to claim 19 including:

means for reserving the list of tags sent to the remote device;

means for using the tag received back from the remote device for transporting packets carrying the content; and

means for releasing the other tags from the list for use in establishing other virtual connections for carrying other content.

21. A system for reserving resources on a network, comprising:

means for negotiating with a remote device for reserving bandwidth for a communication session;

means for identifying a layer-2 identifier during the negotiation associated with a physical link that has bandwidth available for supporting the communication session;

means for establishing a virtual connection over the network using the negotiated layer-2 identifier; and

means for conducting the communication session over the virtual connection.

22. The system according to claim 21 including:

means for identifying a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag that is associated with Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports having sufficient bandwidth for conducting the communication session; and

means for using the VLAN tag to establish the virtual connection over a GE network.

23. The system according to claim 22 including:

means for receiving a list of VLAN tags that are associated with GE ports on a remote device that have available bandwidth for conducting the communication session;

means for selecting one of the VLAN tags from the list that also corresponds with a local GE port that has sufficient bandwidth for conducting the communication session;

means for sending the selected VLAN tag back to the remote device; and

means for establishing the virtual connection with the remote device using the selected VLAN tag.

24. A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a computer, comprise:

receiving content;

generating a list of tags associated with local links available for transporting the content to a remote device identified for receiving the content;

sending the list of tags to the remote device;

receiving a selected one of the tags back from the remote device associated with a remote link on the remote device available for receiving the content; and

using the selected tag to establish a virtual connection for carrying the content over the IP network.