System and method for controlling network bandwidth with a connection admission control engine

• US 20080049787A1
• Filed: 05/31/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: McNaughton, James L., Heinz, John M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,144,586 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

A system and method for controlling network bandwidth. Network performance information that includes information regarding real-time data packets using performance information packet data packets is gathered. The network bandwidth is throttled for each of a number of customers in a communications network using one or more connection admission control (CAC) engines based on the network performance information and quality of service guarantees.

Claims

8-1. The method according to claim 1, wherein the throttling further comprises:

controlling the one or more CAC engines from a CAC engine.

15. An access node for controlling network bandwidth, said access node comprising:

a CAC engine configured to communicate data between a customer and a data stream of an communications network the CAC engine configured to evaluate network performance information of a communications network using PIP data packets to gather network performance information regarding the communications network and throttle the bandwidth available to communicate the data between the customer and the data stream.

20. A server for throttling bandwidth, said server comprising:

a processor for processing a set of instructions; and

a memory for storing the set of instructions, wherein the set of instructions communicate data between a customer and a data stream of a communications network, evaluate network performance information of an communications network to gather network performance information regarding the communications network using PIP data packets, and throttle the bandwidth available to communicate the data between the customer and the data stream.

21. The server of claim 20, wherein the set of instructions control one or more CAC engines for throttling the data based on thresholds including real-time data thresholds and non real-time data thresholds, wherein the thresholds are specified by service level agreements, policies, and performance guarantees.