Obtaining Information From Tunnel Layers Of A Packet At A Midpoint

• US 20090041014A1
• Filed: 08/08/2007
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mackie, Robert A., Gray, Richard L., Dixon, Walter G.
• Application Number:
  US11/835,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20090041014A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification

Abstract

In one embodiment, a midpoint obtains information from packets by monitoring a communication session between a subscriber side endpoint and a network side provider. The communication session involves a packet flow comprising one or more packets, where a packet comprises tunnel layers. The midpoint establishes one or more target layers of the tunnel layers and performs the following for each tunnel layer at least until a last target layer is reached: identifies a protocol associated with a tunnel layer, parses the packet according to the identified protocol, and extracts target information from the tunnel layer if the tunnel layer is a target layer.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

monitoring, by a midpoint, a communication session between a subscriber side endpoint and a network side provider, the communication session involving a packet flow comprising one or more packets, a packet comprising a plurality of tunnel layers; and

performing the following at the midpoint for each packet of the one or more packets;

establishing one or more target layers of the plurality of tunnel layers of the each packet; and

performing the following for each tunnel layer at least until a last target layer of the one or more target layers is reached;

identifying a protocol associated with the each tunnel layer;

parsing the packet according to the identified protocol; and

extracting target information from the each tunnel layer if the each tunnel layer is a target layer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more policies for the packet flow in accordance with the target information from the one or more target layers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more policies for the packet flow in accordance with the target information, the one or more policies comprising at least one of;

a billing policy;

a data mining policy; and

a content filtering policy.

4. The method of claim 1, the one or more packets comprising:

a request message; and

a response message responding to the request message.

5. The method of claim 1, the one or more packets comprising:

a first packet received from a sender comprising the endpoint or the provider; and

a second packet received from the sender.

6. The method of claim 1, identifying the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer further comprising:

identifying the protocol according to a protocol standard.

7. The method of claim 1, identifying the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer further comprising:

identifying the protocol from a previous tunnel layer.

8. The method of claim 1, identifying the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer further comprising:

detecting an implicit tunnel layer of the each tunnel layer; and

identifying the protocol associated with the implicit tunnel layer using the each tunnel layer.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory operable to store information about a communication session between a subscriber side endpoint and a network side provider, the communication session involving a packet flow comprising one or more packets, a packet comprising a plurality of tunnel layers; and

one or more processors operable to;

perform the following for each packet of the one or more packets;

establish one or more target layers of the plurality of tunnel layers of the each packet; and

perform the following for each tunnel layer at least until a last target layer of the one or more target layers is reached;

identify a protocol associated with the each tunnel layer;

parse the packet according to the identified protocol; and

extract target information from the each tunnel layer if the each tunnel layer is a target layer.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more processors further operable to:

determine one or more policies for the packet flow in accordance with the target information from the one or more target layers.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more processors further operable to:

determine one or more policies for the packet flow in accordance with the target information, the one or more policies comprising at least one of;

a billing policy;

a data mining policy; and

a content filtering policy.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more packets comprising:

a request message; and

a response message responding to the request message.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more packets comprising:

a first packet received from a sender comprising the endpoint or the provider; and

a second packet received from the sender.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more processors further operable to identify the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer by:

identifying the protocol according to a protocol standard.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more processors further operable to identify the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer by:

identifying the protocol from a previous tunnel layer.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, the one or more processors further operable to identify the protocol associated with the each tunnel layer by:

detecting an implicit tunnel layer of the each tunnel layer; and

identifying the protocol associated with the implicit tunnel layer using the each tunnel layer.

17. A system, comprising:

means for monitoring, by a midpoint, a communication session between a subscriber side endpoint and a network side provider, the communication session involving a packet flow comprising one or more packets, a packet comprising a plurality of tunnel layers; and

means for performing the following at the midpoint for each packet of the one or more packets;

establishing one or more target layers of the plurality of tunnel layers of the each packet; and

performing the following for each tunnel layer at least until a last target layer of the one or more target layers is reached;

identifying a protocol associated with the each tunnel layer;

parsing the packet according to the identified protocol; and

extracting target information from the each tunnel layer if the each tunnel layer is a target layer.