Multiple Prefix Connections with Translated Virtual Local Area Network

• US 20100290474A1
• Filed: 05/03/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kaippallimalil, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,860 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/395.53
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2874 Processing of data for distribution to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4604 LAN interconnection over a backbone network, e.g. Internet, Frame Relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4666 Operational details on the addition or the stripping of a tag in a frame, e.g. at a provider edge node
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5652 Cell construction, e.g. including header, packetisation, depacketisation, assembly, reassembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/66 Layer 2 routing, e.g. in Ethernet based MAN's
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/74 Address processing for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3081 ATM peripheral units, e.g. policing, insertion or extraction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/70 Virtual switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2503 Translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2596 Translation of addresses of the same type other than IP, e.g. translation from MAC to MAC addresses

Abstract

A system comprising an access node (AN) coupled to a plurality of service providers (SPs) and a host and configured to forward a plurality of services between the SPs and the host using a plurality of first connections between the AN and the host and a plurality of second connections between the AN and the SPs, and a router gateway (RG) positioned between the host and the AN and coupled to the AN via an access line that comprises the first connections, wherein the AN translates a plurality of first identifiers for the first connections to a plurality of second identifiers for the second connections to route the services appropriately between the host and the SPs over the first connections and the corresponding second connections.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an access node (AN) coupled to a plurality of service providers (SPs) and a host and configured to forward a plurality of services between the SPs and the host using a plurality of first connections between the AN and the host and a plurality of second connections between the AN and the SPs, and

a router gateway (RG) positioned between the host and the AN and coupled to the AN via an access line that comprises the first connections,

wherein the AN translates a plurality of first identifiers for the first connections to a plurality of second identifiers for the second connections to route the services appropriately between the host and the SPs over the first connections and the corresponding second connections.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the RG is coupled to a plurality of hosts that each receives a service from one of the SPs over one of the first connections.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the first identifiers comprises a Media Access Control (MAC) address for the RG, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier (ID) that corresponds to one of the hosts, and a host prefix that identifies the host, and wherein the first identifiers are maintained in a first list at the AN.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of the second identifiers comprises the MAC address for the RG, a Customer VLAN (C-VLAN) ID that corresponds to one of the hosts, and a Service VLAN (S-VLAN) ID that corresponds to one of the SPs, and wherein the second identifiers are maintained in a second list at the AN.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each VLAN ID for each host in the first list is mapped to a C-VLAN ID and S-VLAN ID pair in the second list.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the MAC address for the RG and each VLAN ID that corresponds to one of the hosts in the first list is associated with a port ID that corresponds to the access line in a third list that is maintained at the AN.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first identifiers comprise a plurality of MAC addresses for a plurality of RGs, and wherein the second identifiers comprise the same MAC addresses.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each VLAN ID for each host that is associated with one of the MAC addresses for the RGs in the first list is mapped to a C-VLAN ID and S-VLAN ID pair that corresponds to the same RG MAC address in the second list.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the third list comprise a plurality of port IDs for a plurality of access lines that correspond to the RGs.

10. A network component comprising:

at least one processor configured to implement a method comprising;

receiving a packet for a service on a connection between a subscriber and a service provider (SP);

replacing a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag for the subscriber in the packet with a Customer VLAN (C-VLAN)/Service VLAN (S-VLAN) tag for the subscriber and the SP that matches a Media Access Control (MAC) address for a router gateway (RG) in the packet if the packet is received from the RG; and

replacing a C-VLAN/S-VLAN tag for the subscriber and the SP in the packet with a VLAN tag for the subscriber that matches the MAC address for the RG in the packet if the packet is received from the SP.

11. The network component of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

forwarding the packet to the SP on a connection indicated by the C-VLAN/S-VLAN tag if the packet is received from the RG; and

forwarding the packet to the subscriber on a connection indicated by the VLAN tag if the packet is received from the SP.

12. The network component of claim 10, wherein the VLAN tag is associated with the MAC address for the RG in a first list of access network connection identifiers, and wherein the C-VLAN/S-VLAN label is associated with the same MAC address for the RG in a second list of SP network connection identifiers.

13. The network component of claim 10, wherein the packet is a router solicitation (RS) message.

14. The network component of claim 10, wherein the packet is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) message.

15. The network component of claim 10, where the packet is forwarded at the network link layer.

16. The network component of claim 10, where the packet is forwarded without processing an Internet Protocol (IP) address in the packet.

17. A method comprising:

receiving from a host an authentication request for a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) connection to the host;

receiving a Customer VLAN (C-VLAN)/Service VLAN (S-VLAN) label for the host and a service provider (SP) upon authentication of the VLAN, and

associating the VLAN and the C-VLAN/S-VLAN label with a Media Access Control (MAC) address for a router gateway (RG) between the host and the SP.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

receiving a router solicitation (RS) message from the RG on behalf of the host that requests routing information; and

sending a routing acknowledgement (RA) message to the RG that comprises a prefix assigned to the host.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the RS and RA messages indicate the VLAN but do not comprise a source Internet Protocol (IP) address for the RG.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the RS and RA messages indicate the VLAN and comprise an unspecified Internet Protocol (IP) address.