System and Method for Routing Data on a Packet Network

• US 20140321273A1
• Filed: 07/10/2014
• Published: 10/30/2014
• 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: Morrill, Robert J., Wiley, William L., Bugenhagen, Michael K.
• Granted Patent: US 9,712,445 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/122 by diverting traffic away from congested entities

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include system and method for routing communications over a communications network. In one embodiment, a determination is made as to whether to establish a communication along a communication path based on network performance information. The disclosed embodiments provide several alternatives for establishing the communication and improving communications along the communication path in response to a determination that at least one network node along the communication path is impaired or congested.

Claims

1. A method for routing communications over a communication network, the method comprising:

receiving a communications request to establish communications over a communication network;

determining a communications path for routing the communications associated with the communications request;

accessing network performance information associated with communications over the communications path;

automatically determining whether at least one network node is impaired or congested along the communications path based on the network performance information; and

adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a determination that at least one network node is impaired or congested, determining an alternative communications path for establishing the communications, the alternative communications path bypassing the at least one network node; and

in response to a determination that there is no alternative communications path for establishing the communications, determining priority of the communications request, and establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to a determination that the priority of the communications request is above a priority threshold and not establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to a determination that the priority of the communications is below the priority threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein not establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to the determination that the priority of the communications is below the threshold includes dropping the communications request.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein not establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to the determination that the priority of the communications is below the threshold includes placing the communications request in a queue until a determination is made that the at least one network node is no longer impaired or congested.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising establishing the communications through the communications path in response to a determination that no network node along the communications path is impaired or congested.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes dropping established calls through the at least one network node that are determined to have a priority below the priority threshold.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes determining whether the communications path has a capability of using a lower bandwidth CODEC;

and modifying at least one communications on the communications path to utilize the lower bandwidth CODEC in response to determining the communications path has the capability of using the lower bandwidth CODEC to alleviate congestion.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes rerouting an existing communication to bypass the at least one network node.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes identifying communications along the communications path that does not include real-time content and adjusting one or more of the communications that do not include real-time content to alleviate congestion.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising selecting the one or more of the communications that do not include real-time content for adjustment based on a service level agreement with a customer associated with a communication but does not include real-time content.

11. A system for routing communications over a communication network, the system comprising:

a data storage component operable to store a set of instructions and a data set;

an input/output (I/O) component in communication with a communication network;

a processing component in communication with the I/O unit and configured to execute instructions to;

receive a communications request to establish communications over a communication network determine a communications path for routing the communications associated with the communications request;

assess network performance information associated with communications over the communications path;

automatically determine whether at least one network node is impaired or congested along the communications path based on the network performance information; and

adjust communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the processing component further executes instructions to:

in response to a determination that at least one network node is impaired or congested, determined an alternative communications path for establishing the communications, the alternative communications path bypassing the at least one network node; and

in response to a determination that there is no alternative communications path for establishing the communications, determine priority of the communications request, and establish the communications through the at least one network node in response to a determination that the priority of the communications request is above a priority threshold and not establish the communications through the at least one network node in response to a determination that the priority of the communications is below the priority threshold.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein not establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to the determination that the priority of the communications is below the threshold includes dropping the communications request.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein not establishing the communications through the at least one network node in response to the determination that the priority of the communications is below the threshold includes placing the communications request in a queue until a determination is made that the at least one network node is no longer impaired or congested.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the processing component further executes instructions to establish the communications through the communications path in response to a determination that no network node along the communications path is impaired or congested.

16. The system according to claim 11, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes dropping established calls through the at least one network node that are determined to have a priority below the priority threshold.

17. The system according to claim 11, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes determining whether the communications path has a capability of using a lower bandwidth CODEC;

and modifying at least one communications on the communications path to utilize the lower bandwidth CODEC in response to determining the communications path has the capability of using the lower bandwidth CODEC to alleviate congestion.

18. The system according to claim 11, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes rerouting an existing communication to bypass the at least one network node.

19. The system according to claim 11, wherein adjusting communications through the at least one network node to reduce the impairment or congestion includes identifying communications along the communications path that does not include real-time content and adjusting one or more of the communications that do not include real-time content to alleviate congestion.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the processing component further executes instructions to select the one or more of the communications that do not include real-time content for adjustment based on a service level agreement with a customer associated with a communication but does not include real-time content.