Location Awareness to Packet Flows using Network Service Headers

• US 20170048815A1
• Filed: 08/12/2015
• Published: 02/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Clarke, Joseph M., Pignataro, Carlos M., Salgueiro, Gonzalo, Guichard, James N.
• Application Number:
  US14/824,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048815A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/64 using an overlay routing layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A classifier network device in a service function chain receives a data packet from a first computing device. The classifier network device generates an encapsulated packet for the service function chain by encapsulating the data packet with a network service header. The network service header includes at least one metadata header. The classifier network device determines a location of the first computing device and writes location information corresponding to the location of the first computing device in the metadata header.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving at a classifier network device in a service function chain, a data packet from a first computing device;

generating an encapsulated packet for the service function chain by encapsulating the data packet with a network service header, the network service header including at least one metadata header;

determining a location of the first computing device; and

writing location information in the metadata header, the location information corresponding to the location of the first computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location-based policy for the service function chain; and

sending the encapsulated packet to receive a first service function according to the location-based policy.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the location-based policy determines a plurality of service functions the encapsulated packet will receive based on the location information in the metadata header.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one metadata header includes one or more variable length metadata headers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information comprises satellite positioning system coordinates or cellular network triangulation data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the first computing device comprises a civic location, and the location information comprises a street address, a postal code, a community name, or a building location.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising writing additional location information in the metadata header, the additional location information corresponding to a location of a destination of the data packet.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface unit configured to communicate with a plurality of network devices in a service function chain and a first computing device;

a processor configured to;

receive a data packet for the service function chain from the first computing device via the network interface unit;

generate an encapsulated packet for the service function chain by encapsulating the data packet with a network service header, the network service header including at least one metadata header;

determine a location of the first computing device; and

write location information in the metadata header, the location information corresponding to the location of the first computing device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a location-based policy for the service function chain; and

send the encapsulated packet via the network interface unit to receive a first service function according to the location-based policy.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the location-based policy determines a plurality of service functions the encapsulated packet will receive based on the location information in the metadata header.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one metadata header includes one or more variable length metadata headers.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the location information comprises satellite positioning system coordinates or cellular network triangulation data.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the location of the first computing device comprises a civic location, and the location information comprises a street address, a postal code, a community name, or a building location.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to write additional location information in the metadata header, the additional location information corresponding to a location of a destination of the data packet.

15. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with software comprising computer executable instructions and when the software is executed operable to cause a processor to:

receive a data packet for a service function chain from a first computing device;

generate an encapsulated packet for the service function chain by encapsulating the data packet with a network service header, the network service header including at least one metadata header;

determine a location of the first computing device; and

write location information in the metadata header, the location information corresponding to the location of the first computing device.

16. The computer readable storage media of claim 15, further comprising instructions operable to cause the processor to:

determine a location-based policy for the service function chain; and

send the encapsulated packet to receive a first service function according to the location-based policy.

17. The computer readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the location-based policy determines a plurality of service functions the encapsulated packet will receive based on the location information in the metadata header.

18. The computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the at least one metadata header includes one or more variable length metadata headers.

19. The computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the location information comprises satellite positioning system coordinates or cellular network triangulation data.

20. The computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the location of the first computing device comprises a civic location, and the location information comprises a street address, a postal code, a community name, or a building location.