Providing quality of service (QoS) in a network environment in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time
First Claim
1. A method of providing Quality of Service (QoS) for users of a network in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time, the method comprising the step of assigning a network address to a client according to a particular class of service associated with the user of the client, and forwarding packets associated with the client according to priority associated with the assigned network address.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for implementing Quality of Service (QoS) in a network environment in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time. According to one embodiment, packet forwarding devices of a network, such as routers, bridges, and Local Area Network (LAN) switches, are caused to forward packets associated with a client according to a particular class of service, e.g., best-efforts, premium service, associated with the user of the client by assigning a network address, e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address, to the client based upon the particular class of service. According to another embodiment, a method of configuring the packet forwarding devices in a network is provided. For each class of service supported, information identifying one or more ranges of network addresses that are to receive a particular measure of service associated with the class of service is communicated to the packet forwarding devices. According to yet another embodiment, a network includes one or more packet forwarding devices, a network address assignment server, and a network administration terminal. The network address assignment server is configured to receive a connection request initiated by a client, to identify a particular class of service that is accessible to a user of the client, and to assign a network address corresponding to the particular class of service to the client. The network administration terminal configures the one or more packet forwarding devices to perform packet forwarding according to the classes of service supported by identifying, for each class of service, a pool of network addresses that are to receive a particular measure of service associated with the class of service. The pools of network addresses each contain one or more ranges of network addresses from a network address space allocated to the network.
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Citations
23 Claims
- 1. A method of providing Quality of Service (QoS) for users of a network in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time, the method comprising the step of assigning a network address to a client according to a particular class of service associated with the user of the client, and forwarding packets associated with the client according to priority associated with the assigned network address.
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11. A method of providing Quality of Service (QoS) for users of a network in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a connection request initiated by a client, the connection request including user identification information;
identifying which of a plurality of classes of service is accessible to the user based upon the user identification information;
assigning a network address to a client from a priority pool of network addresses according to a particular class of service associated with the client; and
forwarding packets associated with the client according to priority associated with the assigned network address. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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- 17. A method of providing Quality of Service (QoS) for users of a network in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time, the method comprising the step of configuring one or more packet forwarding devices of the network to perform packet forwarding according to a plurality of classes of service by identifying, for each class of service of the plurality of classes of service, a pool of network addresses that are to receive a particular measure of service associated with the class of service, each pool of network addresses comprising one or more ranges of network addresses from a network address space allocated to the network.
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20. A network address assignment server comprising:
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a storage device having stored therein one or more routines for communicating with clients of a network in which client connections are maintained for limited periods of time; and
a processor coupled to the storage device for executing the one or more routines to receive a connection request initiated by a client, identify a particular class of service that is accessible to a user of the client, and cause one or more packet forwarding devices of the network to forward packets associated with the client according to the particular class of service, where;
the connection request includes user identification information;
the particular class of service is identified from among a plurality of classes of service based upon the user identification information; and
the one or more packet forwarding devices of the network are caused to forward packets associated with the client according to the particular class of service by assigning a network address to the client from a pool of network addresses corresponding to the particular class of service. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A network comprising:
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a communications medium;
one or more packet forwarding devices coupled to the communications medium;
a network address assignment server coupled to the communications medium to receive a connection request initiated by a client, to identify a particular class of service of a plurality of classes of service that is accessible to a user of the client, and to assign a network address corresponding to the particular class of service to the client; and
a network administration terminal coupled to the communications medium to configure the one or more packet forwarding devices to perform packet forwarding according to the plurality of classes of service by identifying, for each class of service of the plurality of classes of service, a pool of network addresses that are to receive a particular measure of service associated with the class of service, the pools of network addresses each comprising one or more ranges of network addresses from a network address space allocated to the network. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification