Service selection in a shared access network using policy routing

• US 7,065,578 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2001
• Issued: 06/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramakrishnan, Kadangode K., Garrett, John W., Kalmanek, Jr., Charles Robert, Murphy, Lawrence E., Nguyen, Han Q.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kianersi, Mitra
• Application Number:
  US09/812,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20020023171A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,918 Days
• Field of Search: 709/238, 709/239, 709/240, 709/241, 709/242, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2859 Point-to-point connection between the data network and the subscribers encapsulation H04L12/4633; virtual LANs H04L12/4641; routing of packets H04L45/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2861 Point-to-multipoint connection from the data network to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2872 Termination of subscriber connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2874 Processing of data for distribution to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2876 Handling of subscriber policies group policies management H04L41/0893
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/302 Route determination based on requested QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/58 Caching of addresses or names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 : for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1466 : Active attacks involving interception, injection, modification, spoofing of data unit addresses, e.g. hijacking, packet injection or TCP sequence number attacks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 : for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 : Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 : Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 : Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to enable multiple services or service providers to share the facilities of an access network infrastructure providing physical connectivity to subscribers. A network access device advantageously may be used in communication network services with a service or service provider that is separate from the operator of the access network infrastructure.

Claims

1. A method of routing data packets in a high-speed access network infrastructure having a plurality of intermediate servers, and at least one managed access point router that interfaces with a plurality of service networks, which are external to the high-speed access network infrastructure, the method comprising:

providing the plurality of intermediate servers to route local and non-local data packets within the high-speed access network infrastructure using only destination-based packet forwarding;

providing the at least one managed access point server to receive only non-local packets from the plurality of intermediate servers and to route the non-local data packets to the plurality of service networks using only source address-based policy routing;

assigning a network address to a customer of the high-speed access network infrastructure, the network address based on a subscription of the customer to a service network, wherein the address is assigned from a list of network addresses that are dynamically allocated only to customers of the high-speed access network infrastructure that are subscribers of the service network;

receiving a local data packet from the customer at one of the plurality of intermediate servers;

forwarding the local data packet within the high-speed access network infrastructure using only destination-based packet forwarding;

receiving a non-local data packet from the customer at one of the plurality of intermediate servers;

forwarding the non-local data packet to a managed access point router using only destination-based packet forwarding;

receiving the non-local data packet at the managed access point router;

comparing a source address of the non-local data packet to the list of network addresses; and

forwarding the packet to a router in the service network only when the source address matches a network address from the list.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the source address of the non-local data packet is assigned to a network access device associated with the customer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the service networks utilize Internet Protocol and wherein the network addresses are Internet Protocol addresses.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the plurality of service networks are operated by different Internet Service Providers.

5. The invention of claim 3 wherein the plurality of service networks offer access to different Internet Protocol-based services.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the high-speed access network infrastructure comprises a hybrid fiber coaxial network.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the source address of the incoming packet identifies a network access device attached to the hybrid fiber coaxial network with a cable modem.

8. A method of routing data packets in a highspeed access network infrastructure having a plurality of intermediate servers, and at least one managed access point router that interfaces with a plurality of service networks, which are external to the high-speed access network infrastructure, the method comprising:

providing the plurality of intermediate servers to route local and non-local data packets within the high-speed access network infrastructure using only destination-based packet forwarding;

providing the at least one managed access point server to receive only non-local packets from the plurality of intermediate servers and to route the non-local data packets to the plurality of service networks using only source address-based policy routing;

assigning separate network addresses to customers of the high-speed access network infrastructure, each network address assigned based on subscriptions of the customers to the service networks, wherein the network addresses are assigned from lists of network addresses for each of the plurality of service networks;

routing local data packets at the plurality of intermediate routers within the high-speed access network infrastructure, based only on their destination address;

routing non-local data packets from the intermediate routers to a managed access point router, based only on their destination address;

comparing the source addresses of the non-local data packets to the lists of network addresses; and

routing the non-local data packets from the managed access point router to a router of a service network, based only on their source addresses, only when the source addresses match network addresses from a list of network address allocated to subscribers of the service network.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein packets between network access devices connected to the high-speed access network infrastructure are routed in the high-speed access network infrastructure using destination-based routing without being forwarded to the service network.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the high-speed access network infrastructure provides access to local services.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein packets associated with the local services are routed in the high-speed access network infrastructure using destination-based routing without being forwarded to the service network.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the source addresses of data packets are assigned to a network access devices associated with the subscribers of services provided by the service networks, wherein the subscribers are customers of the high speed access network infrastructure.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the service networks utilize Internet Protocol and wherein the network addresses are internet Protocol addresses.

14. The invention of claim 13 wherein the plurality of service networks are operated by different Internet Service Providers.

15. The invention of claim 13 wherein the plurality of service networks offer access to different Internet Protocol-based services.