Load sharing between L2TP tunnels
First Claim
1. A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
- initializing a tunnel database that includes tunnel selection criteria for at least one tunnel connecting a first communication network to at least one communication network;
after said initializing, receiving a communication from a subscriber using said first communication network;
determining said tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of said at least one tunnel;
ascertaining one or more available tunnels to a remote domain for said communication;
selecting one of said one or more available tunnels based on said tunnel selection criteria; and
forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks includes receiving a communication from a subscriber using the first communication network, determining tunnel selection criteria for the communication, selecting one of the at least one tunnel based on the tunnel selection criteria and forwarding the communication on the selected tunnel. The tunnel selection criteria indicate the basis for selecting one of the tunnels. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks includes a receiving interface to receive a communication from a subscriber using the first communication network, a tunnel selection criteria determiner to determine tunnel selection criteria for the communication, a tunnel selector to select one of the tunnels based on the tunnel selection criteria and a session forwarder to forward the communication on the selected tunnel. In one aspect of the invention, load sharing is performed between Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunnels.
149 Citations
81 Claims
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1. A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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initializing a tunnel database that includes tunnel selection criteria for at least one tunnel connecting a first communication network to at least one communication network; after said initializing, receiving a communication from a subscriber using said first communication network; determining said tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of said at least one tunnel; ascertaining one or more available tunnels to a remote domain for said communication; selecting one of said one or more available tunnels based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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receiving a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network; determining tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria stored in a previously initialized tunnel database; selecting one of said at least one tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method to load share between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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initializing a tunnel database that includes tunnel selection criteria for at least one tunnel connecting a first communication network to at least one communication network; after said initializing, receiving a communication from a subscriber using said first communication network; determining said tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of said at least one tunnel; ascertaining one or more available tunnels to a remote domain for said communication; selecting one of said one or more available tunnels based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method to load share between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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receiving a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network; determining tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria stored in a previously initialized tunnel database; selecting one of said at least one tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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means for initializing a tunnel database that includes tunnel selection criteria for at least one tunnel connecting a first communication network to at least one communication network; means for after said initializing, receiving a communication from a subscriber using said first communication network; means for determining said tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of said at least one tunnel; means for ascertaining one or more available tunnels to a remote domain for said communication; means for selecting one of said one or more available tunnels based on said tunnel selection criteria; and means for forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network; means for determining tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria stored in a previously initialized tunnel database; means for selecting one of said at least one tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and means for forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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a tunnel database initializer to initialize a tunnel database that includes tunnel selection criteria for at least one tunnel connecting a first communication network to at least one communication network; a receiving interface to receive a communication from a subscriber using said first communication network after said tunnel database is initialized; a tunnel selection criteria determiner to determine tunnel said selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of said at least one tunnel; an available tunnel ascertainer to ascertain one or more available tunnels to a remote domain for said communication; a tunnel selector to select one of said one or more available tunnels based on said tunnel selection criteria; and a session forwarder to forward said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48)
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49. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiving interface to receive a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network; a tunnel selection criteria determiner to determine tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria stored in a previously initialized tunnel database; a tunnel selector to select one of said at least one tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and a session forwarder to forward said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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receiving a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session from a subscriber using a first communication network; determining tunnel selection criteria for said PPP session, said tunnel selection criteria indicating a basis for randomly selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain; selecting one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said PPP session on the selected tunnel.
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62. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method to load share between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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receiving a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session from a subscriber using a first communication network; determining tunnel selection criteria for said PPP session, said tunnel selection criteria indicating a basis for randomly selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain; selecting one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said PPP session on the selected tunnel.
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63. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session from a subscriber using a first communication network; means for determining tunnel selection criteria for said PPP session, said tunnel selection criteria indicating a basis for randomly selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain; means for selecting one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and means for forwarding said PPP session on the selected tunnel.
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64. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiving interface to receive a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session from a subscriber using a first communication network; a tunnel selection criteria determiner to determine tunnel selection criteria for said PPP session, said tunnel selection criteria indicating a basis for randomly selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain; a tunnel selector to select one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and a session forwarder to forward said PPP session on the selected tunnel.
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65. A method for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the method comprising:
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receiving a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network, said communication comprising a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session; determining tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria based at least in part on one or more of; one or more Type of Service (ToS) bits associated with said PPP session; a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI)/Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) pair associated with said PPP session; the available bandwidth for at least one tunnel to said remote domain; and a time at which said PPP session is received; selecting one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network, said communication comprising a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session; means for determining tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria based at least in part on one or more of; one or more Type of Service (ToS) bits associated with said PPP session; a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI)/Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) pair associated with said PPP session; the available bandwidth for at least one tunnel to said remote domain; and a time at which said PPP session is received; means for selecting one of said at least one L2TP tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and means for forwarding said communication on the selected tunnel.
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74. An apparatus for load sharing between tunnels connecting communication networks, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiving interface to receive a communication from a subscriber using a first communication network, said communication comprising a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session; a tunnel selection criteria determiner to determine tunnel selection criteria for said communication, said tunnel selection criteria indicating the basis for selecting one of at least one L2TP tunnel connecting said first communication network to at least one communication network comprising a remote domain, said tunnel selection criteria based at least in part on one or more of; one or more Type of Service (ToS) bits associated with said PPP session; a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI)/Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) pair associated with said PPP session; the available bandwidth for at least one tunnel to said remote domain; and a time at which said PPP session is received; a tunnel selector to select one of said at least one tunnel based on said tunnel selection criteria; and a session forwarder to forward said communication on the selected tunnel. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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Specification