Centralized management of quality of service (QoS) information for data flows
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- storing, within a first router, access data that associates routes through a network with access information for a set of service profiles, wherein each of the service profiles is associated with a different quality of service (QoS) level without specifying an individual network user;
receiving, with the first router, a routing protocol packet from a second router, wherein the routing protocol packet includes information that specifies at least one route through the network;
associating the route specified by the routing information with a service profile identifier;
selecting, from the stored access data, the access information for one of the set of service profiles based on the service profile identifier;
querying a service management system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for supporting the QoS level associated with the one of the set of service profiles, wherein the service management system is external to the first router;
configuring at least one interface within the first router based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system; and
forwarding data of a data flow associated with the route specified by the routing information with the at least one interface of the first router that was configured using the interface parameters obtained from the service management system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are described for centralized management of quality of service (QoS) characteristics of network data flows. A service management system maintains a database that associates access information, such as a username and password, with QoS information. A router of other network device associates a data flow with access information, and queries the service management system with the access information to obtain the QoS information. The router forwards data of the data flow in accordance with the QoS information obtained from the service management system. As the access information may be a username and password, an existing system, such as a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) system, may easily be adapted for use as the service management system. As a result, QoS information may easily be centrally managed for numerous routers or other network devices.
74 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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storing, within a first router, access data that associates routes through a network with access information for a set of service profiles, wherein each of the service profiles is associated with a different quality of service (QoS) level without specifying an individual network user; receiving, with the first router, a routing protocol packet from a second router, wherein the routing protocol packet includes information that specifies at least one route through the network; associating the route specified by the routing information with a service profile identifier; selecting, from the stored access data, the access information for one of the set of service profiles based on the service profile identifier; querying a service management system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for supporting the QoS level associated with the one of the set of service profiles, wherein the service management system is external to the first router; configuring at least one interface within the first router based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system; and forwarding data of a data flow associated with the route specified by the routing information with the at least one interface of the first router that was configured using the interface parameters obtained from the service management system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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10. A network device comprising:
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a control unit that stores data that associates routes through a network with access information for a set of service profiles, each of the service profiles being associated with a different quality of service (QoS) level without specifying an individual network user, receives a routing protocol packet from a second network device that includes routing information that specifies at least one route through the network, associates the route with a service profile identifier, selects the access information for the one of the set of service profiles based on the service profile identifier associated with the route, and queries a service management system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for supporting the QoS level associated with the one of the set of service profiles, wherein the service management system is external to the network device; and an interface through which the control unit forwards data of a data flow associated with the route specified in the routing information, wherein the interface is configured based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30)
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22. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause a processor of a network device to:
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store, within a first router, access data that associates routes through a network with access information for a set of service profiles, wherein each of the service profiles is associated with a different quality of service (QoS) level without specifying an individual network user; receive, with the first router, a routing protocol packet from a second router, wherein the routing protocol packet includes routing information that specifies at least one route through the network; associate the route specified by the routing information with a service profile identifier; select the access information for one of the set of service profiles based on the service profile identifier; query the service management system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for supporting the QoS level associated with the one of the set of service profiles, wherein the service management system is external to the first router; configure at least one interface within the first router based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system; and forward data of a data flow associated with the route specified by the routing information with the at least one interface of the first router configured using the obtained interface parameters. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 31)
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32. A method comprising:
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storing, within a first router, access data that associates service profile identifiers with access information; receiving, with the first router, a first routing protocol packet and a second routing protocol packet, wherein the first routing protocol packet includes routing information that specifies a first route associated with a first subset of users within a virtual private network (VPN) site and the second routing protocol packet includes routing information that specifies a second route associated with a second subset of users within the VPN site; associating the first route specified in the first routing protocol packet with a first service profile identifier that corresponds with a first quality of service (QoS) level; associating the second route specified in the second routing protocol packet with a second service profile identifier that corresponds with a second QoS level; selecting corresponding access information for each the first route and second route by retrieving the access information associated with the first and second service profile identifier from the stored access data; querying a service management system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for supporting the first and second QoS level, wherein the service management system is external to the first router; dynamically configuring a first logical interface within the first router based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system for the first QoS level, wherein the first logical interface is associated with the first subset of users within the VPN site; dynamically configuring a second logical interface within the first router based on the interface parameters obtained from the service management system for the second QoS level, wherein the second logical interface is associated with the second subset of users within the VPN site; forwarding data of a first data flow associated with the first subset of users with the first logical interface; and forwarding data of a second data flow associated with the second subset of users with the second logical interface to provide different QoS levels for the first and second data flows.
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Specification