Methods and systems for providing quality of service in packet-based core transport networks
First Claim
1. A method for avoiding congestion in a core transport network of a packet-based network, said packet-based network comprising:
- said core transport network comprising a plurality of backbone links connected to a plurality of backhaul links through a plurality of edge nodes,an access network comprising a plurality of subscriber terminals connected to said core transport network through a plurality of access controllers, whereinsaid access controllers perform resource and admission control functions, said method comprising;
a. identifying access controllers that are a source or destination of packets traversing each said backbone and backhaul links,b. utilizing a plurality of monitoring probes in said core transport network to identify at least one of said backbone or backhaul links that is nearing congestion and to trigger a dynamic bandwidth adjustment,c. determining bandwidth settings for affected access controllers that are the source or destination of packets traversing each of the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion,d. checking if subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are violated,e. enforcing said bandwidth settings to said affected access controllers if said subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are not violated,f. notifying a network operator to implement a capacity upgrade if said subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are violated,whereby said avoiding congestion in said core transport network will provide necessary and sufficient quality-of-service in said core transport network of said packet-based network.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for providing necessary and sufficient quality-of-service (QoS), in a packet-based core transport network that utilizes dynamic setting of bandwidth management pipes or thresholds to obviate link congestion are disclosed. Congestion avoidance is a necessary and sufficient requirement in order to guarantee Quality of Service (QoS) in packet-based core networks.
A typical network is composed of a plurality of backbone links connecting edge nodes where backhaul links are aggregated. The backhaul links connect the backbone links to the remote sites serving the subscribers. In order to enforce bandwidth management policies, Access Controllers, which perform traffic shaping, are situated on each remote site.
In the event of a violation of certain link threshold settings, dynamic adjustment of the bandwidth management policies on affected Access Controllers is enforced. Various algorithms in determining the correlation between the link nearing congestion and the source or destination of traffic streams are also discussed. This invention implements a feedback control loop wherein probes at various points in the network checks for congestion states to guide bandwidth management threshold decisions in order to maintain the condition of non-congestion throughout the network. Capacity planning and congestion avoidance mechanisms work hand-in-hand to fulfill Service Level Agreements (SLA).
177 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method for avoiding congestion in a core transport network of a packet-based network, said packet-based network comprising:
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said core transport network comprising a plurality of backbone links connected to a plurality of backhaul links through a plurality of edge nodes, an access network comprising a plurality of subscriber terminals connected to said core transport network through a plurality of access controllers, wherein said access controllers perform resource and admission control functions, said method comprising; a. identifying access controllers that are a source or destination of packets traversing each said backbone and backhaul links, b. utilizing a plurality of monitoring probes in said core transport network to identify at least one of said backbone or backhaul links that is nearing congestion and to trigger a dynamic bandwidth adjustment, c. determining bandwidth settings for affected access controllers that are the source or destination of packets traversing each of the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion, d. checking if subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are violated, e. enforcing said bandwidth settings to said affected access controllers if said subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are not violated, f. notifying a network operator to implement a capacity upgrade if said subscribers'"'"' service level agreements in the backbone or backhaul links nearing congestion are violated, whereby said avoiding congestion in said core transport network will provide necessary and sufficient quality-of-service in said core transport network of said packet-based network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification