Distribution of traffic flow criteria
First Claim
1. A method for distributing traffic flow criteria between network devices, the method comprising:
- defining a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network;
generating, with a first routing device, a message that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with the flow specification data type; and
communicating, with the first routing device, the message to a second routing device to direct the second routing device to control network traffic based on the traffic flow criteria,wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow, wherein the traffic flow criteria specifies an appropriate action that is performed on the network packet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Traffic flow criteria are distributed between routing devices. More specifically, a routing protocol, such as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), may be extended in a manner that allows fine-grain criteria to be conveyed for application to network traffic. For example, a flow specification data type may be defined in accordance with BGP to allow a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified, such as source information, destination information, port information, protocol or other flow criteria. In this manner, traffic flow criteria are specified in a way that cannot be expressed using destination address prefixes only. The flow specification data type may be defined as network layer reachability information (NLRI) that is associated with a route advertised in accordance with BGP.
289 Citations
90 Claims
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1. A method for distributing traffic flow criteria between network devices, the method comprising:
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defining a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; generating, with a first routing device, a message that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with the flow specification data type; and communicating, with the first routing device, the message to a second routing device to direct the second routing device to control network traffic based on the traffic flow criteria, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow, wherein the traffic flow criteria specifies an appropriate action that is performed on the network packet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 70, 71, 72)
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15. A method for distributing traffic flow criteria between network devices, the method comprising:
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receiving a routing communication that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; and controlling network traffic in accordance with the traffic flow criteria, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow, wherein the traffic flow criteria specifies an appropriate action that is performed on the network packet. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 73, 74, 75)
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31. A network device comprising:
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a control unit to generate a message that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with a flow specification data type, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; and an interface card to communicate the message to a routing device in accordance with a routing protocol, wherein the message directs the control unit to apply an appropriate action to network traffic based on the traffic flow criteria, and wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 76, 77, 78)
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38. A network device comprising:
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an interface card to receive routing communication that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; and a control unit to compare network traffic to the traffic flow criteria, and apply an appropriate action to the network traffic, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 79, 80, 81)
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45. A system comprising:
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a first network device to generate a message that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with a flow specification data type, and communicate the message to a second routing device via a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; and a second network device to receive the message, compare network traffic to the traffic flow criteria, and apply an appropriate action to the network traffic based on the traffic flow criteria, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 82, 83, 84)
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54. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor to:
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define a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; generate a message that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with the flow specification data type; and communicate the message to a routing device to direct the routing device to control network traffic based on the traffic flow criteria, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow, wherein the traffic flow criteria specifies an appropriate action that is performed on the network packet. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 85, 86, 87)
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62. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor to:
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receive a routing communication that encodes routing topology information, wherein the routing topology information defines at least one route between a first network device and a second network device, and traffic flow criteria specifying the packet flow in accordance with a flow specification data type for a routing protocol, wherein the flow specification data type allows a variable number of packet flow attributes to be specified for a packet flow through a network; and control network traffic in accordance with the traffic flow criteria, wherein the traffic flow criteria comprises source information that identifies a source network device of the packet flow, wherein the traffic flow criteria specifies an appropriate action that is performed on the network packet. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 88, 89, 90)
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Specification