Centralized management of quality of service (QoS) information for data flows
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- executing a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing protocol on a router;
receiving, with the router, BGP routing protocol packets that specify a route for a virtual private network (VPN);
installing the route for the VPN within routing information within the router;
selecting one of a plurality of service profile identifiers for the VPN route;
selecting access information associated with the service profile for the VPN route;
querying an external authentication system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for an interface without specifying an individual user;
creating at least one interface within the router based on the interface parameters obtained from the external service management system; and
forwarding data of a data flow associated with the VPN route with the interface of the router using the interface parameters obtained from the external service management system.
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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 or 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.
18 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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executing a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing protocol on a router; receiving, with the router, BGP routing protocol packets that specify a route for a virtual private network (VPN); installing the route for the VPN within routing information within the router; selecting one of a plurality of service profile identifiers for the VPN route; selecting access information associated with the service profile for the VPN route; querying an external authentication system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters for an interface without specifying an individual user; creating at least one interface within the router based on the interface parameters obtained from the external service management system; and forwarding data of a data flow associated with the VPN route with the interface of the router using the interface parameters obtained from the external service management system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A network device comprising:
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a control unit comprising; a microprocessor; a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) executing on the microprocessor; a routing information base maintained by the BGP; and a forwarding element having an interface for forwarding packets, wherein the BGP receives a VPN routing protocol packet from a second router that includes routing information that specifies a virtual private network (VPN) route and installs the route for the VPN within the routing information base, wherein, when installing the route, the BGP selects a service profile for the VPN route, determines access information associated with the service profile, queries an external authentication system with the selected access information to obtain interface parameters without specifying an individual user, and wherein the BGP instructs the forwarding element to configure the interface based on the interface parameters obtained from the external authentication system and forwards data along the VPN route with the interface. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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Specification