Dynamic construction of label switching protocol interfaces
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, with a network access device, a network access request from a subscriber device associated with a subscriber,determining, with the network access device, when the network access request is received, whether the subscriber device requires a label switching protocol interface for encapsulating and decapsulating traffic associated with the subscriber device according to the label switching protocol for communication with a label switching network;
in response to receiving the network access request and upon determining that the subscriber device requires the label switching protocol interface, dynamically constructing a software interface stack on the network access device that includes a plurality of interfaces, each of the interfaces associated with a respective one of a plurality of protocols, wherein the plurality of interfaces includes the label switching protocol interface; and
subsequent to dynamically constructing the software interface stack on the network access device, processing network communications from the subscriber device with the software interface stack of the network access device and routing the network communications from the network access device to the label switching network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are described for dynamically constructing a label switching protocol interface in a network device. For example, the techniques allow dynamic construction of a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) interface. According to some embodiments, upon receiving a network communication from a subscriber, a network device determines whether the subscriber requires support for the label switching protocol. If the subscriber requires such support, the network device creates an interface stack for the subscriber that includes an interface for the label switching protocol. In this way, the network device may route packets from the subscriber across a network of computing devices that use the label switching protocol, and forward packets from such a network to the subscriber. The subscriber and the network device need not communicate according to the label switching protocol and, in example embodiments, instead communicate according to a layer 2 communication protocol.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, with a network access device, a network access request from a subscriber device associated with a subscriber, determining, with the network access device, when the network access request is received, whether the subscriber device requires a label switching protocol interface for encapsulating and decapsulating traffic associated with the subscriber device according to the label switching protocol for communication with a label switching network; in response to receiving the network access request and upon determining that the subscriber device requires the label switching protocol interface, dynamically constructing a software interface stack on the network access device that includes a plurality of interfaces, each of the interfaces associated with a respective one of a plurality of protocols, wherein the plurality of interfaces includes the label switching protocol interface; and subsequent to dynamically constructing the software interface stack on the network access device, processing network communications from the subscriber device with the software interface stack of the network access device and routing the network communications from the network access device to the label switching network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for execution by a processor of a network access device, wherein the instructions cause the processor to:
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receive a network access request from a subscriber device associated with a subscriber that does not have administrative access to the network access device; determine, when the network access request is received, whether the subscriber device requires a label switching protocol interface for encapsulating and decapsulating traffic associated with the subscriber device according to the label switching protocol for communication with the label switching network; and in response to receiving the network access request and upon determining that the subscriber device requires the label switching protocol interface, dynamically construct a software interface stack on the network access device that includes a plurality of interfaces based on the determination, each of the interfaces associated with a respective one of a plurality of protocols, wherein the plurality of interfaces includes the label switching protocol interface; and subsequent to dynamically constructing the software interface stack on the network access device, process network communications from the subscriber device with the software interface stack of the network access device and route the network communications from the network access device to the label switching network. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 36)
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20. A network access device comprising:
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a network interface card that receives a network access request from the subscriber; and a control unit that; routes network packets from the subscriber to the label switching network; determines, when the network access request is received, whether the subscriber requires a label switching protocol interface for encapsulating and decapsulating traffic associated with the subscriber according to the label switching protocol for communication with the label switching network; and in response to receipt of the network access request and upon a determination that the subscriber requires the label switching protocol interface, controls dynamic construction of a software interface stack that includes a plurality of interfaces for the subscriber on the network interface card based on the determination, each of the interfaces associated with a respective one of a plurality of protocols, wherein the plurality of interfaces includes the label switching protocol interface, wherein the network interface card processes network communications from the subscriber device with the software interface stack and routes the network communications to the label switching network. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 37)
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31. A method comprising:
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receiving, with a network card of a network access device, a network access request from a subscriber device; sending an authentication request from the network access device to a remote authentication service in response to the network access request; receiving a subscriber profile from the authentication service at the network access device in response to the request, the subscriber profile indicating that the subscriber device requires a label switching protocol interface for encapsulating and decapsulating traffic associated with the subscriber according to the label switching protocol for communication with a label switching network; and constructing a software interface stack that includes a plurality of interfaces on the network access device for the subscriber on the network card according to the subscriber profile, each of the interfaces associated with a respective one of a plurality of protocols, wherein the plurality of interfaces includes the label switching protocol interface; and processing network communications from the subscriber device with the software interface stack of the network access device and routing the network communications from the network access device to the label switching network.
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Specification