Linking autonomous systems with dual premise routing domains

• US 8,155,122 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: McCabe, Alan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, DUC CHI
• Application Number:
  US11/963,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20080095157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system for linking a first autonomous network system to at least one second autonomous network system. The first autonomous network system having a first private IP address space and the at least one second autonomous network system having at least one second private IP address space. The first private IP address space and the at least one second private IP address space are at least partially overlapping. The system includes a first routing domain including the first autonomous network system and at least one second routing domain including the at least one second autonomous network system. A geographically diverse linking autonomous system couples the first autonomous network system and the at least one second autonomous network system. The linking autonomous system includes a first routing domain management system configured to manage the first routing domain, and at least one second routing domain management system configured to manage the at least one second routing domain.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

managing a routing domain of a first autonomous system having a first private network address space; and

managing a routing domain of a second autonomous system having a second private network address space that at least partially overlaps with the first private network address space,

wherein the first autonomous system and the second autonomous system are linked through a plurality of geographically diverse network management systems, and data communications between the network management systems are encapsulated to distinguish between data associated with the first autonomous system and data associated with the second autonomous system.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of geographically diverse network management systems form a linking autonomous system having a distributed architecture.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the linking autonomous system includes a multiple-domain Network-Operations-Center (NOC) configured to support a plurality of routing domains.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first private network address space and the second private network address space include Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses.

5. A method, comprising:

managing a routing domain of a first autonomous system having a first private network address space;

managing a routing domain of a second autonomous system having a second private network address space that at least partially overlaps with the first private network address space; and

receiving a packet transmitted from the first autonomous system, the packet having a structure including,

a tunnel packet field that includes a public source address of a first network management system and a public destination address of a second network management system,

a header field encapsulating another header field that includes a source client address, an autonomous network source address, a first network management system address, an autonomous network system destination address data, and a destination client address data, and

a payload field.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising:

removing the tunnel packet at the second network management system; and

transmitting the packet from the second network management system to the second autonomous network system.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the tunnel packet is encrypted.

8. A system comprising:

a first routing domain manager configured to manage a routing domain of a first autonomous system having a first private network address space; and

a second routing domain manager configured to manage a routing domain of a second autonomous system having a second private network address space that at least partially overlaps with the first private network address space,

wherein the first routing domain manager and the second routing domain manager are linked forming a geographically diverse network management system, and wherein communications between the first routing domain manager and the second routing domain manager are encapsulated to distinguish between data associated with the first autonomous system and data associated with the second autonomous system.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the first routing domain manager is located geographically apart from the second routing domain manager.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the system is a multiple-domain Network-Operations-Center (NOC) configured to support a plurality of routing domains.

11. A system according to claim 8, wherein the first private network address space and the second private network address space include Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses.

12. A system, comprising:

a first routing domain manager configured to manage a routing domain of a first autonomous system having a first private network address space; and

a second routing domain manager configured to manage a routing domain of a second autonomous system having a second private network address space that at least partially overlaps with the first private network address space,

wherein the first routing domain manager is configured to receive a packet transmitted from the first autonomous system, the packet having a structure including,

a tunnel packet field that includes a public source address of the first routing domain manager and a public destination address of the second routing domain manager,

a header field encapsulating another header field that includes a source client address, an autonomous network source address, an address of the first routing domain manager, an autonomous network system destination address data, and a destination client address data, and

a payload field.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the tunnel packet is removed at the second routing domain manager, and subsequently transmitted to the second autonomous network system.

14. A system according to claim 12, wherein the tunnel packet is encrypted.

15. A system comprising:

a plurality of routing domain managers coupled to a plurality of customer networks that are autonomous networks having at least partially overlapping private network addresses, wherein the routing domain managers are configured to manage routing domains of the customer networks, the routing domain managers being geographically diverse,

wherein the plurality of routing domain managers are linked forming a geographically diverse network management system, and wherein communications between the plurality of routing domain managers are encapsulated to distinguish the data between the plurality of autonomous customer networks.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein each of the routing domain managers includes a plurality of network management systems that are configured to provide one of fault management, configuration management, accounting, performance management, or security management.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein the system is a multiple-domain Network-Operations-Center (NOC) configured to support a plurality of routing domains.

18. A system according to claim 15, wherein the first private network address space and the second private network address space include Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses.

19. A system, comprising:

a plurality of routing domain managers coupled to one or more customer networks that are autonomous networks having overlapping private network addresses, wherein the routing domain managers are configured to manage routing domains of the customer networks, the routing domain managers being geographically diverse to provide fault isolation;

wherein one of the routing domain managers is configured to receive a packet transmitted from one of the customer networks, the packet having a structure including,

a tunnel packet field that includes a public source address of a first one of the routing domain managers and a public destination address of a second one of the routing domain managers,

a header field encapsulating another header field that includes a source client address, an autonomous network source address, an address of the first routing domain manager, an autonomous network system destination address data, and a destination client address data, and

a payload field.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the tunnel packet is removed at the second routing domain manager, and subsequently transmitted to another one of the customer networks.

21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the tunnel packet is encrypted.

22. A system according to claim 19, further comprising:

a transit network coupled to the routing domain managers and configured to form cross-transit network tunnels among the routing domain managers.