Method for setting up a connection

• US 8,155,132 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bouchat, Christele, Janssens, Nico Alfred Anna, Ooghe, Sven Maurice Joseph, Six, Erwin Alfons Constant
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bokhari, Syed M
• Application Number:
  US10/890,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20050013301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,827 Days
• Field of Search: 370/412, 370/420, 370/258, 370/418, 370/230, 370/395, 370/252, 370/401, 370/389, 370/352, 370/397, 370/236.1, 713/201, 709/219, 709/220
• US Class Current: 370/409
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2878 Access multiplexer, e.g. DSLAM generic distributed time multiplexers, e.g. TDM/TDMA H04J3/1694
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]

Abstract

In methods for setting up communications between digital-subscriber-line terminal modems (13) and internet-service-providers (30) via digital-subscriber-line-access-multiplexers (2,20) and forwarders (3) of asynchronous-transfer-mode-networks (1) further comprising dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-relay-agents (4,40), first messages are sent from the terminal modems (13) to the agents (4,40) via the access multiplexers (2,20), which first messages comprise incoming logical identifiers defining couplings (14) between the terminal modems (13) and the access multiplexers (2,20), second messages are sent from the agents (4,40) to dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-servers (5) for receiving internet-protocol-addresses to be supplied to the terminal modems (13) via the agents (4,40). To be able to locate the agents (4,40) outside the forwarders (3), the agents (4,40) convert the first messages into the second messages at least by inserting outgoing logical identifiers defining couplings (6) between the access multiplexers (2,20) and the forwarders (3), and the forwarders (3) are informed about relationships between the Internet-Protocol-addresses and the outgoing logical identifiers. The forwarders (3) then have sufficient knowlegde to find the right (part of the) access multiplexer (2,20).

Claims

1. A method for setting up a communication between a terminal modem and an internet-service-provider via an access multiplexer and a forwarder of an access network comprising an agent, with a coupling between the terminal modem and the access multiplexer being defined by an incoming logical identifier and with a coupling between the access multiplexer and the forwarder being defined by an outgoing logical identifier, which method comprises:

sending a first message from the terminal modem to the agent via the access multiplexer, which first message comprises the incoming logical identifier;

converting the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier;

sending the second message from the agent to a server for receiving an internet-protocol-address to be supplied to the terminal modem via the agent;

obtaining, by the server, the internet-protocol-address, after receiving the second message sent by the agent; and

informing the forwarder about the Internet-Protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

sending a third message comprising the internet-protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier from the server to the agent; and

sending the internet-protocol-address from the agent to the terminal modem via the access multiplexer.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the server is a dynamic host configuration protocol server.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the terminal modem is a digital subscriber line terminal modem, with the access multiplexer being a digital subscriber line access multiplexer.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the access network is an asynchronous transfer mode network, with the outgoing logical identifier comprising a virtual path identifier and a virtual circuit identifier.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the agent forms part of the access multiplexer.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the agent converts the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier.

12. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the forwarder is informed of an addressing of the access multiplexer to which to forward, based on the internet-protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

7. An agent for setting up a communication between a terminal modem and an internet-service-provider via an access multiplexer and a forwarder of an access network, with a coupling between the terminal modem and the access multiplexer being defined by an incoming logical identifier and with a coupling between the access multiplexer and the forwarder being defined by an outgoing logical identifier, which agent comprises:

a receiver for receiving a first message from the terminal modem via the access multiplexer, which first message comprises the incoming logical identifier;

a converter for converting the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier; and

a sender for sending the second message from the agent to a server for receiving an internet-protocol-address to be supplied to the terminal modem via the agent, wherein

the server obtains the internet-protocol-address after receiving the second message sent from the agent, and wherein

the forwarder is informed about the Internet-Protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

13. The agent as defined in claim 7, wherein the forwarder is informed of an addressing of the access multiplexer to which to forward, based on the inserted outgoing logical identifier.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a processor program product for setting up a communication between a terminal modem and an internet-service-provider via an access multiplexer and a forwarder of an access network of the processor program product, with a coupling between the terminal modem and the access multiplexer being defined by an incoming logical identifier and with a coupling between the access multiplexer and the forwarder being defined by an outgoing logical identifier, which when executed by a computer, the processor program product causes the computer to perform functions comprising:

a receiving function for receiving a first message from the terminal modem via the access multiplexer, which first message comprises the incoming logical identifier;

a converting function for converting the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier; and

a sending function for sending the second message from the processor program product to a server for receiving an internet-protocol-address to be supplied to the terminal modem via the processor program product, wherein

the server obtains the internet-protocol-address after receiving the second message sent from the agent, and wherein

the forwarder is informed about the Internet-Protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the forwarder is informed of an addressing of the access multiplexer to which to forward, based on the internet-protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

9. An access multiplexer comprising an agent for setting up a communication between a terminal modem and an internet-service-provider via the access multiplexer and a forwarder of an access network, with a coupling between the terminal modem and the access multiplexer being defined by an incoming logical identifier and with a coupling between the access multiplexer and the forwarder being defined by an outgoing logical identifier, which agent comprises:

a receiver for receiving a first message from the terminal modem via the access multiplexer, which first message comprises the incoming logical identifier;

a converter for converting the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier; and

a sender for sending the second message from the agent to a server for receiving an internet-protocol-address to be supplied to the terminal modem via the agent, wherein

the server obtains the internet-protocol-address after receiving the second message sent from the agent, and wherein

the forwarder is informed about the Internet-Protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

15. The access multiplexer as defined in claim 9, wherein the agent converts the first message into a second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier.

16. The access multiplexer as defined in claim 9, wherein the forwarder is informed of an addressing of the access multiplexer to which to forward, based on the internet-protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.

10. A server for setting up a communication between a terminal modem and an internet-service-provider via an access multiplexer and a forwarder of an access network comprising an agent, with a coupling between the terminal modem and the access multiplexer being defined by an incoming logical identifier and with a coupling between the access multiplexer and the forwarder being defined by an outgoing logical identifier, which server comprises:

a receiver for receiving a second message from the agent for receiving an internet-protocol-address destined for the terminal modem, which second message is generated by the agent in response to a reception of a first message from the terminal modem via the access multiplexer, which first message comprises the incoming logical identifier; and

a sender for sending the internet-protocol-address to the terminal modem via the agent, which agent has converted the first message into the second message at least by inserting the outgoing logical identifier, wherein

the internet-protocol-address is obtained by the server after receiving the second message sent from the agent.

17. The server as defined in claim 10, wherein the forwarder is informed of an addressing of the access multiplexer to which to forward, based on the internet-protocol-address and the outgoing logical identifier.