System and method for guiding and distributing network load flow

• US 8,305,898 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2010
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Liu, Wei-Chen, Wu, Ming-Ho, Shyu, Ming-Shan, You, Feng-Peng, Chang, Ching-Keu
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhao, Wei
• Application Number:
  US12/815,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20110158097A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 370/235, 709/219
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users

Abstract

A system and method for guiding and distributing network load flow is proposed and characterized by providing service-providing equipment with better packet routes to reduce the load flow of a routing device. At least two service-providing devices are connected to enable the routing device to guide the packets sent by a user-end device into the at least two connected service-providing devices for allowing the service provider used by the user to process requested services and thereby reduce the number of times of sending data packets to the routing device. In the case that the subscriber has applied for multiple network services, the packets only need to be requested once with the connected service-providing equipment in order to complete all network services.

Claims

1. A system for guiding and distributing network load flow, said system comprising:

a user-end device;

a routing device, for providing the user-end device with network connection routes; and

a single service-providing equipment connected serially to at least a first service-providing device and a second service-providing device wherein the first service-providing device is connected in parallel to a first processing device providing a first service and to a second processing device providing the same first service wherein the second service-providing device is connected in parallel to a third processing device providing a second service and to a fourth processing device providing the same second service, wherein the first service and the second service are different services, enabling the single service-providing equipment belonging to a route set up by the routing device to provide user-subscribed-for or utilized services according to a serially-connected sequence of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing device comprises setup files as a transmission basis for packets transmitted from the user end device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the routing device determines transmission routes of the packets transmitted from the user-end device according to the setup files.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the setup files comprise IP information and RADIUS authentication, authorization and accounting information of the user-end device and information about user-subscribed-for services.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the routing device enables the packets of the user-end device to be transmitted to a corresponding service-providing device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device guides packets transmitted from the user-end device to the processing devices, for the processing devices to perform mail filtering, anti-virus, virus-scanning, abnormal packet checking and/or network page filtering services.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second-layer switch and a fourth-layer switch, wherein the second-layer switch and/or the fourth-layer switch are connected to the single service-providing equipment for providing flow load balancing.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device are connected to the processing devices for processing network load flow of proxy, bridge and/or mirror patterns guided by at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein one of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device is connected via a second-layer switch to the processing devices in a bridge pattern.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein one of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device is connected via a second-layer switch to the processing devices in a mirror pattern.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device are serially connected to at least a fourth-layer switch that is connected to the processing devices in a proxy pattern.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an inter-switch, wherein the single service-providing equipment is divided into at least two sets that are connected via the inter-switch to the routing device in a parallel manner or in a cluster manner.

13. A method for guiding and distributing network load flow, said method comprising the following steps of:

(1) serially-connecting at least a first service-providing device and a second service-providing device wherein the first service-providing device is connected in parallel to a first processing device providing a first service and to a second processing device providing the same first service wherein the second service-providing device is connected in parallel to a third processing device providing a second service and to a fourth processing device providing the same second service, wherein the first service and the second service are different services;

(2) enabling a user-end device connected to a network to transmit packets;

(3) enabling a routing device connected to the user-end device to determine routes of the packets according to setup files of the user-end device;

(4) enabling the routing device to guide the packets to at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device according to the routes, enabling a single service-providing equipment that provides the user-end device with user-subscribed-for services to complete the user-subscribed-for services for the packets according to serially-connected sequence of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device; and

(5) enabling the packets to return to the routing device, for the routing device to transmit the packets onward to the Internet.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the setup files include information about the user-subscribed-for services in order for the packets to be guided to at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device that provide services corresponding to the user-subscribed-for services of the user-end device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device are distributed across a plurality of sets, each of the sets connected to the routing device in a parallel manner or in a cluster manner.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, in step (1), one of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device is connected via a second-layer switch to the processing devices in a bridge pattern, such that, in step (4), at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device, after the packets are guided to at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device connected to the processing devices, guide the packets to one of the processing devices according to flow load balancing.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, in step (1), one of at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device is connected to the processing devices in a mirror pattern, such that, in step (4), at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device, after the packets are guided to at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device connected to the processing devices, guide the packets to one of the processing devices according to a flow load balancing mechanism and/or a fault-tolerance mechanism.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein, in step (1), at least the first service-providing device and the second service-providing device are serially connected to at least a fourth-layer switch that is connected to the processing devices in a proxy pattern, such that, in step (4), the at least a fourth-layer switch determines whether to guide the packets to one of the processing devices according to a flow load balancing mechanism and/or a fault-tolerance mechanism.