Home gateway device for providing multiple services to customer devices

• US 8,351,427 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Damola, Ayodele, Kölhi, Johan, Olsson, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, Jr., Otis L
• Application Number:
  US12/520,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20100061364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,203 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks

Abstract

A telecommunication node such as a home gateway and a method of routing data packets received from customer premises devices connected to the node. The node includes an operator-configurable service profile table for storing service profiles and a user-configurable customer devices table for storing the source addresses of the customer premises devices and associations between each source address and at least one of the service profiles. The operator controls service provisioning while the user can freely allocate the customer premises devices to different service profiles and can access a plurality of services from the same device.

Claims

1. A method in a telecommunication node for routing data packets received from a customer premises device having a source address towards a service node having a destination address, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving by an input interface, a data packet from the customer premises device, the data packet including the source address of the customer premises device and the destination address of the service node;

determining by a routing table, an output interface associated with the destination address, the output interface for forwarding the received data packet toward the service node;

identifying by a service profile table, a service profile associated with the output interface, wherein the service profile includes at least one service parameter;

determining whether the service profile is associated with the source address utilizing a table interface over which selected service profiles in the service profile table and the source address of the customer premises device are associated with each other; and

forwarding the data packet towards the service node over the output interface if the service profile is associated with the source address;

wherein when the customer premises device sends a different packet to the telecommunication node with a different destination address, the method further comprises the telecommunication node providing the customer premises device with access to a different service node when the table interface indicates the source address of the different packet is associated with one of the service profiles in the service profile table.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising attaching a value of the at least one service parameter to the data packet before forwarding the packet.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the at least one service parameter is a Quality of Service parameter.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the source address comprises a MAC address of the customer premises device.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one destination address comprises a MAC address of the service node.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one destination address comprises an IP address of the service node.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the at least one destination address also includes a destination port number.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the output interface is a virtual LAN interface.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the telecommunication node is a home gateway, and the customer premises device is located in a local area network connected to the home gateway.

10. A telecommunication node for routing data packets from at least one customer premises device towards at least one service node, the telecommunication node comprising:

a processor coupled to a non-transitory memory, the processor configured to control operation of the telecommunication node;

a service profile table configured to store a plurality of service profiles, each service profile associated with a different output interface toward a different service node, wherein each service profile includes at least one service parameter;

a customer premises device table configured to store a source address of a customer premises device;

a table interface over which selected service profiles in the service profile table and the source address in the customer premises device table are associated with each other;

an input interface configured to receive from the customer premises device data packet including the source address of the customer premises device and a destination address; and

a routing table configured to determine from the destination address of the packet, an output interface and a service profile associated with the determined output interface;

wherein the processor is configured to route the packet to the determined output interface when the table interface indicates the source address is associated with the service profile associated with the determined output interface; and

wherein when the customer premises device sends a different packet to the telecommunication node with a different destination address, the telecommunication node is configured to provide the customer premises device with access to a different service node when the table interface indicates the source address of the different packet is associated with one of the service profiles in the service profile table.

11. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 10, wherein the service profile table includes at least one configurable service profile comprising at least one service parameter.

12. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 11, wherein the service profile table is operator-configurable.

13. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 12, further comprising means for connecting over a management protocol to a Remote Management System (RMS) from where an operator can configure the service profile table.

14. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 11, wherein the customer premises device table and the table interface are user-configurable.

15. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 14, further comprising a web interface accessible from the at least one customer premises device from where the user can configure the customer premises device table and the table interface.

16. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 11, further comprising at least one set of meters for storing traffic measurement data.

17. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 16, wherein the at least one service profile is associated with the at least one set of meters.

18. The telecommunication node as recited in claim 17, further comprising means for connecting over a management protocol to a remote management system RMS from where content of at least one meter in the at least one set of meters can be read or altered by the operator.