Alcatel Lucent

Georg Hampel

Moritz M Steiner

Tian Bu

Lawrence M Drabeck

Jim McKie

Buvaneswari A Ramanan

Bu Tian

Peter Bosch

Moritz Steiner

A software-defined network overlay capability is configured to control one or more overlay networks using software-defined networking (SDN) in which control functions and forwarding functions are separated. The software-defined network overlay capability may be configured to vertically move packets across network layers, e.g., into an overlay network (e.g., into a tunnel via encapsulation), out of an overlay network (e.g., out of a tunnel via decapsulation), or the like. The software-defined network overlay capability may be configured to move packets from native forwarding infrastructure into an overlay network, between overlay networks (e.g., into a first overlay network from a second overlay network without leaving the second overlay network, out of a first overlay network and into a second overlay network, out of a first overlay network while remaining within a second overlay network, or the like), from an overlay network onto native forwarding infrastructure, or the like.

Software-defined network overlay

A capability is provided for virtualizing control plane functions of a wireless core packet network (WCPN). A forwarding element (FE) is configured to provide a set of data plane functions of the WCPN. A virtual control element (VCE) is configured to provide a set of control plane functions of the WCPN. The VCE includes a set of virtual machines (VMs) where at least one of the VMs is configured to detect a condition associated with a tunnel, for a wireless terminal (WT), between the FE and a wireless access device (WAD) configured to serve the WT, and propagate, toward the FE, a message comprising a tunnel command configured to instruct the FE to at least one of install, remove, or modify a tunnel rule associated with the tunnel between the FE and the WAD. The tunnel enables the WT to access a packet data network (PDN).

Virtualization of control plane functions of a wireless core packet network

Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method for transmitting data packets in a cellular network to a user equipment using a first distributed access gateway, including: receiving a first tunnel request from a second distributed access gateway; establishing a first tunnel with the second distributed access gateway; receiving a first data packet destined to the user equipment from a native packet transport network; and transmitting the first data packet to the user equipment via the first tunnel to the second distributed access gateway.

Architecture for cellular networks

Growing community of inventors

New York, NY, United States of America

Georg Hampel