Level 3 Communications, LLC

Tw Telecom Holdings, Inc.

James Michael Sella

William Sella

Pete Joseph Caputo, Ii

Travis Duane Ewert

Harold Wayne Teets

Pete Joseph Ii Caputo

William Thomas Sella

Pete Joseph Caputo

Disclosed are system, method, and computer-readable medium embodiments for a network to provide network applications and services and estimate network metrics for individual applications and services. In an embodiment, a first routing device receives a packet and determines that the packet is to be sampled. The first routing device samples the packet by storing first information associated with the packet and transmits the first information to a measurement server. The first routing device transmits the packet towards a destination according to routing information. A second routing device receives the packet and determines that the packet is to be sampled. The second routing device samples the packet by storing second information associated with the packet and transmitting the second information to the measurement server. The measurement server determines a measurement based on the first information and second information.

Sampling packets to measure network performance

In an embodiment, a method exchanges routing data within a network including control and forwarding on separate devices. In the method, a first reachability information session is established between a forwarding device and a first control device and a second reachability information session is established between the forwarding device and a second control device. Also, a third reachability information session is established between the forwarding device and an external routing device. Finally, advertisements are exchanged between the first and second reachability information sessions and the third reachability information session such that the first and second control device appear to the external routing device to be a single device. System and computer program product embodiments are also disclosed.

Proxy of routing protocols to redundant controllers

A Software Defined Network (SDN) includes a plurality of forwarding devices and a routing control device located separate from the forwarding devices. The routing control device, establishes paths to and from the network forwarding devices. Using such paths, forwarding devices send the routing control device information reflecting the topology if the network. Embodiments disclosed herein enable automatic discovery of the topology of the network and the paths to and from the routing control device.

Control device discovery in networks having separate control and forwarding devices

A network includes a plurality of endpoint routers and intermediate routers. When a new data stream is detected at any endpoint router, the first packet is sent to a virtual routing server with knowledge of the entire network topology. Based on the topology, current usage, and historical usage, the virtual routing server determined a path for the data stream and begins to update the routing tables of the intermediate routers to reflect the determined path. Until the update is complete, all packets in the data stream are routed first to the virtual routing server and then to their destination. Once the update is complete, packets in the data stream are routed directly along the determined path.

Buffer-less virtual routing

Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for dynamically applying network functions to traffic flows based on heuristics, policy conditions and client-specified conditions. A network monitors a network traffic flow to determine whether the network traffic flow meets a first criterion of a first rule. The criterion specifies that when the first criterion is met a network function be used to analyze or process the network traffic flow. When the network traffic flow is determined to meet the first criterion, the network determines a first route through the network to a network function provider that provides the network function and configures one or more routers along the first route to forward the network traffic flow to the network function provider for analysis or processing.

Adaptive network function chaining

A user of a communication network may have specific requirements for its critical data streams. The user may require dedicated channel capacity for its critical application. A dedicated channel may be separate from a common channel carrying non-critical data of the user. The user may create policies for assigning channel capacities to its critical data streams based on various criteria. The user may also create policies on sharing the dedicated channel capacity among its different critical data streams.

Growing community of inventors

Parker, CO, United States of America

James Michael Sella