At&t Intellectual Property I, LP

At+t Corp.

Penn L Pfautz

Huajin Jeng

Walter Paul Zahray

Robert R Marchiano

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for advertising network layer reachability information specifying a quality of service for an identified network flow are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein to specify quality of service for network flows include receiving network layer reachability information including a first quality of service class specified for a first network flow, the network layer reachability information having been advertised by a first network element that is to receive the first network flow. Such example methods can also include updating an incoming packet determined to belong to the first network flow to indicate that the incoming packet belongs to the first quality of service class, the incoming packet being received from a second network element. Such example methods can further include, after updating the incoming packet, routing the incoming packet towards the first network element.

Advertising network layer reachability information specifying a quality of service for an identified network flow

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for advertising network layer reachability information specifying a quality of service for a network flow are disclosed. Example network devices disclosed herein construct a packet filter based on a flow specification and a first quality of service advertised by a destination device for a first network flow, the packet filter to associate a default quality of service with a first incoming packet not associated with any of one or more advertised network flows represented in the packet filter. Disclosed example network devices also set, based on the packet filter, one or more bits of a second incoming packet that belongs to the first network flow to a value representative of the first quality of service. Disclosed example network devices further cause the second incoming packet to be routed towards the destination device based on the first quality of service.

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for advertising network layer reachability information specifying a quality of service for a network flow are disclosed. An example first network device disclosed herein is to advertise a first flow specification and a first quality of service for a first network flow to be received by the first network device, and access a second flow specification and a second quality of service advertised by a second network device for a second network flow that is to be received by the second network device. The example first network device is also to update bits of an incoming packet that belongs to the second network flow to determine an updated incoming packet, and assign the updated incoming packet to a routing queue corresponding to the second quality of service to cause the updated incoming packet to be routed towards the second network device.

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for advertising network layer reachability information specifying a quality of service for a network flow are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein include advertising a first flow specification and a first quality of service for a first network flow to be received by a first network element, and constructing a packet filter for a second network flow based on a second flow specification and a second quality of service advertised by a second network element that is to receive the second network flow. Disclosed example methods also include adjusting, based on the packet filter, bits of an incoming packet determined to belong to the second network flow to determine an updated incoming packet, and assigning the updated incoming packet to a routing queue corresponding to the second quality of service to cause the updated incoming packet to be routed towards the second network element.

A communication network includes a Virtual Private Network (VPN) interconnection to a Foreign Exchange (FX) service. A method for routing a call for a telecommunication network customer having Virtual Private Network (VPN) capability and Foreign Exchange (FX) lines, includes receiving a call destination number from a first customer location originating point having an origination location number. The method further includes routing the call to an FX line of the customer corresponding to the destination number through a virtual private network of the customer.

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Middletown, NJ, United States of America

Penn L Pfautz