Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (publ)

Scott Andrew Mansfield

David Ian Allan

Eric Ward Gray

David Allan

János Farkas

Joel Halpern

Ghani Abbas

Tomas Thyni

Samita Chakrabarti

Ghani Abdul Muttalib Abbas

Christoph Meyer

Robert C Frazier

Robert C Ii Frazier

A method for adjusting bandwidth in a communications network having a plurality of nodes connected over multiple links with a plurality of services running on the links includes detecting an impairment of a link wherein the impairment invokes a reduction in bandwidth available to the services running on the link, communicating information about the impairment to other nodes in the network and redistributing services between the links to limit a bandwidth required by services running on the impaired link to a value not exceeding the bandwidth available on the impaired link.

Dynamic bandwidth adjustment in packet transport network

Embodiments of a method implemented in at least one fat tree network node for improved load distribution, wherein the node is one of a plurality of fat tree network nodes in a fat tree network each of which implement a tie-breaking process to produce minimum cost trees, is described. In some embodiments, a spanning tree computation for each root node of the fat tree network in order from a lowest ranked root node to a highest ranked node is performed, a filtering database for each root node of the fat tree network, wherein the filtering database includes a set of media access control (MAC) addresses of the leaf nodes of the fat tree network generated, and link utilization for each computed tree to use as a prefix to link identifiers used for at least one tie-breaking algorithm added.

Automated traffic engineering for fat tree networks

A flow classification process is used at the edge of the shortest path bridging network to determine a flow label for attachment to a client frame entering the network. Any of several flow labels can be assigned to a client frame traversing the network to a particular egress node, and the flow labels are used by forwarding nodes to select among multiple equal-cost paths. In several embodiments, the flow label is calculated as a function of the client frame contents, which provide an entropy source for randomizing the selection of the flow label. This entropy source comprises the Internet Protocol (IP) header in the client frame, in some embodiments, but may comprise other client frame content in other cases.

Load balancing in shortest-path-bridging networks

A method is implemented in a network element of a service network. The network element executes a packet processing element (PPE) of a plurality of PPEs, where each PPE in the plurality of PPEs executes a stage of packet processing for the service network and where the plurality of PPEs are connected to one another by a plurality of switch fabrics. The PPEs self-select a subset of a set of equivalent service chains to service with each service chain defining a subset and sequence of the plurality of PPEs. Each PPE self-selects the subset of equivalent service chains to process based upon knowledge of the plurality of PPEs servicing that stage of the full set of service chains such that there is spreading of load across all available PPEs in that stage. There is no single point of failure and minimal reassignment of PPEs for a set of equivalent data flows traversing the plurality of PPEs of the service network for changes in topography of the plurality of PPEs in the service network.

Encoding a payload hash in the DA-MAC to facilitate elastic chaining of packet processing elements

A method performed in a network element for reacting to communication performance measurements that fall outside of communication performance thresholds. The network element generates a communication performance measurement between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, wherein each endpoint is a point of communication in the network and at least the first endpoint resides on the network element. The network element retrieves a communication performance threshold and determines whether the communication performance measurement falls outside of the communication performance threshold. The network element generates a trigger associated with the communication performance measurement and the communication performance threshold when it is determined that the communication performance measurement falls outside of the communication performance threshold. The network element retrieves a registered handler associated with the generated trigger to indicate that the registered handler requires execution in response to the generated trigger and executes the registered handler.

Service assurance using network measurement triggers

A node and a method are described herein for computing forwarding trees to distribute traffic in a network. In addition, a network is described herein that has a plurality of nodes interconnected to one another by a plurality of network links, and each node is configured to perform multiple rounds of forwarding tree computations to distribute traffic load on one or more of the network links to the other nodes.

Node and method for computing forwarding trees to distribute traffic in a network

A network element disposed in a network, where the network element implements a process to manage load distribution across a plurality of network interfaces of the network. The network element redirects traffic flow directed toward the plurality of network interfaces in response to changes in configuration of the plurality of network interfaces, where each traffic flow is a set of protocol data units (PDUs), having an ordered delivery requirement, and where the PDUs are transmitted across the network between a source node and a destination node. The redirection process minimizes data traffic flow disruption when the load distribution is determined using a set of load distribution tables instead of a hashing algorithm.

System and method for variable-size table construction applied to a table-lookup approach for load-spreading in forwarding data in a network

A method in an Ethernet Bridge for improved load distribution in an Ethernet network that includes the Ethernet Bridge including determining a first set of one or more shortest paths between each Ethernet Bridge pair in the Ethernet network, selecting at least a first shortest path, calculating a link utilization value for each link of the Ethernet network, determining a second set of one or more shortest paths between each Ethernet Bridge pair in the Ethernet network, generating a path utilization value for each shortest path, selecting a second shortest path on the basis of said path utilization value, whereby the selection of the second shortest in light of path utilization minimizes the standard deviation of load distribution across the entire Ethernet network.

Automated traffic engineering for 802.1AQ based upon the use of link utilization as feedback into the tie breaking mechanism

A method implemented in a node of a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network for improved load distribution, including determining a first set of one or more shortest paths between each MPLS node pair, selecting at least a first shortest path by applying the common algorithm tie-breaking process, calculating a link utilization value for each link of the MPLS network, determining a second set of one or more shortest paths between each MPLS node pair, generating a path utilization value for each shortest path in the second set of shortest paths based on link utilization values corresponding to each shortest path, and selecting a second shortest path from the second set of shortest paths on the basis of said path utilization value, whereby the selection of the second subsets in light of path utilization minimizes the standard deviation of load distribution across the entire MPLS network.

Automated traffic engineering for multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) with link utilization as feedback into the tie-breaking mechanism

A method provides load distribution that selects one of a set equal cost paths for each flow that minimizes imbalance in the distribution of flows across the set of equal cost paths. The method includes calculating the set of equal cost paths to each destination node, generating a set of next hop discriminators, each next hop discriminator to uniquely identify one of the equal cost next hops, populating the load distribution table by storing, according to a distribution mechanism, in each load distribution table entry one of the next hop discriminators from the set of next hop discriminators, receiving a first PDU from a first flow and performing a lookup of one of the next hop discriminators in the load distribution table by using values at the bit locations of the first PDU directly as an index into a CAM.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Scott Andrew Mansfield