Multicast Admission Control for Bandwidth Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current quality-of-service mechanisms in networking systems cannot dynamically manage bandwidth to enforce service level agreements (SLAs) in multicast networks, leading to potential overburdening and inefficient bandwidth allocation.
Innovation Solution
A switch with a processor and multicast forwarding table dynamically determines available upstream and downstream bandwidth, allocates it for multicast requests, and removes allocations if no response is received within a timeout period, ensuring bandwidth is restored and SLAs are enforced.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If quality-of-service mechanisms are designed to deal with traffic that has already entered the network, then service quality can be maintained for existing traffic, but additional traffic cannot be stopped from entering the network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements connection admission control that performs preliminary assessment of network capacity before allowing new multicast connections. The system evaluates available bandwidth and SLA compliance prior to admission, preventing network overburden before it occurs rather than dealing with traffic after entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors network traffic and bandwidth utilization, using this feedback to dynamically adjust admission decisions. When network capacity approaches limits or SLAs are at risk of violation, the feedback mechanism triggers rejection of new connection requests, maintaining service quality while preventing overload.
2Reliability
If bandwidth is allocated for multicast requests, then service level agreements can be enforced, but bandwidth cannot be recovered if requests fail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic monitoring of multicast connection status with timeout mechanisms. If expected traffic or acknowledgments do not arrive within designated time periods, the system detects failed connections and triggers bandwidth recovery, ensuring allocated resources are reclaimed from failed requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically discards bandwidth allocations for failed multicast requests and recovers these resources for reuse. Through timeout detection and connection status monitoring, the patent ensures that bandwidth previously allocated to failed connections is returned to the available pool, eliminating resource waste.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If connection admission control is implemented, then additional traffic can be stopped from entering the network, but existing quality-of-service mechanisms cannot be enhanced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates connection admission control with multicast forwarding functionality in a unified switch architecture. The same switching fabric and control plane that handle traditional unicast QoS also manage multicast admission, allowing the system to enforce SLAs across multiple traffic types without requiring separate specialized mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts admission control parameters based on real-time network conditions and SLA requirements. Rather than static rules, the patent implements adaptive decision-making that responds to changing traffic patterns, bandwidth availability, and service level priorities, enhancing QoS flexibility while maintaining traffic control.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for networked communications includes determining a group identifier associated with a received request for multicast data, determining an available upstream bandwidth and an available downstream bandwidth, adding an entry for the identified group into a multicast forwarding table, allocating bandwidth from the available upstream bandwidth and available downstream bandwidth, the allocated bandwidth corresponding to bandwidth required by the requested multicast data, and forwarding the received request to an upstream network destination. The method includes, if no response is received in response to the received request within a designated timeout period, removing the entry for the identified group in the multicast forwarding table, and restoring the allocated bandwidth to the available upstream bandwidth and available downstream bandwidth.