QoS Enforcement in Encapsulated IP Tunnels via Address Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Providing Quality of Service (QoS) in communication networks is complicated when IP-based media sessions are encapsulated in an IP tunnel, as the underlying client IP headers are stripped, making it difficult for visited networks to identify the correct edge devices for enforcing QoS policies.
Innovation Solution
The policy server in the network providing the tunnel performs address mapping between the internal client address and the outer tunnel address, enabling QoS application by identifying the correct policy server and edge device in the visited network, and only applying QoS when the session is active, with teardown of resources when the session ends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If IP-based media sessions are encapsulated in an IP tunnel for transmission through visited networks, then network flexibility and service delivery capability are improved, but the ability to identify client IP headers and enforce QoS policies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tunnel endpoint device as an intermediary that performs address mapping between inner client IP addresses and outer tunnel IP addresses. This intermediary maintains an association between the two address types, enabling the visited network to identify and enforce QoS policies on encapsulated traffic by translating outer tunnel addresses back to inner client addresses for policy matching.
2Reliability
If QoS resources are maintained continuously in the network, then service quality is improved, but network resource waste increases when sessions are inactive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic QoS resource allocation where resources are allocated and deallocated based on session state. The system monitors session activity and dynamically adjusts QoS resource reservations - maintaining resources during active sessions to ensure service quality, and releasing resources when sessions become inactive to prevent waste. This dynamic approach allows the network to adapt resource allocation to actual demand.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of providing QoS to a session from a client to a first network includes providing data packets from the client to be conveyed in a session from the client to a first network, inserting each of the data packets into an encapsulating packet, and transmitting the encapsulating packets through the second network to the first network, forming a tunnel through the second network. The method includes receiving the encapsulating packets at a terminating device in the first network. The terminating device removes the encapsulating headers to recover the data packets. The method includes determining an association between the packet headers of the data packets and the encapsulating headers, identifying data packets requiring QoS, and using the association to identify encapsulating packets corresponding data packets requiring Quality of Service. The method includes applying QoS to the encapsulating packets, corresponding to the session of data packets requiring the QoS, being conveyed through the tunnel.