Service Interface Codepoint Profile Mapping for Network Traffic
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing differentiated services approaches in communication networks require constant examination of the differentiated services codepoint value, leading to increased processing demands and potential security vulnerabilities, while also necessitating network-wide upgrades, which can impair communication if not all nodes support these enhancements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and apparatus that associate a differentiated services codepoint profile with each service interface to map codepoint values to classes of service and drop precedence, allowing packets to be assigned to transport interfaces based on their class, thereby optimizing resource allocation and maintaining compatibility with nodes that do not support differentiated services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If differentiated services codepoint field is introduced to enable service discrimination, then service discrimination capability is improved, but network processing complexity and bandwidth consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the service discrimination function from the packet header examination process and implements it through pre-configured per-interface policies. Instead of examining codepoint values throughout the network, each interface has pre-established mapping tables that automatically associate incoming packets with appropriate queues based on their codepoint values, thereby eliminating the need for constant codepoint examination while maintaining service discrimination capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring per-interface differentiated services codepoint profiles before packets arrive. These profiles define the mapping between codepoint values and queue assignments in advance, so that when packets are received, the system can immediately apply the pre-established mappings without performing complex real-time analysis, thus reducing processing complexity while maintaining adaptability
2Adaptability or versatility
If differentiated services codepoint field is examined throughout the network, then service discrimination is improved, but security vulnerabilities increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the security vulnerability by extracting the codepoint examination function from the packet forwarding process. Instead of examining codepoint values at each routing decision point where manipulation could occur, the system uses pre-configured interface policies that automatically handle packet classification, thereby eliminating the attack surface while preserving service discrimination
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of codepoint manipulation into a benefit by using the codepoint field solely for packet classification purposes through pre-configured mappings. The codepoint values are not examined for routing decisions but are instead used to automatically assign packets to appropriate queues based on established policies, thereby eliminating the security risk while maintaining service discrimination capability
3Adaptability or versatility
If entire network is upgraded to support differentiated services enhancements, then service discrimination is improved, but network compatibility and reliability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing differentiated services functionality at individual interfaces rather than requiring network-wide deployment. Each interface can independently configure its own per-interface codepoint profiles and queue mappings, allowing service discrimination to be enabled locally without requiring all nodes in the network to support the enhanced functionality, thereby maintaining compatibility with legacy nodes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the differentiated services functionality into individual interface-level policies rather than implementing it as a network-wide protocol requirement. This segmentation allows different parts of the network to operate with different levels of functionality - interfaces with differentiated services capability can provide advanced service discrimination while interfaces without this capability continue to operate with standard IP routing, thereby maintaining overall network reliability and compatibility
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for communicating data packets according to classes of service is described. One or more service interfaces are coupled to a plurality of transport interfaces. The service interfaces carry packets having multiple classes of service, while each of the plurality of transport interfaces carries packets of a single class of service. A differentiated services codepoint profile is associated with each service interface and maps a differentiated services codepoint value of a data packet to a class of service and a drop precedence. The data packet is assigned to a transport interface based on its class of service and its drop precedence. Other factors, such as the destination of the data packet may be considered when assigning the data packet to a transport interface. Data packets from different transport interfaces are preferably enqueued in different queues of a destination service interface.