Static BGP Routing via Egress Maps for Multi-Carrier Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Telecommunication carriers charge high fees for Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) services, especially for dynamic BGP, while static BGP offers cost savings but requires complex IP address allocation and limits user access to a single IP address for all destinations.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a mapping tool to determine the best path for static BGP traffic by looking up destination addresses in an egress map, allowing encapsulation or unencapsulated traffic based on tunnel availability, and dynamically managing next-hops in routing tables to optimize traffic routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If static routing is used to reduce IP transit charges, then cost is reduced, but services must use IP addresses assigned by each carrier which adds significant complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a border router as an intermediary device that sits between the service provider network and multiple carriers. This border router maintains routing tables and performs path determination, shielding the service from the complexity of multi-carrier routing while enabling static routing cost savings. The border router acts as a mediator that handles the routing decisions centrally rather than requiring distributed complexity across service devices.
2Loss of energy
If static routing is used to reduce costs, then per Mbit cost is reduced, but services cannot use a single IP address to reach all Internet destinations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a system where a single service can access multiple carriers through a unified interface. The border router provides universal access to all Internet destinations regardless of which carrier is used, allowing services to reach all destinations through a single logical path while the system transparently handles multi-carrier routing. This multi-functionality enables both cost reduction and IP address flexibility to coexist.
Solution Approach 2:
The border router serves as an intermediary that translates between the service's simple single-IP requirement and the complex multi-carrier routing reality. It maintains routing tables that map destinations to appropriate carriers and performs path determination, allowing services to use a single IP address configuration while the system handles the complexity of reaching all Internet destinations through multiple carriers.
3Loss of energy
If traditional dynamic BGP service is used, then services can advertise multiple prefixes at low cost per prefix, but per Mbit transit charge is very high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the routing parameter from dynamic BGP path selection to static routing paths. By pre-determining paths to each carrier and encoding them in routing tables at the border router, the system transitions from dynamic protocol-based routing to static route-based routing. This parameter change enables the use of less expensive static routing while maintaining the ability to reach multiple carriers, thus reducing per Mbit costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A system can determine by which path/tunnel an Internet destination can be best reached for a user with an IP address from a static BGP range. The system looks up the destination address in an egress map. This map can either specify a tunnel that should be used for encapsulation for static BGP, or (when tunnel is not present) cause the system to send out unencapsulated traffic, in which the traffic follows normal BGP routing on a border network.