Traffic Shaping Service Node for Subscriber Policy Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic shapers in computer networks are not capable of enforcing real-time subscriber policies and cannot handle high volumes of data traffic across core and access networks, leading to degraded quality of bandwidth-sensitive services like VoIP and VoD due to insufficient bandwidth allocation.
Innovation Solution
A traffic shaping service node positioned between access and core networks enforces per-subscriber, per-application traffic policies by classifying network traffic, maintaining real-time statistics, and updating policies to ensure optimal bandwidth allocation and packet shaping, thereby ensuring consistent service quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing traffic shapers are used to manage network traffic, then basic traffic shaping is possible, but they cannot enforce real-time subscriber policies and cannot handle high volumes of data traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The traffic shaper divides traffic into different classes based on subscriber and application identifiers, then applies different shaping policies to each class. This segmentation enables fine-grained control of high-volume traffic while maintaining service quality through differentiated service levels for different subscriber groups and applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The traffic shaper dynamically updates shaping parameters in real-time based on current network conditions and subscriber policies. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to handle varying data traffic volumes while maintaining consistent service quality by adapting bandwidth allocation to actual demand and network state.
2Productivity
If bandwidth is allocated to handle high data traffic volumes, then productivity increases, but bandwidth-sensitive services like VoIP and VoD experience degraded quality
Solution Approach 1:
The traffic shaper applies different quality parameters to different traffic classes, ensuring that bandwidth-sensitive services receive prioritized treatment. By assigning higher priority and dedicated bandwidth to VoIP and VoD traffic while applying standard shaping to other applications, the system maintains service quality for sensitive services even during high data traffic periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The traffic shaper continuously monitors network conditions and service quality metrics, using this feedback to adjust shaping parameters in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures that bandwidth-sensitive services maintain consistent quality by dynamically responding to network state changes and service performance data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traffic policies are updated in real-time to adapt to network conditions, then adaptability improves, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The traffic shaper pre-configures multiple shaping policies and parameter sets that can be quickly activated based on detected conditions. This preliminary preparation reduces the complexity of real-time decision-making by having pre-computed policies ready for common network scenarios, while still enabling adaptability to changing conditions through predefined response options.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for an application aware traffic shaping service node positioned between the access and core networks is described. One embodiment of the invention enforces a per subscriber, per application traffic policy for network traffic between one or more subscribers communicatively connected through an access network and a set of one or more service providers communicatively connected through a core network. According to another embodiment of the invention enforcement of the per subscriber, per application traffic policy comprises classifying the network traffic into application level subscriber flows, maintaining real-time statistics on the application level subscriber flows and overall network element congestion, updating, in real-time, the per subscriber, per application traffic policy based on the real-time statistics and restricting bandwidth and dropping packets on the application level subscriber flows as necessary to enforce the per subscriber, per application traffic policy. Another embodiment of the invention is a passthrough mode where the data traffic is transmitted by the traffic in the same manner as received by the traffic shaping service node. Yet another embodiment of the invention is a combined service node with integral edge routing and traffic aggregator.