US 2015/0040208 A1Published application

Method for operating multi-domain provider ethernet networks

AssigneeRockstar Consortium US LP

InventorLiam CASEY

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Abstract

A method of enabling extension of a network service of a first domain to a remote customer site hosted by an Access Gateway (AG) in a Provider Ethernet domain. In the first domain, the remote customer site is represented as being hosted by a border gateway (BG) connected to the Provider Ethernet domain, such that subscriber packets associated with the network service are forwarded to or from the remote customer site via the BG. In the Provider Ethernet domain, a trunk connection is instantiated through the Provider Ethernet domain between the host AG and the BG. A trunk cross-connection function is installed in the host AG, for transferring subscriber packets associated with the network service between a respective attachment virtual circuit (AVC) through which the remote customer site is connected to the host AG and an extended AVC tunnelled through the trunk connection. A common service instance identifier (I-SID) is used to identify both the AVC between the host AG and the remote customer site and the extended AVC between the host AG and the BG.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A non-transitory processor-readable medium carrying instructions for execution by at least one processor of an access network element to provide access to a network service instance hosted in a home network domain to a customer site in a foreign network domain, the access network element being configured for connection to the customer site in the foreign domain, the instructions comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor:

to receive from the customer site in the foreign network domain a request to access the network service instance;
to request authentication of the customer site from the home network domain;
in response to receiving authentication of the customer site from the home network domain, to initiate establishment of an attachment virtual circuit between the customer site in the foreign network domain and an access gateway of the foreign network domain, the attachment virtual circuit being associated with a service instance identifier and extending over a trunk from the access gateway of the foreign network domain through a border gateway of the foreign network domain to a boundary of the foreign network domain for connection to a border gateway of the home network domain at the boundary of the foreign network domain, the extended attachment virtual circuit being identified within the trunk by the service instance identifier;
to receive foreign-domain-bound traffic tagged with the service instance identifier on the extended attachment virtual circuit;
to forward the received foreign-domain-bound traffic on the extended attachment virtual circuit through the foreign network domain to the customer site based, at least in part, on the service instance identifier;
to receive traffic from the customer site;
to tag the traffic received from the customer site with the service instance identifier;
and
to forward the tagged traffic on the extended attachment virtual circuit through the foreign network domain toward the border gateway of the home network domain.

6 more elements

A non-transitory processor-readable medium carrying instructions for execution by at least one processor of a border gateway to provide access to a network service instance hosted in a home network domain to customer site in a foreign network domain, the border gateway being configured for use in the home domain to connect to a border gateway of the foreign domain, the instructions comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor:

to associate a first service instance identifier with a second service instance identifier and with an extended attachment virtual circuit coupled to the customer site in the foreign network domain;
to receive foreign-domain-bound traffic tagged with the first service instance identifier from the home domain;
to forward the received foreign-domain-bound traffic on the extended attachment virtual circuit through the foreign network domain to the customer site based, at least in part, on the first service instance identifier;
to receive home-domain-bound traffic tagged with the second service instance identifier on the extended attachment virtual circuit from the customer site;
and
to forward the home-domain-bound traffic on the home network domain.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/520,724Filed 22 Oct 2014
Priority: 22 Dec 2008
Published: 5 Feb 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

H04L 63/10
Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security: for controlling access to devices or network resources
H04L 12/2856
Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks: access arrangements, e.g. Internet access
H04L 12/4633
Interconnection of networks: interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
H04L 12/4658
Wherein a single frame includes a plurality of VLAN tags: wherein a VLAN tag represents a service provider backbone VLAN, e.g. B-Tag, S-Tag

Family

Application12/340,817Continuation · filed 22 Dec 2008
Application13/679,500Continuation · filed 16 Nov 2012
Application13/922,843Continuation · filed 20 Jun 2013
Application14/520,724Continuation
US 2010/0158017 A1Published application
US 2013/0080637 A1Published application
US 2013/0279511 A1Published application
US 8,325,732 B2Related patent
US 8,559,363 B2Related patent
US 8,891,439 B2Related patent
US 9,112,869 B2Related patent
US 2015/0040208 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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