Architecture for supporting service level agreements in an IP network

A method of controlling packet traffic in an IP network, comprising the steps of:

• at one or more edge-nodes in a connectionless network, identifying inter-node connections and determining their corresponding initial traffic classes and traffic flows;
• transforming packets belonging to said inter-node connections to encode information about said traffic classes;
• and
• for one or more of said traffic flows, regulating the transmission rate of packets belonging to each of said one or more traffic flows to meet performance objectives according to service level agreements,
• wherein said regulation of transmission rate includes setting an upper limit for said rate, and
• wherein said regulation of packet transmission rate includes determining said rate by the further steps of:
• at edge-nodes, collecting traffic statistics and performance data relating to a traffic flow;
• processing the information from said collecting step to determine data flow rates for different priorities of traffic;
• repeating said collecting and processing steps at periodic intervals, and propagating said rate to individual nodes on said network in a quasi-static mode.

A method of controlling packet traffic in an IP network, comprising the steps of:

• at one or more edge-nodes in a connectionless network, identifying inter-node connections and determining their corresponding initial traffic classes and traffic flows;
• transforming packets belonging to said inter-node connections to encode information about said traffic classes;
• and
• for one or more of said traffic flows, regulating the transmission rate of packets belonging to each of said one or more traffic flows to meet performance objectives according to service level agreements,
• wherein said regulation of transmission rate includes setting an upper limit for said rate, and
• wherein said initial traffic classes and said encoding are changed by edge-nodes to form new traffic classes and new encoding for said inter-node connections.

An apparatus for controlling packet traffic in an IP network, comprising:

• at one or more edge-nodes in a connectionless network, means for identifying inter-node connections and determining their corresponding initial traffic classes and traffic flows, said means for determining said initial traffic classes further comprising means for looking up said initial traffic classes in a relatively static directory server, said relatively static directory server having a configuration that adapts to longer term fluctuations of traffic;
• means for transforming packets belonging to said inter-node connections to encode information about said traffic classes;
• and
• for one or more of said traffic flows, means for regulating the transmission rate of packets belonging to each of said one or more traffic flows to meet performance objectives according to service level agreements.

An apparatus for computing the rates for traffic flows at individual nodes in an IP network, comprising:

• means for determining the routing topology of a connectionless network;
• means for collecting statistics about traffic flows in the network;
• means for collecting performance information about traffic flows in the network;
• and
• means for combining said routing topology with said statistics and said performance information to determine the rates for traffic flows in the network to meet service level agreements,
• wherein said combining means is accomplished at periodic intervals and said rates are disseminated to network nodes in a quasi-static mode.

A method for optimizing resource utilization among customers of an IP network, comprising the steps of:

• defining service level agreements for each said customer;
• establishing a control server as a dynamic repository of network information, said information including resource utilization, topology, and service level agreements;
• receiving said topology information at said control server, said topology information including edge devices through which said customers connect to the network;
• establishing a directory server as a quasi-static repository of network information, said information including policy rules for mapping traffic to service levels, and for mapping service levels to performance requirements;
• monitoring traffic on said network at each of a plurality of edge devices, said edge devices operating to classify said traffic;
• using said control server to compute the allocation of backbone network resources and issue pacing instructions to said edge devices;
• and
• propagating directory server information to network devices automatically and without reconfirming the network, said propagation being accomplished dynamically over long time scales,
• wherein said network is connectionless.