US 8,804,720 B1 · Pass-through multicast admission control signaling

Abstract

In general, techniques are described for simplifying admission control signaling between subscriber devices, access nodes, and service edge routers to facilitate subscriber-specific admission control for multicast streams. In one example, a service edge router receives a service request and accesses a subscriber profile to determine whether the requesting subscriber is authorized to receive the service. Upon authorization, the service edge router returns the service request to the access node in a substantially similar form in which the service request was received. The access node receives the service request on a service edge router-facing interface, indicating the service edge router has granted authorization for the subscriber device to receive multicast traffic associated with the multicast group identified within the service request. The access node therefore modifies internal mapping tables that determine local elaboration of multicast traffic associated with the multicast group to include an interface to the subscriber device.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

receiving, by a network device, a first multicast service signaling message that specifies a multicast group;
determining, by a data plane of the network device, that the first multicast service signaling message carries layer three (L3) multicast service signaling information;
determining, by the data plane of the network device, whether the first multicast service signaling message was received on a first layer two (L2) interface connecting the network device to an upstream services router or on a second L2 interface connecting the network device to a downstream subscriber device;
in response to determining that the first multicast service signaling message was received on the first L2 interface connecting the network device to the upstream services router, filtering, by the data plane of the network device, the first multicast service signaling message to a control plane of the network device for processing by the control plane of the network device;
and
modifying, by the control plane of the network device, multicast filter information in the data plane of the network device in accordance with the L3 multicast service signaling information to affect replication and forwarding, to the downstream subscriber device, by the data plane of the network device, multicast traffic associated with the multicast group.

3 more elements

A network device situated between an upstream services router and a downstream subscriber device, the network device comprising:

a control unit having a control plane and a data plane;
multicast filter information that specifies one or more multicast groups for which the downstream subscriber device is a receiver;
a second layer two (L2) interface connected to the downstream subscriber device;
a first L2 interface connected to the upstream services router, that receives a first multicast service signaling message that specifies a multicast group, wherein the data plane determines the first multicast service signaling message carries layer three (L3) multicast service signaling information, and wherein the data plane further determines whether the first multicast service signaling message was received on the first L2 interface connecting the network device to the upstream services router or on the second L2 interface connecting the network device to the downstream subscriber device;
a filter that, in response to a determination by the data plane of the network device that the first multicast service signaling message was received on the first L2 interface connecting the network device to the upstream services router, causes the data plane to filter the first multicast service signaling message to the control plane for processing by the control plane of the network device;
and
a multicast filtering module of the control plane that modifies the multicast filter information to alter replication and forwarding, to the downstream subscriber device, by the data plane of the network device, multicast traffic associated with the multicast group.

4 more elements

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a programmable processor of a network device to:

receive a first multicast service signaling message that specifies a multicast group;
determine, by a data plane of the network device, that the first multicast service signaling message carries layer three (L3) multicast service signaling information;
determine, by the data plane of the network device, whether the first multicast service signaling message was received on a first layer two (L2) interface connecting the network device to an upstream services router or on a second L2 interface connecting the network device to a downstream subscriber device;
in response to determining that the first multicast service signaling message was received on the first L2 interface connecting the network device to the upstream services router and by the data plane of the network device, filter the first multicast service signaling message to a control plane of the network device for processing by the control plane of the network device;
and
modify, by the control plane of the network device, multicast filter information in the data plane of the network device to affect replication and forwarding, to the downstream subscriber device, multicast traffic associated with the multicast group.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Pass-through multicast admission control signaling

Life of this patent

Pass-through multicast admission control signaling

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20