Providing differentiated service to traffic flows obscured by content distribution systems

A method for providing differentiated service to traffic flows of a content distribution network, the method comprising:

• determining an internet protocol address from which a traffic flow was sent, wherein the traffic flow is associated with a request for content;
• determining, by utilizing instructions from memory that are executed by a processor, if a first portion of the internet protocol address includes a route identifier that identifies a node in the content distribution network that provides the content by comparing the first portion to a set of prefixes for the content distribution network;
• determining if a second portion of the internet protocol address matches a unique host address that is specified by the content distribution network for a customer of the content distribution network;
• determining if a rule for providing a differentiated service for the customer exists if the first portion of the internet protocol address is determined to be in the set of prefixes and if the second portion of the internet protocol address matches the unique host address specified by the content distribution network for the customer;
• and
• providing the differentiated service for the traffic flow if the rule is determined to exist for the customer.

A computer-readable device comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• determining an internet protocol address from which a traffic flow was sent, wherein the traffic flow is associated with a request for content;
• determining if a first portion of the internet protocol address includes a route identifier that identifies a node in a content distribution network that provides the content by comparing the first portion to a set of prefixes for the content distribution network;
• determining if a second portion of the internet protocol address matches a unique host address that is specified by the content distribution network for a customer of the content distribution network;
• determining if a rule for providing a differentiated service for the customer exists if the first portion of the internet protocol address is determined to be in the set of prefixes and if the second portion of the internet protocol address matches the unique host address specified by the content distribution network for the customer;
• and
• providing the differentiated service for the traffic flow if the rule is determined to exist for the customer.