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US6859438B2 Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Policy based quality of service

Assignee: Arista Networks Inc
•
Filing: 2003-12-05
•
Granted: 2005-02-22
•
Expires: 2023-12-05
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Abstract

Abstract A flexible, policy-based, mechanism for managing, monitoring, and prioritizing traffic within a network and allocating bandwidth to achieve true quality of service (QoS) is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for managing bandwidth allocation in a network that employs a non-deterministic access protocol, such as an Ethernet network. A packet forwarding device receives information indicative of a set of traffic groups, such as: a MAC address, or IEEE 802.1p priority indicator or 802.1Q frame tag, if the QoS policy is based upon individual station applications; or a physical port if the QoS policy is based purely upon topology. The packet forwarding device additionally receives bandwidth parameters corresponding to the traffic groups. After receiving a packet associated with one of the traffic groups on a first port, the packet forwarding device schedules the packet for transmission from a second port based upon bandwidth parameters corresponding to the traffic group with which the packet is associated. According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for managing bandwidth allocation in a packet forwarding device. The packet forwarding device receives information indicative of a set of traffic groups. The packet forwarding device additionally receives information defining a QoS policy for the traffic groups. After a packet is received by the packet forwarding device, a traffic group with which the packet is associated is identified. Subsequently, rather than relying on an end-to-end signaling protocol for scheduling, the packet is scheduled for transmission based upon the QoS policy for the identified traffic group.

Inventors

  • 👤 Stephen R. Haddock
  • 👤 Justin N. Chueh
  • 👤 Shehzad T. Merchant
  • 👤 Andrew H. Smith
  • 👤 Michael Yip

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-29 11:39
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L47/00; H04L47/10

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim 75 words
A method of data communications, comprising: receiving a data packet having classification information; identifying a Quality of Service (QoS) to associate with the data packet based at least in part on the classification information; placing the data packet in a QoS queue corresponding to the associated QoS; and scheduling the data packet to be transmitted with other data packets from the QoS queue at or above a minimum bandwidth allocation corresponding to the associated QoS.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 75 words
A method of data communications, comprising: receiving a data packet having classification information; identifying a Quality of Service (QoS) to associate with the data packet based at least in part on the classification information; placing the data packet in a QoS queue corresponding to the associated QoS; and scheduling the data packet to be transmitted with other data packets from the QoS queue at or above a minimum bandwidth allocation corresponding to the associated QoS.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 40 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the QoS based at least in part on the classification information comprises identifying the QoS based at least in part on a source identifier and a destination identifier for the data packet.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 36 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the QoS based at least in part of the classification information comprises identifying the QoS based at least in part on a packet type of the data packet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 52 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising assigning a queue threshold number to the QoS queue; and wherein placing the data packet in the QoS queue further includes adding the data packet to the QoS queue if a number of packets in the QoS queue does not exceed the threshold number.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 84 words
A network device comprising: a receive port to receive a data packet having classification information; a logic circuit to identify a Quality of Service (QoS), to associate with the data packet based at least in part on the classification information, and place the data packet in a QoS queue corresponding to the associated QoS; and a scheduler to dequeue the data packet with other data packets from the QoS queue and allocated at least a minimum bandwidth corresponding to the associated QoS for transmission.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 84 words
A network device comprising: a receive port to receive a data packet having classification information; a logic circuit to identify a Quality of Service (QoS), to associate with the data packet based at least in part on the classification information, and place the data packet in a QoS queue corresponding to the associated QoS; and a scheduler to dequeue the data packet with other data packets from the QoS queue and allocated at least a minimum bandwidth corresponding to the associated QoS for transmission.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 31 words
The network device of claim 5 , wherein the logic circuit identifies the QoS based at least in part on a source identifier and a destination identifier for the data packet.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 27 words
The network device of claim 5 , wherein the logic circuit identifies the QoS based at least in part on a packet type of the data packet.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 50 words
The network device of claim 5 , further comprising the logic circuit to assign a queue threshold number to the QoS queue, and wherein the logic circuit adds the data packet to the QoS queue if a number of packets in the QoS queue does not exceed the threshold number.

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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2008-02-22 2008-08-23 2009-02-22 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2012-02-22 2012-08-23 2013-02-22 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2016-02-22 2016-08-23 2017-02-22 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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