CN101120546B - Method and node for processing broadcast messages on access domain - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and nodes for performing bridging of data traffic over an access domain. For doing so, for data traffic received at an access node from a first user domain and destined to a second user domain, the access node identifies a service binding corresponding to the received data. Then, the access node tunnels the data traffic in a Unicast message addressed to an access edge node in accordance with the identified service binding. The tunnelled data traffic is then forwarded to the access edge node. The access edge node receives the tunnelled data traffic, and identifies the service binding corresponding to the received tunnelled data traffic. The access edge node then proceeds with redirecting the tunnelled data traffic to a second access node in accordance with the identified service binding therein. The redirected tunnelled data traffic is received at a second access node, where it is detunnelled and forwarded to the second user domain. The method also provides an access node and an access edge node for performing the invention.

Description

Method and node for processing broadcast messages on access domain

Claims of Priority under 35 U.S.C.S. 119(e) & 37 C.F.R.S. 1.78

This non-provisional patent application claims priority to earlier U.S. provisional patent applications titled "Poly project" and "Access node-edge nodecomplex protocol (AEP) (Acess node-edge nodecomplex protocol)," which Two provisional patent applications filed on February 14, 2005 in the names of Sylvain Monette, Mathieu Giguere, Martin Julien and Benoit Tremblay, with application number 60/651,971, and in the names of Sylvain Monette, Mathieu Giguere, Martin Julien and Beneit Tremblay Filed on April 25, 2005, with Application No. 60/674,307.

technical field

The present invention relates to a method and a node for handling broadcast messages on an access domain using service binding.

Background technique

Recent years have seen a boom in Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Originally developed to allow university students, students and researchers to communicate and collaborate on research projects, it has grown into a network with a large market. Today, it is not uncommon for a home to have a connection to an IP network in order to surf the World Wide Web, play interactive games, make IP calls, download files and software, conduct e-commerce transactions, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a prior art example of an IP network 100 is shown. Generally, an IP network includes an access domain 115 , a network service provider domain 140 and an application service provider domain 150 . The access domain 115 includes access nodes (AN) 120 and an access network 130, such as an IP network. AN 120 is a network provider that can provide user domain 110 with access to IP network 130 . The user domain 110 includes, for example, user devices (UD) (such as computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, etc.), local area networks (LANs), and wireless local area networks (W-LANs). The user domain communicates with the AN through a number of possible techniques. Among these technologies can be found dial-up connections and asymmetrically distributed subscriber line connections on telephone lines, cable modem connections or wireless communications over television cable networks. Access network 130 includes a set of independent switches and/or routers whose job it is to route incoming data communications based on destination addresses embedded therein. As for the network service provider domain 140, they may correspond to, for example, IP telephony services, while the application service provider domain 150 may correspond to electronic banking and e-commerce transactions.

Although FIG. 1 shows three user domains, two access nodes, two service provider domains, and two application service domains, IP network 100 typically includes thousands of user domains, dozens of access nodes, several Hundreds of service provider domains and application service provider domains. With regard to access network 130, it is common to encounter networks comprising hundreds of routers. Accordingly, it should be understood that FIG. 1 shows a highly simplified IP network 100 for purposes of clarity.

An initial principle underlying IP networks is to rely on switches and routers that perform as few and small operations as possible before routing incoming data communications to their final destination. For this, different kinds of messages are available: unicast messages, multicast messages and broadcast messages. For each of these three messages, a range of addresses is assigned for each type of message. Unicast messages are used to exchange messages between a sender and a receiver. Multicast messages allow one sender to reach multiple receivers. For broadcast messages, they are used to reach all switch sections of the same segment of the IP network.

More specifically, broadcast messages are generated by the user domain, and they are special in the fact that, once received at one of the switches of the network, the broadcast message is resent to all switches known to the recipient switch. Therefore, in such a huge IP network serving thousands of user domains, broadcasting messages can become a significant nuisance, seriously affecting the performance of the IP network.

There is currently no known solution to the problems associated with the growth of the number of user equipment and the number of service providers offering the service on IP networks. Furthermore, no long-term solution has been identified to provide a practical solution to the potential troubles caused by broadcast messages over large IP networks serving thousands of user domains.

Therefore, it should be readily appreciated that in order to overcome the deficiencies and shortcomings of existing solutions, it would be advantageous to have methods and nodes for efficiently processing broadcast messages without unnecessarily overloading the network. The present invention provides such methods and nodes.

Contents of the invention

The present invention effectively allows thousands of user domains and access nodes to process broadcast messages on the access domain by tunneling broadcast messages in unicast messages to reduce the traffic generated by broadcast mechanisms and broadcast messages.

To this end, the method of the invention handles broadcast messages on the access domain by receiving broadcast messages from the user domain at the access node from the user domain. Then, the method continues to intercept the received broadcast message at the access node, and forwards the received broadcast message to the access edge node of the access domain with a unicast message, thereby intercepting the broadcast mechanism.

Another aspect of the invention relates to an access edge node for processing tunneled broadcast messages transmitted over an access domain. The access edge node includes an input unit, a control unit and a broadcast processor. The input unit receives messages. The control unit identifies from the messages received on the input unit which messages are tunneled broadcast messages. The broadcast processor detunnels the identified tunneled broadcast message and processes the detunneled broadcast message.

In another aspect, the invention also relates to an access node for processing broadcast messages received from a user domain. The access node includes an input unit, a control unit, a broadcast processor and an output unit. The input unit receives messages from the user domain. The control unit identifies from the received messages which messages are broadcast messages. The broadcast processor tunnels each identified broadcast message in a unicast message destined for the access edge node and the output unit sends the unicast message.

Description of drawings

For a more detailed understanding of the present invention, as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention, reference may be made to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 is an example of current technology for IP networks.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a network in which the present invention has been incorporated.

Figure 3 is a simplified flowchart of a method for processing broadcast messages in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic representation of an access edge node in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Figure 5a is an exemplary tabular representation of the contents of a management and control unit of a service agent according to the invention.

Figure 5b is an exemplary tabular representation of the contents of a service binding host element in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic representation of an access node in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Figure 7 is an illustration of modifications performed on an upstream broadcast message in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed ways

The novel teachings of the present invention will be described below with reference to different exemplary embodiments. It should be understood, however, that such examples provide only some examples of the advantageous uses of the novel teachings of the present invention. In general, statements in the description of the invention do not limit any claimed aspect of the invention. Furthermore, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In the figures, similar or identical elements are designated with the same reference numerals throughout the figures.

The present invention provides a method and a node for processing broadcast messages in an access domain. To this end, the access nodes and access edge nodes are adapted to allow efficient transmission of broadcast messages in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. More specifically, in the present invention, broadcast messages sent from the user domain are received and intercepted at the access node. The access node tunnels the broadcast message in a unicast message and sends the unicast message to the access edge node. Thus, instead of being broadcast across the entire access domain, broadcast messages are intercepted from their entry points in the access domain, i.e., access nodes, and sent directly to the access edge nodes, thereby reducing the number of broadcast messages in the access domain. traffic generated on the . The present invention also provides the ability to identify tunneled broadcast messages at the access edge node and to detunnel them, thereby allowing the access edge node to process them correctly.

According to another possible embodiment of the invention, the access node and the access edge node are also able to manage service bindings in order to govern data communication between them over the access domain. More particularly, for this purpose, the edge access node includes a service proxy unit that manages and controls the service proxy. Each service proxy corresponds to a service provider domain, and thus manages and controls virtual local area networks (VLANs) on the access domain. Thus, whenever a user domain wishes to communicate with a selected one of the service provider domains, a service request related message is sent to the access edge node. The service request related message includes information identifying one of the service provider domains and one of the user domains. The access edge node determines whether one of the service proxies corresponds to the service provider domain identified in the service request related message, and if so, creates a service binding for the received service request related message. The service binding identifies one of the service agents, user domain information and access domain transport primitives. Then, the creation of the service binding is notified to the access node serving the requesting user domain, and the implementation of the service binding is performed at the access node and the access edge node, so as to aggregate according to the created service binding ( aggregation) data communication between them. Thus, according to this other embodiment, when a broadcast message received at the access node from one of the user domains corresponds to an established service binding, the tunneled broadcast message includes an identifier corresponding to the service agent, thereby allowing Access edge nodes process the tunneled broadcast messages faster. Additionally, this embodiment allows for the isolation of user networks from each other to ensure privacy.

The following paragraphs will provide a more detailed explanation of the method, access edge nodes and access nodes of the present invention and how they process broadcast messages in the context of the present invention in order to alleviate overloading of the access domain.

In order to understand the present invention and its innovative mechanism, reference is now made to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a network 200 in which the present invention has been incorporated. The schematic representation of network 200 has been simplified for clarity and drawn elements have been grouped by similar function rather than representing network entities in a geographical sense. But each similar set of functions may generally correspond to multiple physical network entities that perform those specific functions, but are geographically dispersed in network 200 . The schematic representation of network 200 includes user domain 110 , access domain 115 (including access node 120 , access network 130 , access edge node 160 and regional network 135 ), network service provider 140 and application server 150 . In the following paragraphs, with continued reference to FIG. 2 , detailed descriptions and examples are provided for each of these elements.

Network 200 corresponds to one or more data networks communicating together. Thus, network 200 may be operated by one or more operators. Since data networks are often supported by a number of different operational entities and/or organizations, it must be defined how these entities and organizations can successfully communicate. For this reason, data networks are often explained and specified using the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The OSI model defines a networking framework that implements protocols on seven layers. These seven layers are: 1) physical layer; 2) data link layer; 3) network layer; 4) transport layer; 5) session layer; 6) presentation layer; 7) application layer. Each layer corresponds to an aspect to be considered and an action to be performed when performing data transmission over a data network. Using the OSI model to describe the network 200 of the present invention, it is possible to layer some of the different protocols used and/or supported by the network of the present invention as follows:

Layer 2: Ethernet, Asynchronous Transfer Mode;

Layer 3: Internet Protocol (IP) versions 4 and 6;

Layers 4 and 5: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP);

Layer 6 and Layer 7: Existing and future representations and application protocols.

It should be understood that the above list of protocols is provided for demonstration purposes only, and in no way limits the protocols supported by the present invention.

Referring now to access domain 115 , its function can be summarized as a means of providing end-to-end access between user domain 110 and network service provider 140 and application service provider 150 . The access domain includes access nodes 120 , access network 130 , regional network 135 and access edge nodes 160 . Thus, access domain 115 is not an entity in itself; it is a collection of components that act as a domain that provides access when these components are directly or indirectly, physically, wirelessly or electrically interconnected together, hence its name "Access Domain". It should thus be clear that the current representation of the access domain 115 comprising only one access node 120, one access network 130, one access edge node 160 and one regional network 135 does not mean that there is only one of these entities in the access domain. , but only one such entity is shown for clarity. The following paragraphs will explain the different components of the access domain in more detail.

Access node 120 , which also includes an access gateway (not shown), represents a first component of access domain 115 . Access node 120 generally refers to an access provider that allows user domain 110 to access access network 130, eg, on a subscription or pay-per-usage basis. Such access may occur using a variety of media and technologies. Possible media are cable, landline and radiotelephone. As possible technologies, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) are examples of possible technologies. It should be noted, however, that the invention is not limited to these media or techniques. Also, while only three access nodes are shown, it should be recognized that network 200 may contain hundreds or thousands of access nodes.

The access domain also includes access network 130 and area network 135, which are discussed together. The primary function of access network 130 and regional network 135 is to provide end-to-end and independent transport between access nodes 120 and network service providers 140 and application service providers 150 . Access network 130 and regional network 135 are networks capable of performing tasks such as: aggregating, switching, and routing downstream and upstream data communications. Access network 130 is preferably capable of using Ethernet, or other similar protocol corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model, but is not limited thereto. Advantageously, layer 3 protocols such as IPv4 and/or IPv6 can also be supported. Regional network 135 preferably supports Ethernet and/or IP and MPLS, and possibly other layer 3 protocols. Additionally, it should be appreciated that access network 130 and regional network 135 may be operated and/or managed by one operator or by many different operators.

The role of the access edge node 160 is to serve as a central entry point for multiple network service providers 140 and application service providers 150 on the access domain 115 . According to another embodiment of the present invention, the access edge node is also responsible for creating, managing and hosting service proxies 170 and service bindings (not shown in FIG. 2 but shown in FIG. 4 ). Each of the service proxies 170 corresponds to one of the service provider domains ( 140 or 150 ), and thus manages and controls VLANs on the access network 130 . The expression “service binding” refers to a binding between the user domain 110 and one of the network service provider domains 140 or one of the application service provider domains 150 . The concepts of access edge node and service proxy and service binding will be described in more detail in the description with reference to Figs. 4, 5a and 5b.

Turning now to the user domain 110 , the latter relies on the access domain 115 to handle end-to-end communications with the network service provider 140 and the application service provider 150 . It should be understood that in this specification, the term "domain" refers to one or more network elements that share similar functional characteristics. Thus, in the context of the present invention, the expression "user domain" may refer to stand-alone computers, computer local area networks connected physically or wirelessly through routers, wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and data networks capable of communicating over a data network such as network 200 all other equipment. Furthermore, the expression "user domain" is intended to also include multiple simultaneous data communication sessions performed with multiple devices through a single user port. For example, a user can use one or more devices to simultaneously access different applications and network services, such as Internet access, video conferencing, and television, through a single user port located in a VLAN's user domain or referred to herein as a "user domain" programme. The expression "user domain" is also used to include multiple logical subnets using VLANs.

Network service provider 140 refers to an entity that uses access domain 115 to provide IP addressing and connectivity to another IP network and to provision and deliver specific applications. In the context of data communications with user domain 110, network service provider 140 typically owns and assigns IP addresses to user domain 110 using identification based on, for example, Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS). Network service provider 140 may also perform user-level authentication and authorization, if desired and/or needed.

The application service provider 150 uses the access domain 115 to offer and deliver applications to end users of the user domain 110 . Examples of such applications include gaming, video-on-demand, video conferencing, and many other possible applications. However, the access domain 115 assigns IP addresses to the user domain 110 on behalf of the application service provider. Application service provider 150 may also perform user-level authentication if desired, and authorization if necessary. It should be appreciated that in the foregoing description the expressions "service provider" and "service provider domain" will be used interchangeably to refer to both network service provider 140 and application service provider 150, and the expression "service provider" will refer to One of the network service provider 140 or the application service provider 150 .

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a simplified flowchart for processing broadcast messages in accordance with the present invention. The method of the present invention processes broadcast messages sent from the user domain 110 on the access domain 115 . The following description of the method is directed to one broadcast message, but several broadcast messages received from one or more user domains 110 may be processed simultaneously in the context of the present invention, and the processing of a single broadcast message is more precisely represented This method processes the steps performed by each broadcast message concurrently or non-concurrently. The method starts at step 300 where a broadcast message is received at the access node 120 . At step 310, the method continues with intercepting broadcast messages. The broadcast message is intercepted by the access node 110 in order to avoid further broadcasting of the broadcast message on the access domain 115 to increase the load on switches and/or routers of the access domain 115 . Subsequently, in step 320, the access node 120 modifies the broadcast message. More specifically, access node 120 modifies the destination address of the broadcast message. As is known in the art, in an IP network, the use of an address to indicate a receiving switch/router is a broadcast message. In the case of IP, the destination address indicating that the message is a broadcast message is the address (255.255.255.255). Thus, when a receiving node receives a message with an L3 destination address (255.255.255.255), it automatically knows that the received message is a broadcast message. However, in step 320 of the present invention, the destination address is modified so that the three low-order bytes of the address correspond to the access node identifier (16 bits) and the user port number on which the broadcast message was received ( 8 bits).

The method optionally continues with step 330 . Step 330 is only performed in the network corresponding to the second embodiment of the present invention, ie when the access edge node and the access node are capable of implementing service binding. When the network 200 is unable to process and implement service binding, step 330 of the method is not performed. Thus, in the case of the network 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a corresponding service agent is identified. The corresponding service agent may be identified at the access node 110 based on the service binding information stored therein, and the user port information is used to determine whether there is a service binding for the user port from which the broadcast message is received.

The method then continues with step 340, where the modified broadcast message is tunnelled. To do this, the modified service proxy is tunneled in a unicast message. Given the destination address of the unicast message corresponding to the address of the access edge node 160, the source address corresponding to the access node, and giving the VLAN of the unicast message a value corresponding to the service agent identified in step 330 mark. If no service proxy is identified, the access node and the access edge node do not support the service binding and default values are used. Then, in step 350 , the tunneled modified broadcast message is sent over the access network 130 to the access edge node 160 . At step 360 , the tunneled modified broadcast message is received at the access edge node 160 . Thereafter, the access edge node 160 determines that the received message is a tunneled modified broadcast message, and in step 370 locally detunnels and processes the message.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which illustrates modifications made to a broadcast message 700 in accordance with the present invention. As known in the art, broadcast messages are upstream communications. Upstream communication refers to communication originating from the user domain 110 through the access domain 115 . Figure 7 shows an Ethernet broadcast message as an example, such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3ac. A broadcast message typically includes the following fields: Destination Address (DA) 710 , Source Address (SA) 720 , Type 730 , VLAN Tag 740 , and User Data 750 . Destination address 710 refers to a private Ethernet MAC address (255.255.255.255), which indicates that the message is a broadcast message, and contains 6 bytes. The source address 720 indicates from which Ethernet MAC address the broadcast message is sent, and contains 6 bytes. Type field 730 is 2 bytes long. VLAN tag 740 is 4 bytes long and generally only refers to a known and meaningful VLAN identifier for both destination and source addresses. Finally, user data 750 varies between 46-1500 bytes and contains data sent from source address 720 to destination address 710 . In the particular case of broadcast messages, user data 750 represents data broadcast over network 200 .

As before, the broadcast message 700 originates from the user equipment 110 and is modified via the network in the context of the present invention. The user equipment 110 generates a broadcast message 700a, wherein: the destination address 710 corresponds to the broadcast MAC address, the source address 720 is the user equipment MAC address, the VLAN tag 740 corresponds to the local service identifier of the user equipment, and the user data 750 corresponds to the Inbound data broadcasted by domain 115 . The broadcast message 700a generated by the user equipment 110 is sent and received by the access node 120, where it is recognized as a broadcast message because of its destination address, and is intercepted. The access node makes some modifications before forwarding the broadcast message through the access network 130 . More specifically, the destination address 710 is modified to replace the three lower-order bytes so that it corresponds to the 16-bit access node identifier and the 8-bit user port number on which the broadcast message was received, such as the broadcast Indicated by message 700b. The modified broadcast message is then tunneled or encapsulated in a unicast message. The unicast message has a destination address corresponding to the MAC address of the access edge node, and a source address corresponding to the MAC address of the access node. The unicast message 700c also includes a type, which represents an Ethertype identifier (which is a reserved value), indicating that the unicast message contains a broadcast message. Finally, in the case of the second embodiment of the invention, the VLAN tag field of the unicast message 700c contains the service proxy identifier, or a default value if no existing service binding corresponds to the current user port number . Subsequently, a unicast message 700c is sent over the access network 130 .

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which is a schematic representation of an access node in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Because the location of the access node is in the access domain 115 , the access node 120 includes an access domain input/output unit 610 for communicating with the access network 130 and the access edge node 160 of the access domain 115 . The access node 120 also includes a user domain input/output unit 620 for communicating with the user domain 110 . The access node 120 also includes a control unit 630 and a broadcast processor 690 . If desired, the access node 120 may also include components such as a bridging unit 640, a translation table 650, a forwarding unit 660, an adjustment unit 670, and an aggregation unit 680 to be able to perform operations normally performed by an access node. The various components of the access node, which may include dedicated hardware, combined hardware or software, are interconnected to allow the access node to function properly.

User domain input/output unit 620 receives many different types of messages, such as broadcast messages represented at 420 . The broadcast message enters the user domain input/output unit 620 at one of the user ports of the user domain input/output unit 620 . The user domain input/output unit 620 forwards the received message to the control unit 630, the control unit 630 determines that the received message 420 is a broadcast message, and attaches the received message to which user of the user domain input/output unit 620 Information that the port received the message 420 is forwarded to the broadcast processor 690 . As previously described with reference to FIG. 7 , the broadcast processor 690 continues to modify the broadcast message and forwards the message via the access domain input/output unit 610 as a unicast message.

As previously mentioned, the second embodiment of the present invention relies on the concept of service bindings, which are used to govern data communication over the access domain 115 . In order to better understand the second embodiment of the present invention, a brief description of the service binding concept is now provided. Service bindings are created at the access edge node 160 to manage transport relationships and communications. Each service binding is established between one of the user domains and one of the service providers and directly affects one of the service proxy 170 of the service access node 120 and access edge node 160 . Conceptually, creating a service binding corresponds to adding the identified user domain to the VLAN corresponding to the service provider domain on the access domain, which VLAN is managed by said access edge node. For each VLAN managed by an access edge node, a service proxy is created at the access edge node. Thus, each service binding may represent a trade business entity that guarantees delivery of the corresponding service between a specific user port of a user domain and a specific provider port of a service provider with correct integrity and QoS. Service bindings are created, managed and hosted in the access edge node, and federation service broker 170 exists.

Thus, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the aggregating unit 680 of the access node 120 hosts service binding related information. The service binding related information includes specific service binding information (in the form of service agent identity and service type), the identification of the access node port receiving the service request related message, and the local area network environment of the user domain. Based on this information, it is possible for the aggregation unit 680 to provide the service proxy identity corresponding to the user port identity on which the broadcast message was received. Thus, the broadcast processor 690 also communicates with the aggregating unit 680 directly or via the control unit 630 to obtain the service proxy identity to incorporate in the unicast message as previously described.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which shows a schematic representation of an access edge node in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The access edge node 160 includes an access domain input/output unit 410 , a control unit 450 and a broadcast processor 495 . The access domain input/output unit 410 receives the tunneled modified broadcast message 700c. The received message 700c is forwarded to the control unit 450 . Once the control unit 450 has properly detunneled the received message 700c, it hands it over to the broadcast processor 495 for appropriate processing. The control unit 450 also implies a broadcast processor 495 . The access domain input/output unit 410, the control unit 450, and the broadcast processor 495 may be independent hardware, combined hardware, or software, and communicate with each other directly or indirectly.

In the case of the second embodiment of the present invention, the access edge node also includes a network/application service provider domain input/output unit 430 for communicating with the network service provider 140 and the application service provider via the regional network 135 Business 150 Communications. In addition, the access edge node 160 includes a service proxy unit 440 , a control unit 450 , and may further include a conversion table 460 , a forwarding unit 470 and an adjustment unit 480 .

The service proxy unit 440 includes a service proxy management and control unit 442 and a service binding host unit 444 . The service agent unit 440 maintains the information of the existing service agent 170 in the service agent management and control unit 442 . The service broker's management and control unit 442 is then responsible for the creation and management of service bindings 446 . To this end, the management and control unit 442 of the service agent determines when a new service binding 446 is required or when an existing service binding can be removed, and performs the creation/removal of the service binding 446 . The service proxy's management and control unit 442 is also responsible for adding/removing user equipment to an existing service binding. In addition, the management and control unit 442 of the service agent is also responsible for ensuring the synchronization of the information related to the service binding 446 and the access nodes interacting with it.

Referring to Figure 4, with simultaneous reference to Figure 5a, an exemplary tabular representation of the contents of the service agent's management and control unit 442 is shown. Each row except the first row (title row) in FIG. 5a represents exemplary contents of some service agents 170 managed and controlled by the management and control unit 442 of the service agents. Each column of FIG. 5 a corresponds to specific information maintained for each service agent 170 by the service agent's management and control unit 442 . The first column represents the identification of the service agent 170 . This identification is usually a number corresponding to a service agent or a service agent identifier. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each service agent in the access edge node has a unique service agent identifier and corresponds to a specific service provider domain 140 or 150 . The second column refers to the identification of the specific service type of the corresponding service agent. For example, where one service provider domain 140 or 150 provides multiple services, each service provided is associated with a different service type in order to differentiate between the various services of the service provider domain. The third column identifies the preferred or required Quality of Service (QoS) required for proper data communication delivery for that service provider domain and associated service type. Exemplary criteria for QoS include delay, bit error rate, bandwidth, and preferred protocol. The fourth column indicates the port used to communicate with the corresponding service provider domain in the regional network. In addition to these, the service agent management and control unit 442 includes sufficient logic software and hardware to create additional service agents and remove unnecessary service agents. It should be appreciated that although the contents of the management and control unit of the service agent are shown in tabular form in Figure 5a, such contents are not limited thereto. The management and control unit of the service agent may include relational databases, hard-coded components, microprocessors and programming libraries, and the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 b and 4 , FIG. 5 b shows an exemplary tabular representation of the contents of the service binding host element 444 . Each row in FIG. 5 b except the header row represents exemplary content of some service bindings 446 hosted by the service binding hosting unit 444 . Each column in FIG. 5 b corresponds to specific information for each service binding 446 hosted in the service binding hosting unit 444 . The first column represents the identification of the corresponding service agent by using, for example, the service agent identifier of the service agent. The second column identifies the service type, as described with respect to Figure 5a. The other columns represent transport primitives for data communication related to the service binding. More specifically, the fourth column identifies the user domain Media Access Control (MAC) address. The fourth column contains the identification of the port used by the user domain on the serving access node. The fifth column corresponds to the local area network arbitrary identifier used by the user domain, and may include, for example, implicit or explicit VLAN information. The sixth column refers to the virtual MAC address of the access node serving the user domain. Thus, each service binding 446 binds together one of the service agents, one of the user domains and one of the access nodes for providing data communication between a user domain and a service provider domain 140 or 150 . It should be noted that although the content of the service binding host unit 444 has been shown in tabular form in FIG. 5b, such content is not limited thereto. Service binding host units may include relational databases, hard-coded components, microprocessors and programming libraries, and the like.

In addition, the service binding host unit may further include a seventh column including an IP address uniquely identifying the user domain or its user equipment. The unique IP address may be provided to the user domain or user equipment by the access edge node through a protocol such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), using eg a broadcast mechanism that may be performed prior to the service request message. Thus, the combination of the service proxy identifier and the user domain or user equipment unique IP address provides a simple and reliable way of quickly associating incoming messages with the correct service binding. Typically, once a service binding has been created, and the access node is notified of this, and data traffic is aggregated on the access domain in accordance with the service binding, the data traffic is forwarded to the corresponding service binding host unit using the information provided in the service binding Aggregated data traffic received at the access edge node is disaggregated prior to the service provider domain of the access edge node. More specifically, where the access domain is Ethernet, the service agent identifier is provided, for example, in a field called the VLAN tag in unicast, multicast, and broadcast messages, while in IP messages embedded in Ethernet messages Provide the user domain or user device IP address. Based on the service proxy identifier provided in the VLAN tag field of the Ethernet message, and the IP address provided in the embedded IP message, the service proxy unit 440 can decompose the data communication and ensure that it is forwarded to the corresponding service provider business domain, and includes necessary information about the sent user domain, such as user MAC information and its LAN environment.

Then, through the service binding related message 490 sent by the access domain input/output unit 410, the control unit 450 notifies the creation of the service binding 446 to the access node identified in the service request related message User domain services. The control unit 450 also interacts with a conversion table 460 . Because each service agent 170 of the service agent's management and control unit is uniquely identified by a service agent identifier, it must be maintained in the translation table in the translation table corresponding to the service agent 170's service agent identifier and the corresponding service provider domain (140 or 150) mapping between. Thus upon receiving a data communication at the access domain input/output unit 410, which has a destination address corresponding to the virtual MAC address of the access edge node 160 and a VLAN tag corresponding to one of the service agent identifiers, the control unit 450 consults Translation table 460 to obtain fast translation from the access edge node virtual MAC address to the destination service provider domain (140 or 150) address corresponding to the service proxy identifier provided in the VLAN tag.

Control unit 450 further consults forwarding unit 470 to determine whether data communications received at access domain input/output unit 410 are to be forwarded directly to the service provider domain input/output unit without any modification.

Finally, the control unit 450 may also interact with a regulation unit 480 capable of performing downstream/upstream communications on data communications received at the access domain input/output unit 410 and the network/application service provider domain input/output unit 430 Policing, flagging, communication comments, as directed or required by the corresponding service agent 170 .

It can be appreciated that modifications made to the broadcast message are only visible to the access nodes 120 and the access edge nodes 160 . Modifications to the broadcast message are transparent to the user equipment 110 and the access network 130 . This modification is possible because adaptation is performed at the access node 120 and the access edge node 160 . As a result of this modification, data traffic can be reduced due to the interception of broadcast messages from the moment they enter the access domain and their systematic forwarding in unicast messages for processing at the access edge nodes.

While several preferred embodiments of the method and nodes of the present invention have been illustrated in the drawings and foregoing detailed description, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but rather is described without departing from that described in the appended claims. Various rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without compromising the spirit of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. method that is used to handle the broadcast on the input field, this method may further comprise the steps:

-in the broadcast of access node reception from user domain, this broadcast comprises that the MAC Address of user domain is as source address; And

-the broadcast that receives of intercepting on access node; And

-broadcast that receives is forwarded to the edge node for access of this input field with unicast messages;

-wherein this forwarding step is included in the broadcast of this intercepting of tunnel in the unicast messages; With

-wherein this unicast messages has the source address corresponding to the MAC Address of this access node; And

-wherein the broadcast of tunnel has destination-address in unicast messages, and this destination-address is the broadcasting MAC Address that is modified to the user port number that comprises access node identifier and access node.

2. according to the described method of claim 1, wherein said unicast messages has the destination-address corresponding to the address of described edge node for access.

3. according to the described method of claim 1, wherein said unicast messages has the VLAN tag field of the default value of discerning corresponding to edge node for access.

4. according to the described method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

-create service binding at edge node for access, by entrusting in the mode of the data communication on input field between managing user domain and the edge node for access is the access node and the edge node for access of user domain service, and service binding props up the data communication that fits between user domain and the edge node for access;

-service binding of being created is notified to access node into the service of described user domain; And

-implement the service binding created at this access node and edge node for access by following measure:

-with unicast messages the broadcast that is received is forwarded to this edge node for access, wherein

The destination-address of-this unicast messages is the edge node for access MAC Address; And

The VLAN tag field of-this unicast messages is the service agent identifier corresponding to the service binding of being created.

5. edge node for access that is used to handle the broadcast of the tunnel of on input field, transmitting, this edge node for access comprises:

-be used to receive the input unit of message;

-control unit is used for being identified in the broadcast of unicast messages tunnel and going the broadcast of the tunnel that tunnel discerns according to the message that receives, and described broadcast has the source address corresponding to the subscriber equipment MAC Address;

-be used to handle the broadcasting processor of the broadcast of tunnel;

-wherein each of the broadcast of tunnel has destination-address in unicast messages, and this destination-address is the broadcasting MAC Address that is modified to the user port number that comprises access node identifier and access node.

6. the described edge node for access of claim 5, wherein said unicast messages has the destination-address corresponding to the address of edge node for access.

7. the described edge node for access of claim 5 also comprises:

-be used to create the service agent unit of service binding, this service binding props up and fits over the data communication on the input field between user domain and the edge node for access, and this service binding is entrusted to the access node of described user domain service and described edge node for access and handled the communication on input field between them;

Wherein control unit also is notified to access node into described user domain service by output unit with the establishment of this service binding;

The broadcast of the tunnel of being discerned comprises service agent identifier;

Described broadcasting processor is handled the broadcast of going tunnel based on the described service agent identifier that comprises.

8. the described edge node for access of claim 7, wherein unicast messages has the destination-address corresponding to the address of described edge node for access.

9. the described edge node for access of claim 7 wherein comprises service agent identifier in the VLAN tag field of described unicast messages.

10. access node that is used to handle the broadcast that receives from user domain, this access node comprises:

-be used for from the input unit of user domain reception message;

-be used for control unit according to the message that received identification broadcast;

-broadcasting processor is used for the broadcast in each identification of unicast messages tunnel, and the destination of this unicast messages is an edge node for access, and this unicast messages comprises the source address corresponding to the MAC Address of access node; With

-be used to send the output unit of the broadcast of tunnel;

-wherein each of the broadcast of tunnel has destination-address in unicast messages, and this destination-address is the broadcasting MAC Address that is modified to the user port number that comprises access node identifier and access node.

11. the described access node of claim 10, wherein said unicast messages comprises the destination-address corresponding to edge node for access.

12. the described access node of claim 10, wherein:

-input unit further receives related information for service bindings;

-access node also comprises:

-being used for the polymerized unit of stores service binding relevant information, related information for service bindings comprises service agent identifier.

13. the described access node of claim 12, wherein broadcasting processor further is included in one of service agent identifier in the VLAN tag field of unicast messages in the broadcast of tunnel.

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