Method and apparatus for assigning and allocating network resources to packet-based virtual private networks
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for controlling bandwidth in a Virtual Private Network assigns and allocates transmission bandwidth to packet VPNs for either connectionless or connection-oriented communication. The method creates two views of transmission facilities: a user plane view and a control plane view. In the user plane view, the bandwidth of the transmission facility is split into quantified and identified partitions. In the control plane view, transmission facilities are represented as logical links forming a topology that can be used for the purpose of routing the VPN. The two views are tied together by assigning user plane partitions to VPN control plane links. As a result, the allocation of bandwidth to VPNs becomes a controllable and viewable entity, thereby facilitating management and QoS provisioning in a VPN network.
1. A method of representing usage of network resources associated with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) being operated by a provider for a customer, the VPN represented by logical links in a network comprising a plurality of transmission facilities includes the steps of:
selecting a set of VPN logical links, each VPN logical link in the set being associated with one of the plurality of transmission facilities, wherein each one of the transmission facilities comprises a total bandwidth apportioned into one or more partitions;
for each transmission facility associated with each VPN logical link, assigning by the customer at least a portion of a partition of the total bandwidth of the each transmission facility to the respective VPN logical link associated with the customer;
forwarding a VPN identifier identifying the VPN and a partition identifier identifying the assigned partition of each transmission facility to each transmission facility associated with each VPN logical link; and
providing, to the customer, an indication of utilization of bandwidth at ones of the partitions associated with the customer.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of assigning the partition to the respective VPN logical link includes the step of evaluating a policy associated with the VPN logical link and selecting the partition in accordance with a policy of the link.
3. The method according to claim 1 , further including the steps of:
identifying a transmission facility in the network; and
partitioning the bandwidth of each identified transmission facility in the network.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of partitioning the bandwidth occurs dynamically upon receipt of a VPN generation request.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein multiple VPN logical links may share the use of a common partition of a transmission facility.
6. A network device controlling a Virtual Private Network Service, the network device including a computer readable medium and processing logic operable to retrieve information from the computer readable medium to control the generation of a VPN path, the VPN path comprising a number of logical links associated with transmission facilities in a network and the transmission facilities having a total bandwidth apportioned into one or more partitions, the computer readable medium storing:
a transmission facility database for storing bandwidth partition information for each transmission facility; and
a VPN map for mapping logical links of a VPN to partitions of transmission facilities;
wherein the customer assigns at least a portion of a partition of the total bandwidth of each transmission facility to the respective VPN logical link associated with the customer; and
wherein an indication of utilization of bandwidth at ones of the partitions associated with a customer are made available to the customer from the transmission facility database and VPN map.
7. A method of representing usage of network resources associated with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) across a transmission facility in a network, the VPN being operated by a provider for a customer, the transmission facility having a total bandwidth apportioned into one or more partitions includes the step of:
receiving, at the transmission facility, a VPN identifier and a partition identifier associated with the VPN; and
assigning by the customer at least a portion of a partition of the total bandwidth of each transmission facility to the respective VPN logical link associated with the customer; and
controlling the forwarding packets of the VPN in accordance with a bandwidth of the corresponding VPN partition; and
providing, to the customer, an indication of utilization of bandwidth at ones of the partitions associated with the customer.