Bandwidth reservation for authenticated applications
View Patent ↗Methods, systems, devices, and software are disclosed for providing application levels of service over a network. Embodiments of the invention maintain a list of registered applications (or application providers) that have registered with a network resources provider. Customers of the network resources provider may authenticate some or all of the registered applications, indicating a desire to allow traffic relating to those applications over their access networks. Customers may further set application levels of service with respect to those authenticated applications. Certain embodiments may manage network traffic to accord with the application levels of service.
1. A method of providing an application level of service over a network, the method comprising:
receiving, at a network management unit, a datagram comprising:
an application data portion, comprising a set of application data; and
a routing data portion, wherein the routing data portion comprises a set of routing data comprising an application identifier and an intended user identifier, and
wherein at least the routing data portion is configured as a function of an application service level protocol; and
routing the datagram;
wherein:
the network provides an allocatable bandwidth configured to permit allocation of bandwidth resources;
the application data is application data of a first application;
the allocatable bandwidth is configured to be allocated into at least a first communication sub-link and a second communication sub-link,
the first communication sub-link is configured to carry a first portion of the network traffic relating to the first application, and
the second communication sub-link is configured to carry a second portion of the network traffic relating to a second application.
2. The method of claim 1 , the datagram further comprising:
a header portion,
wherein the header portion comprises the routing data portion.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the datagram is configured to be compatible with a standard network protocol.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the standard network protocol comprises a header portion and a data portion, and wherein the data portion comprises at least a portion of the datagram.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the network is compatible with a network protocol, the network protocol being a different protocol from the application service level protocol; and
the datagram is configured to be compatible with the network protocol and the application service level protocol.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the allocatable bandwidth is configured to permit allocation of bandwidth resources as a function of a set of service level settings relating to at least a portion of a plurality of applications.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first communication sub-link or the second communication sub-link comprises a physical division of a communication link in the network.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network comprises a total capacity, the total capacity comprising the allocatable bandwidth and a remaining bandwidth, the remaining bandwidth being configured not to be allocatable.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the remaining bandwidth is configured to carry best effort network traffic.
10. An apparatus comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a non-transitory computer-readable program embodied thereon, the computer-readable program including instructions for providing an application level of service over a network in accordance with the following:
receiving, at a network management unit, a datagram comprising:
an application data portion, comprising a set of application data; and
a routing data portion, wherein the routing data portion comprises a set of routing data comprising an application identifier and an intended user identifier, and
wherein at least the routing data portion is configured as a function of an application service level protocol; and
routing the datagram;
wherein:
the network provides an allocatable bandwidth configured to permit allocation of bandwidth resources;
the application data is application data of a first application;
the allocatable bandwidth is configured to be allocated into at least a first communication sub-link and a second communication sub-link,
the first communication sub-link is configured to carry a first portion of the network traffic relating to the first application, and
the second communication sub-link is configured to carry a second portion of the network traffic relating to a second application.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , the datagram further comprising:
a header portion, wherein the header portion comprises the routing data portion.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the datagram is configured to be compatible with a standard network protocol.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the standard network protocol comprises a header portion and a data portion, and wherein the data portion comprises at least a portion of the datagram.
14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein:
the network is compatible with a network protocol, the network protocol being a different protocol from the application service level protocol; and
the datagram is configured to be compatible with the network protocol and the application service level protocol.
15. A computer system, comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer-readable program embodied thereon, the computer-readable program including instructions for providing an application level of service over a network, the instructions comprising:
instructions for receiving, at a network management unit, a datagram comprising:
an application data portion, comprising a set of application data; and
a routing data portion, wherein the routing data portion comprises a set of routing data comprising an application identifier and an intended user identifier, and
wherein at least the routing data portion is configured as a function of an application service level protocol; and
instructions for routing the datagram;
wherein:
the network provides an allocatable bandwidth configured to permit allocation of bandwidth resources;
the application data is application data of a first application;
the allocatable bandwidth is configured to be allocated into at least a first communication sub-link and a second communication sub-link,
the first communication sub-link is configured to carry a first portion of the network traffic relating to the first application, and
the second communication sub-link is configured to carry a second portion of the network traffic relating to a second application.
16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the datagram further comprises:
a header portion,
wherein the header portion comprises the routing data portion.
17. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the datagram is configured to be compatible with a standard network protocol.
18. The computer system of claim 17 , wherein the standard network protocol comprises a header portion and a data portion, and wherein the data portion comprises at least a portion of the datagram.
19. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein:
the network is compatible with a network protocol, the network protocol being a different protocol from the application service level protocol; and
the datagram is configured to be compatible with the network protocol and the application service level protocol.