System and method for assigning a service flow classifier to a device

1. A method for generating an attributes record key for a device by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, comprising:

receiving a DHCP discover message from the device, wherein the DHCP discover message comprises a medium access control (MAC) address of the device;

generating at the DHCP server:

the attributes record key for the device, wherein the attributes record key uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server; and

a device file name for the device, wherein the device file name comprises an IP address of the DHCP server and the attributes record key of the device;

sending the device file name and an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server to the device;

receiving a request for an attribute record of the device from the DTFTP server, wherein the request includes the attributes record key for the device; and

providing the attribute record of the device to the DTFTP server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the attributes record key comprises the MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.

4. A Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for generating an attributes record key for a device, comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DHCP server to perform operations comprising:

receiving a DHCP discover message from the device, wherein the DHCP discover message comprises a medium access control (MAC) address of the device;

generating the attributes record key for the device, wherein the attributes record key uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server;

generating a device file name for the device, wherein the device file name comprises an IP address of the DHCP server and the attributes record key of the device;

sending the device file name and an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server to the device;

receiving a request for an attribute record of the device from the DTFTP server, wherein the request includes the attributes record key for the device; and

providing the attribute record of the device to the DTFTP server.

5. The DHCP server of claim 4 , wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

6. The DHCP server of claim 4 , wherein the attributes record key comprises the MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.

7. A method for assigning a service flow classifier to a device by a Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server, comprising:

receiving, from the device, a device file name in a boot file request message, wherein the device file name comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and an attributes record key of the device that uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server;

accessing an attribute record of the device stored on the DHCP server using the IP address of the DHCP server and the attributes record key for the device;

generating a boot file for the device, wherein the boot file comprises one or more service flow classifiers; and

sending the boot file to the device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein one of the one or more service flow classifiers classifies an incoming downstream packet into a service flow identified by a medium access control (MAC) address of the device.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising associating the device and another device with a subscriber, wherein the one or more service flow classifiers are associated with one or more service flows that comprises a first service flow for packets that are destined to the device and a second service flow for packets that are destined for the other device.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

queuing a packet destined for the device on the first service flow;

queuing a packet destined for the other device on the second service flow;

counting the packets queued on the second service flow during a time interval; and

associating the count with the subscriber.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising billing the subscriber based on the count.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising applying a policy to the subscriber based on the count.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the policy is selected from the group consisting of reducing bandwidth accessible to the subscriber, changing a priority of packets originating from the other device, and blocking packets originating from the other device.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the attributes record key comprises a MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.

16. A Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server for assigning a service flow classifier to a device, comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DTFTP server to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the device, a device file name in a boot file request message, wherein the device file name comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and an attributes record key of the device that uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server;

accessing an attribute record of the device stored on the DHCP server using the IP address of the DHCP server and the attributes record key for the device;

generating a boot file for the device, wherein the boot file comprises one or more service flow classifiers; and

sending the boot file to the device.

17. The DTFTP server of claim 16 , wherein one of the one or more service flow classifiers classifies an incoming downstream packet into a service flow identified by a medium access control (MAC) address of the device.

18. The DTFTP server of claim 16 , wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

19. The DTFTP server of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DTFTP server to perform operations further comprising:

associating the device and another device with a subscriber, wherein the one or more service flow classifiers are associated with one or more service flows that comprises a first service flow for packets that are destined to the device and a second service flow for packets that are destined for the other device.

20. The DTFTP server of claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DTFTP server to perform operations further comprising:

queuing a packet destined for the device on the first service flow;

queuing a packet destined for the other device on the second service flow;

counting the packets queued on the second service flow during a time interval; and

associating the count with the subscriber.

21. The DTFTP server of claim 20 , wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DTFTP server to perform operations further comprising billing the subscriber based on the count.

22. The DTFTP server of claim 20 , wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the DTFTP server to perform operations further comprising applying a policy to the subscriber based on the count.

23. The DTFTP server of claim 22 , wherein the policy is selected from the group consisting of reducing bandwidth accessible to the subscriber, changing a priority of packets originating from the other device, and blocking packets originating from the other device.

24. The DTFTP server of claim 16 , wherein the attributes record key comprises a MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.

25. A method for assigning a service flow classifier to a device comprising:

sending a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) discover message to a DHCP server, wherein the DHCP discover message comprises a medium access control (MAC) address of the device;

receiving a device file name and an IP address of a Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server, wherein the device file name comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the DHCP server and an attributes record key of the device that uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server;

sending the device file name in a boot file request message to the DTFTP server using the IP address of the DTFTP server;

receiving a boot file from the DTFTP server, wherein the boot file comprises one or more service flow classifiers; and

configuring the device with the one or more service flow classifiers.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein one of the one or more service flow classifiers classifies an incoming downstream packet into a service flow identified by the MAC address of the device.

27. The method of claim 25 , wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

28. The method of claim 25 , wherein the attributes record key comprises the MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.

29. A device, comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the device to perform operations comprising:

sending a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) discover message to a DHCP server, wherein the DHCP discover message comprises a medium access control (MAC) address of the device;

receiving a device file name and an IP address of a Dynamic Trivial File Transfer Protocol (DTFTP) server, wherein the device file name comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the DHCP server and an attributes record key of the device that uniquely identifies a record for the device stored on the DHCP server;

sending the device file name in a boot file request message to the DTFTP server using the IP address of the DTFTP server;

receiving a boot file from the DTFTP server, wherein the boot file comprises one or more service flow classifiers; and

configuring the device with the one or more service flow classifiers.

30. The device of claim 29 , wherein one of the one or more service flow classifiers classifies an incoming downstream packet into a service flow identified by the MAC address of the device.

31. The device of claim 29 , wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a cable modem and a multi-subscriber gateway.

32. The device of claim 29 , wherein the attributes record key comprises the MAC address of the device and an IP address assigned to the device by the DHCP server.