IP Library Granted Patent US 10,097,579
Granted Patent B2
US 10,097,579 · App. 15/707,772 · Granted Oct 9, 2018

Event driven route control

Inventors: Robert Smith (Irvine, CA); Shawn Marck (San Francisco, CA); Christopher Newton (Westlake Village, CA)
Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
H04L63/1458H04L63/20
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,097,579
App. No.
15/707,772
Granted
Oct 9, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments provide system and methods for a DDoS service using a mix of mitigation systems (also called scrubbing centers) and non-mitigation systems. The non-mitigation systems are less expensive and thus can be placed at or near a customer's network resource (e.g., a computer, cluster of computers, or entire network). Under normal conditions, traffic for a customer's resource can go through a mitigation system or a non-mitigation system. When an attack is detected, traffic that would have otherwise gone through a non-mitigation system is re-routed to a mitigation system. Thus, the non-mitigation systems can be used to reduce latency and provide more efficient access to the customer's network resource during normal conditions. Since the non-mitigation servers are not equipped to respond to an attack, the non-mitigation systems are not used during an attack, thereby still providing protection to the customer network resource using the mitigation systems.

Claims (26)

1. A method comprising:

providing a mitigation network comprising one or more mitigation systems:

by the mitigation network:

detecting an attack event targeting a customer network resource;

determining a routing scheme that routes network traffic to one or more mitigation systems of the mitigation network; and

communicating the routing scheme to one or more routing devices;

by the one or more mitigation systems:

receiving the network traffic; and

initiating scrubbing of the network traffic according to one or more mitigation rules,

wherein communicating the routing scheme to one or more routing devices comprises:

communicating one or more routing updates using a routing protocol, wherein the routing scheme is a Domain Name Service (DNS) entry and the one or more routing devices comprises a DNS resolver, wherein the one or more routing updates comprises a DNS zone transfer, and

wherein communicating one or more routing updates comprises:

causing a DNS resolver to update from a non-mitigation DNS zone associated with a non-mitigation system of the mitigation network to a mitigation DNS zone associated with the mitigation system.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

by the mitigation network:

detecting an end of the attack event; and

communicating the first routing scheme to the one or more routing devices.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein a distributed system of devices determines the routing scheme based on signaling from a central server.

4. The method as recited in claim 3 , further comprising:

determining one or more properties of any one or more of the following: the attack event, the mitigation network, and the customer network resource, and

wherein the routing scheme is selected based on the one or more determined properties.

5. The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein a plurality of possible routing schemes are predetermined before the attack event is detected.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein a central server of the mitigation network determines the routing scheme.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the customer network resource is a customer network or a computer hosting a website of the customer.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the attack event is a distributed denial of service attack.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the routing protocol is Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

Assignments (4)
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (SECOND LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0749 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (FIRST LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0858 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 19, 2017
From: NEWTON, CHRISTOPHER
To: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 043622/0900 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 19, 2017
From: SMITH, ROBERT; MARCK, SHAWN
To: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 043622/0964 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 14852518 · Sep 12, 2015
Provisional Application 62050000 · Sep 12, 2014
Related Publication 20180007086A1 · Jan 4, 2018
Cited By (1)
US 12,284,208