Managing network packet flows based on device information
Methods and apparatus are disclosed that enable information about devices connected behind a gateway, such as a home gateway, to be made available to and used by other entities, such as servers and routers, on a communications network.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a gateway of a communications network, from a device configured to communicate with the gateway, one or more packets of a packet flow initiated by the device;
appending, to one or more of the packets of the packet flow, at least a portion of information associated with the device, wherein the information associated with the device is maintained by the gateway and comprises at least an identifier associated with the device; and
sending, by the gateway, to a network device of the communications network, the one or more packets of the packet flow with the appended information, wherein the appended information facilitates enforcement of a per-device policy.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises one or more of a media access control (MAC) address of the device, a hostname associated with the device, and an identifier associated with the packet flow received from the device.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header of at least one of the packets of the packet flow.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a source IP address associated with the packet flow.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the appending comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Transmission Control Protocol synchronization (TCP/SYN) packet of the packet flow.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein inserting the at least a portion of the information in the TCP/SYN packet comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Network Service Header (NSH) of the TCP/SYN packet.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the per-device policy comprises a rate-limit policy, an application control policy, a web domain filter, or a combination thereof.
8. A system comprising:
a device;
a network device; and
a gateway configured to communicate with the device and the network device, wherein the gateway is configured to:
receive, from the device, one or more packets of a packet flow initiated by the device;
append, to one or more of the packets of the packet flow, at least a portion of information associated with the device, wherein the information associated with the device is maintained by the gateway and comprises at least an identifier associated with the device; and
send, to the network device, the one or more packets of the packet flow with the appended information, wherein the appended information facilitates enforcement of a per-device policy.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises one or more of a media access control (MAC) address of the device, a hostname associated with the device, and an identifier associated with the packet flow received from the device.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header of at least one of the packets of the packet flow.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a source IP address associated with the packet flow.
12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the appending comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Transmission Control Protocol synchronization (TCP/SYN) packet of the packet flow.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein inserting the at least a portion of the information in the TCP/SYN packet comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Network Service Header (NSH) of the TCP/SYN packet.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the per-device policy comprises a rate-limit policy, an application control policy, a web domain filter, or a combination thereof.
15. A gateway, comprising:
a processor; and
memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the gateway to:
receive, from a device configured to communicate with the gateway, one or more packets of a packet flow initiated by the device;
append, to one or more of the packets of the packet flow, at least a portion of information associated with the device, wherein the information associated with the device is maintained by the gateway and comprises at least an identifier associated with the device; and
send, to a network device of a communications network, the one or more packets of the packet flow with the appended information, wherein the appended information facilitates enforcement of a per-device policy.
16. The gateway of claim 15 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises one or more of a media access control (MAC) address of the device, a hostname associated with the device, and an identifier associated with the packet flow received from the device.
17. The gateway of claim 15 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header of at least one of the packets of the packet flow.
18. The gateway of claim 15 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a source IP address associated with the packet flow.
19. The gateway of claim 15 , wherein the appending comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Transmission Control Protocol synchronization (TCP/SYN) packet of the packet flow.
20. The gateway of claim 15 , wherein the per-device policy comprises a rate-limit policy, an application control policy, a web domain filter, or a combination thereof.
21. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause:
receiving, by a gateway of a communications network, from a device configured to communicate with the gateway, one or more packets of a packet flow initiated by the device;
appending, to one or more of the packets of the packet flow, at least a portion of information associated with the device, wherein the information associated with the device is maintained by the gateway and comprises at least an identifier associated with the device; and
sending, by the gateway, to a network device of the communications network, the one or more packets of the packet flow with the appended information, wherein the appended information facilitates enforcement of a per-device policy.
22. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises one or more of a media access control (MAC) address of the device, a hostname associated with the device, and an identifier associated with the packet flow received from the device.
23. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header of at least one of the packets of the packet flow.
24. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the information associated with the device further comprises a source IP address associated with the packet flow.
25. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the appending comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Transmission Control Protocol synchronization (TCP/SYN) packet of the packet flow.
26. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein inserting the at least a portion of the information in the TCP/SYN packet comprises inserting the at least a portion of the information in a Network Service Header (NSH) of the TCP/SYN packet.
27. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the per-device policy comprises a rate-limit policy, an application control policy, a web domain filter, or a combination thereof.