Patent ID: 9525634
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: receiving, by a server, flow information from a plurality of network devices of a network, determining, by the server and based on the flow information, an aggregate amount of utilization, of the plurality of network devices, associated with the client device; determining, by the server, that the aggregate amount of utilization exceeds a threshold amount associated with the client device, the threshold amount being determined based on a subscription associated with the client device; identifying, by the server, one or more paths between respective network devices, of the plurality of network devices, the one or more paths each being associated with a provisioned capacity; selecting, by the server and based on determining that the aggregate amount of utilization exceeds the threshold amount associated with the client device, a particular path, of the one or more paths, the selecting being further based on identifying that utilization, associated with the client device, of the particular path exceeds the provisioned capacity, of the particular path; instructing, by the server, one or more network devices associated with the selected path, to mark a proportion of traffic destined for the client device as discard eligible, determining, by the server, whether another client device, that is communicatively coupled to one or more of the plurality of network devices, is undersubscribed to a particular service; generating, by the server and when the other client device is undersubscribed to the particular service, an optimization instruction for at least one of the one or more network devices associated with the selected particular path, based on determining that the aggregate amount of utilization, associated with the client device, exceeds the threshold amount, the optimization instruction including an instruction to drop some or all of the traffic, associated with the client device, that has been marked as discard eligible; providing, by the server and to the one or more network devices associated with the selected particular path, the optimization instruction, to cause the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of network devices, associated with the selected particular path, to drop some or all of the traffic, associated with the client device, that has been marked as discard eligible; permitting, by the server, the data flow to traverse the one or more network devices associated with the selected particular path, without being dropped, when the other client is not undersubscribed to the particular service; and updating, by a topology server, as a topology of the network changes, topology information stored by the topology server, the topology information concerning the optimization instruction, wherein the topology information includes at least one of: