Patent ID: 8780710
Filing Date: 2014-07-15
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of managing quality of service (QoS) in an Internet Protocol (IP) network which transmits data flows having at least two priority levels, the method comprising: identifying, at an egress edge node of the network, that congestion is present in one or more routers within the network; selecting data flows for termination to remove the congestion; sending at least one flow termination notification from the egress edge node to an ingress edge node of the network, the at least one flow termination notification identifying the selected data flows; immediately terminating low priority flows from the selected data flows at the ingress edge node; terminating high priority flows from the selected data flows at the ingress edge node only if congestion is still present after a predetermined delay period introduced by the ingress edge node; and forwarding any low priority data flows, received at the ingress edge node, into the network if the resources available in the network are higher than a threshold; wherein an initial flow termination notification identifying all the selected data flows is sent from the egress edge node to the ingress edge node as soon as the congestion is identified at the egress edge node; wherein the low priority flows from the selected data flows are terminated at the ingress edge node when the initial termination notification is received; wherein subsequent flow termination notifications identifying further data flows selected for termination are sent from the egress edge node to the ingress edge node if congestion is still present after predetermined measurement periods; and wherein the high priority flows from the selected data flows are terminated at the ingress edge node only if: