Patent ID: 7676559
Filing Date: 2010-03-09
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A policy server in a communications network, the policy server comprising: a pre-computation module that identifies and explicitly separates a plurality of policy conditions into passive conditions and triggering conditions, groups a plurality of policies having an identical triggering condition that results in an identical policy decision into a policy equivalency class, continuously evaluates said policies based on changes in said passive conditions, and schedules a prioritized evaluation based on at least one of demand and resources; a scheduler that initiates said prioritized evaluation for said passive conditions and said triggering conditions, uses received events satisfying said passive conditions to determine policy-managed entity memberships with respect to the policy equivalency class, prioritizes the evaluation of the policy equivalency class based on demand for the policy equivalency class and available resources, and arranges said passive conditions according to a precedence ranking and assigns a higher priority to said policy equivalency class when said policy equivalency class is related to one of said triggering conditions; a triggering module that monitors all of said triggering conditions, wherein the triggering condition that corresponds to said policy equivalency class causes only member policies in said policy equivalency class to be reevaluated; a policy decision distribution mechanism that issues the policy decision upon detection of the triggering condition corresponding to the policy equivalency class being satisfied, distributes the policy decision to the policy equivalency class, and enforces policies for policy-managed entities that are members of said policy equivalent class; and a policy repository that stores the plurality of policies and the policy decision.