Patent ID: 8630297
Filing Date: 2014-01-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for distributing traffic ingressing to a packet network system, comprising: providing a separate instance of an interior gateway protocol (IGP), running on each one of a plurality of routers comprising a packet network system, that calculates all eligible paths for traffic through the packet network system; providing a separate instance of a traffic distribution function, running on each one of the plurality of routers comprising the packet network system, that receives, from each of the other of the plurality of routers, link volume information representative of the volume of traffic ingressing to each of the routers and link bandwidth information representative of available link bandwidth for all links to each of the plurality of routers in the packet network system, and uses the link bandwidth information to calculate a path bandwidth for each of the calculated eligible paths in the packet network system; using the calculated eligible path bandwidths and the link volume information to calculate under-utilized links that are each associated with a volume of traffic ingressing to the link that is below an available bandwidth of the link and over-utilized links that are each associated with a volume of traffic ingressing to the link that is above an available bandwidth of the link for at least some of the eligible paths in the packet network system; programming forwarding table entries in each of the plurality of routers to forward higher priority traffic flows over the eligible paths with under-utilized links before forwarding lower priority traffic flows over the eligible paths with under-utilized links, wherein the programming forwarding table entries includes, for each traffic flow: receiving a first traffic flow and determining a priority for the first traffic flow that is based on at least one of: a bandwidth needed to support the first traffic flow, a number of hops from an ingress router to a destination for the first traffic flow, an identity of the router into which the first traffic flow has ingressed, and an identity of the router out of which the first traffic flow has egressed; and forwarding the first traffic flow over one or more eligible paths in the packet network system using the determined priority and the forwarding tables entries in each of the plurality of the routers in the packet network system.