Patent ID: 8099517
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a network device and from a user device of a particular type, a discover message that is based on a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP); determining, by the network device, that the discover message includes a vendor class identifier associated with a hardware configuration of the user device; determining, by the network device, whether data, associated with the vendor class identifier and included in the discovery message, matches at least one data item of a list of predetermined data, where the at least one data item is associated with the particular type of user device; assigning, by the network device and to the user device, a first network address from an address group when the data associated with the vendor class identifier matches the at least one data item of the list of predetermined data, where network traffic associated with the first network address is to be processed based on a particular quality of service (QoS) policy associated with the particular type of user device; assigning, by the network device and to the user device, a second, different network address from another address group when the data associated with the vendor class identifier does not match the at least one data item of the list of predetermined data, where network traffic associated with the second network address is not to be processed based on the particular QoS policy; and prioritizing, based on the particular QoS policy, the network traffic associated with the first network address over the network traffic associated with the second network address.