Abstract:
By accessing a hot button available from an internet site, a user can make a request for a switched broadband connection from a control system associated with a broadband network. The control system allocates resources for the broadband connection and coordinates a request with the web host. Accordingly, the web host is capable of providing bandwidth-differentiated services to users making such requests.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to multimedia communications and, more particularly, to a network for providing a means of enabling on-demand broadband access to specialized web page content. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A public packet switched network such as the World Wide Web generally cannot provide the bandwidth necessary for multimedia communications requiring broadband connections. Web traffic is slow, and access is limited to specific languages and protocols such as HTML, FTP, etc. Moreover, even with these limitations, web providers cannot easily provide bandwidth-differentiated services to different customers. 
     Application Ser. No. 08/966,634 (application Ser. No. 08/966,634), commonly owned by the present assignee, dramatically advanced the state of the art. The present invention leverages the capabilities of application Ser. No. 08/966,634 in new and useful ways. In particular, the present application allows a broadband network user to access a web page with a hot button for on-demand broadband web access. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention aims at allowing a user to request a broadband connection by means of a hot button available from an internet site to overcome limitations of slow transmissions in a public packet switched network. 
     The present invention aims at allowing a user to request a broadband connection by means of a hot button available from an internet site, where the hot button request provides a destination field for addressing a web host and an annotation field for identifying associated user software. 
     The present invention aims at allowing a user to request a broadband connection by means of a hot button available from an internet site, where a corresponding web host can provide bandwidth-differentiated services to users making such requests. 
     These objects and advantages are fulfilled according to the present invention by a method that allows a user to access a hot button available from an internet site. Accessing the hot button makes a request for a switched broadband connection from a control system associated with a broadband network. The control system allocates resources for the broadband connection and coordinates a request with the web host. Accordingly, the web host is capable of providing bandwidth-differentiated services to users making such requests. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Those skilled in the art will be able to understand the details of the invention, as well as the best mode for practicing it, by reference to the following detailed description, in conjunction with the attached drawing figures, in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a top-level functional diagram of a preferred embodiment of a network in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG. 2 illustrates of the use a preferred embodiment of a hot button by a user to request a broadband connection in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     This application builds upon the disclosure of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/966,634, commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention, incorporated herein by reference. Application &#39;634 discloses a network for providing switched broadband interconnections according to the present invention. The present invention provides a streamlined mechanism for a user to request a switched broadband connection to a web host in such a network by means of a hot button available from an internet site, thus further allowing the web host to provide differentiated services to different customers. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a user&#39;s workstation  3 , which connects via a redirector  5  to an internet  7 , which provides a public packet switched network. Internet  7  also connects via a redirector  9  to a web host  11 , which includes a load balancer  13 , which manages flow to alternative servers  15 A- 15 C. A directory service  23  is also accessible to workstation  3  via internet  7 . A broadband network  19  also provides an alternative broadband routing from workstation  3  to web host  11 . Workstation  3  connects via NAD (Network Access Device)  17  to broadband network  19 , which provides on-demand broadband services via a public circuit-switched network as described in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/966,634. Broadband network  19  also connects via NAD  21  to web host  11 . NCSS (Network Control System Server)  25  communicates with workstation  3 , NAD  17 , broadband network  19 , NAD  21  and web host  11  via signaling network  27 . 
     Details for preferred embodiments of many of these components are described in more detail in application Ser. No. 08/966,634. Broadband network  19  is illustrated in application Ser. No. 08/966,634 by a top-level functional diagram in FIG. 1 and a connection-topology diagram in FIG. 49. Workstation  3  can be implemented by the workstation and the workstation interface of application Ser. No. 08/966,634 (e.g., workstation 100-A and workstation interface 140-A in FIG. 49). NAD  17  and NAD  21  may be implemented by, for example, premises switches 110-A and 110-B in FIG. 49 of application Ser. No. 08/966,634. Redirectors  5  and  9  may be standard CISCO redirectors (e.g., model numbers 2514, 2600, 4000, 7000, 7500). Key components of web host  11  include load balancer  13  (e.g., CISCO “LocalDirector 430”), and alternative servers  15 A- 15 C. NCSS  25  can be implemented, for example, by NCSS 40 of application Ser. No. 08/966,634. Signaling network 27 can be implemented, for example, by signaling network 30 of Application &#39;634. 
     From internet  7 , the user has access to a directory service  23 , which includes software that allows the user to request a switched broadband connection between workstation  3  and web host  11 . This database includes information for effecting a broadband connection between the two sites and for running related application software. In general, information provided by directory service  23  to the user at workstation  3  includes the destination information and the annotation. 
     The destination information provides broadband addressing information for web host  11 . This data, which may include the preferred quality-of-service for the connection, has the form: 
     http://four11.warpspeed.net/destination/&lt;sitename&gt;.mc 
     The annotation provides information on any application software that must be run on workstation  3  during the broadband connection. This may, for example, include browser software as well as other more specialized software (e.g., communications, CAD). Preferably this data is formatted according to a standard such as Internet RFC 2141 and RFC 1630 and is open within the constraints set by the RFC. Application developers and integrators may then add information necessary for the application up to the length limit for the URL (e.g., approximately 2 KB). 
     An illustration of the operation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.  2 . Directory service  23  provides workstation  3  with an internet web page  33  which includes a hot button  31 , thus providing the user with a request capability. By accessing hot button  31 , the user is able to request a switched broadband connection that is effected by NCSS  25  of broadband network  19  (i.e., network control system server 40 in FIGS. 1 and 49 of application Ser. No. 08/966,634). The resulting connection leads to a web page  39  including a broadband button  37  that allows the user to take further advantage of the broadband connection by initiating applications such as video conferencing. 
     As discussed above, when a request is made via hot button  31 , information provided by directory service  23  to the user at workstation  3  includes the destination information and the annotation. The interface of workstation  3  uses the annotation to set up streams for the necessary media devices (e.g., camera, microphone, speaker, video display). The interface of workstation  3  also formats a request (based on the annotation and the destination information) that is sent to NCSS  25  of broadband network  19  as components of a request for a switched broadband connection. 
     NCSS  25  of broadband network  19 , having a pre-calculated list of routes between workstation  3  and web host  11  via switch resources under control of the broadband network, broadcasts a request for bandwidth to all the switch commanders with underlying switch resources along the listed routes, as well as NAD&#39;s  17  and  21  as explained in application Ser. No. 08/966,634. The switch commanders and the NAD&#39;s respond with the amount of bandwidth they have available. Once a route with the required bandwidth has been identified and the necessary resources have been reserved along that route, NCSS  25  of broadband network  19  sends a request to web host  11 , where the request can be received by any of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C. When the request has been accepted by one of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C, necessary streams are set up at web host  11  for at least one of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C, and a reply is sent to the control system of switched network  19 . 
     When the reply from web host  11  is received, the control system of switched network  19  instructs the switch commanders that have reserved the underlying switch resources for the connection to switch up the connection. When the switch commanders all reply that the connection has been effected, NCSS  25  instructs workstation  3  to adjust its routing table to access web host  11  via NAD  17  rather than redirector  5  (and vice versa for web host  11 , except that this routing update is broadcast to all servers  15 A- 15 C), sends these addresses to workstation  3  and web host  11  and the broadband connection begins. At web host  11 , load balancer  13  mediates all input and output so that the resources of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C can be allocated without adversely affecting the transmissions to and from workstation  3 . Regardless of which one of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C receives the original request, all of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C where necessary streams are set up will need to get to workstation  3  via the IP address of NAD  21  through a multicast message. 
     After the connection is made, both workstation  3  and some combination of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C begin formatting locally available data for transmission and correspondingly translate data received in the broadband connection. More details of the network connection operation as applied to two workstations are found in application Ser. No. 08/966,634, “IV Network Connection Operation”, pp. 134-136. 
     The present invention possesses a number of distinct advantages. 
     For example, web page  33  includes hot button  31  within normal page content, so that it is available directly from internet  7 , which generally represents a public packet switched network. (More generally, internet  7  may be any type of network such as WAN/LAN/MAN.) From workstation  3 , the simple selection of hot button  31  effectively supplies the user with destination and annotation fields, requests a connection, and configures the user with the appropriate application software. One of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C will receive the IP address of workstation  3  by being routed through NAD  21 , but all of these servers will receive the address via a multicast message. By selecting, possibly in a dynamic fashion, which of alternative servers  15 A- 15 C is used, load balancer  13  allows the resources of web host  11  to be used effectively. 
     Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various substitutions and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, separate elements of the invention can be combined to form element subsystems. In addition, many elements can be implemented in hardware, in software or in some combination thereof