Patent ID: 8014283

Claim:
In a network comprised of a plurality of network elements, a computer implemented method for provisioning Quality of Service (QoS) between a plurality of sites comprising a Virtual Private Network (VPN) interconnected by certain ones of the plurality of network elements, comprising: enabling graphically defining topographical relationships between said plurality of sites of said VPN by instantiating on a computer one or more objects representing VPN components each specifying either a mesh configuration or a hub-spoke configuration for said VPN sites, and permitted communication between the sites, the topographical relationships defining rules governing communication between the plurality of sites by constraining distribution of routes for the VPN to certain ones of the plurality of network elements; enabling graphically defining on the computer of at least one QoS rule for only packet flows within defined topographical relationships between said plurality of sites of said VPN; and automatically generating provisioning information for the at least one QoS rule for at least one of the network elements.