Patent ID: 7164656

Claim:
A method for communicating data through a network from a source node to one or more destination nodes at appropriate Quality Of Service (“QoS”) levels, the network having multiple routing devices and a network manager for configuring those routing devices to forward data, each routing device able to forward data to at least one or more other routing devices based on a current configuration, the method comprising: under control of the source node, receiving data for communication to a destination node device; registering the data communication with the network manager by sending a registration request and receiving a transmittal virtual identifier and multiple transmission QoS communication parameters for use with the communication; and sending to a first routing device the received data accompanied by the transmittal virtual identifier and the transmission QoS communication parameters; under control of the network manager and in response to the registration request from the source node, determining a type of the data to be communicated; determining one or more QoS levels that are appropriate for communications of the determined type of data; determining a path through the network via which communications of data of the determined type can be sent from the source node to the destination node device at the determined QoS levels, the path associated with a virtual identifier and comprising multiple intermediate routing devices including the first routing device; determining multiple QoS communication parameters that when used by the intermediate routing devices with communications of data of the determined type should send those data communications at the determined QoS levels; and sending the associated virtual identifier and the determined QoS communication parameters to the source node for use as the transmittal virtual identifier and the transmission QoS communication parameters for the data communication; and under control of each of the intermediate routing devices along the path, receiving data accompanied by the transmittal virtual identifier and the transmission QoS communication parameters; determining to forward the received data to a next device that is a next intermediate routing device along the path or the destination node device based on the accompanying transmittal virtual identifier; determining a manner of forwarding the received data based on the accompanying transmission QoS communication parameters; and forwarding the received data accompanied by the transmittal virtual identifier and the transmission QoS communication parameters to the determined next device in the determined manner, so that the data communication will be sent to the destination node device at the appropriate QoS levels based on a type of the data being communicated.