Patent ID: 6999419

Claim:
A method for managing communication resources in a network containing edge nodes located at a boundary of the network and core nodes located inside the network, comprising the steps of: (a) carrying out a priority control in which an edge node transmits packets by describing a priority level in each packet according to an amount of communication resources allocated to a flow of the packets, and a core node carries out a transfer processing with respect to received packets according to the priority level described in each received packet; (b) transmitting from one edge node an allocated resource notification regarding an amount of communication resources allocated to one set of flows which include one flow and which share at least a route from said one edge node to an egress node of the network; (c) sequentially transmitting a remaining resource notification regarding a remaining amount of communication resources that can be newly allocated to said one set of flows at each node, which is obtained at said each node according to the amount of communication resources allocated to said one flow by said one edge node or the allocated resource notification transmitted from said one edge node and a transfer capability of said each node, from said one edge node through any intermediate core codes, toward a downstream side of said one set of flows; (d) notifying from the egress node to said one edge node an available amount of communication resources that can be newly allocated in the network to said one set of flows, which is obtained according to the allocated resource notification transmitted from said one edge node, a transfer capability of the egress node, and the remaining resource notification received from a neighboring core node on an upstream side of said one set of flows; (e) obtaining at said one edge node an available amount of communication resources that can be newly allocated in the network to said one set of flows, according to the remaining resource notification received from a neighboring core node on a downstream side of said one set of flows; and (f) interpreting a received packet in a resource reservation protocol, and allocating communication resources requested by using the resource reservation protocol to said one flow indicated by the resource reservation protocol, at said one edge node, wherein at the step a), each core node transfers a resource reservation protocol packet without interpreting the resource reservation protocol packet.