Patent Document ID: 9087319
Application ID: 10375589
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: obtaining, by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) architecture development mechanism implemented on one or more computer devices: a set of design requirements that define at least functional requirements for an ISP architecture that defines an overall structure of a potential Internet Service Provider (ISP) to provide Internet access to customers of the potential ISP; and one or more architectural principles to be applied to the ISP architecture, wherein the one or more architectural principles include design considerations for scalability, availability, or security of the potential ISP; generating, by the ISP architecture development mechanism, the ISP architecture according to the set of design requirements and the one or more architectural principles, wherein said generating the ISP architecture comprises: generating an architectural model for the ISP architecture according to the set of design requirements and the one or more architectural principles, said generating the architectural model comprising: determining a plurality of core components for the ISP architecture according to the set of design requirements and the one or more architectural principles, wherein the plurality of core components include one or more ISP services to be provided to customers of the potential ISP and one or more of an operating environment or an operating platform; in response to generating the architectural model, generating a logical design for the ISP architecture according to the architectural model and the set of design requirements, said generating the logical design comprising: defining a layered network components model of network components to implement at least the ISP services of the core components, the network components model comprising a plurality of layers including a core layer and an access layer; in response to generating the logical design, generating a physical design for the ISP architecture according to the architectural model and the logical design, said generating the physical design comprising: generating a capacity requirement for the ISP architecture, wherein said generating the capacity requirement for the ISP architecture comprises: estimating software storage capacities and memory capacities needed to implement the determined core components for the ISP architecture; estimating hardware server capacities needed to support software implementing the determined core components for the ISP architecture; estimating a number of links needed for Internet connectivity to implement the logical design of the ISP architecture; estimating port capacity needed for one or more types of network components to implement the logical design of the ISP architecture; and in response to generating the physical design: selecting one or more specific software components for the ISP architecture that support the ISP services and core components of the ISP architecture and satisfy at least the logical design and the estimated storage capacities and memory capacities needed to implement the logical design of the ISP architecture, selecting specific hardware components for the ISP architecture that support the software components for the ISP architecture and satisfy the logical design, the estimated hardware server capacities and number of links needed to support software implementing the determined core components for the ISP architecture, and selecting one or more network components for the ISP architecture that support the core components of the ISP architecture and satisfy the logical design and at least the port capacity needed to implement the logical design of the ISP architecture, wherein network components include one or more of routers, switches, or consoles; and generating output specifying at least the logical design, the physical design, the specific software and hardware and network components required for implementing the ISP architecture according to at least the capacity requirement, wherein the generated output is applicable to implement an instance of the ISP architecture of the potential ISP on the Internet according to the specified logical design and the generated capacity requirement for the ISP architecture; wherein the one or more ISP services include one or more of basic services, value-added services, infrastructure services, or operation and management services, wherein: the value-added services include one or more of a calendar service, a search engine service, a WebMail service, a chat service, a messaging service, or an address book service, the infrastructure services include one or more of a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS), a Domain Name System (DNS) service, a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) service, a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service, or a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service, or the operation and management services include one or more of a jumpstart service, a monitoring service, a provisioning service or a backup service.