Patents Assigned to Level 3 Communication, LLC
  • Patent number: 9325611
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a method configures a network to route data on a first network service that connects a user's network with a service provider network. In the method, an instruction to route data from the network addressed to a hostname on the first network service is received. According to the hostname, a first IP address that addresses a server identified by the hostname is determined. A second IP address is also determined as the second IP address of the specific network service. Finally a message is sent to the user's network that specifically instructs the user's network to route data addressed to the first IP address to the second address. The message causes configuration of a router on the user's network to route data on the first network service. System and computer program product embodiments are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Pete Joseph Caputo, II
  • Patent number: 9319391
    Abstract: Implementations of the present disclosure involve a system and/or method for providing account information for a telephone number. All users are authenticated to ensure they may access the account information. Once authenticated, the user provides one or more telephone numbers that they would like to retrieve account information for. The system searches for the telephone number and if found, checks to ensure that the telecommunications provider services the phone number. When the telecommunications provider is the provider for the phone number, the record is retrieved and sent to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Brett Wentworth, Taylor Fraley, Mike Keating, Dale Drew, John Fable
  • Publication number: 20160094430
    Abstract: Disclosed are system, method, and computer-readable medium embodiments for a network to provide network applications and services and estimate network metrics for individual applications and services. In an embodiment, a first routing device receives a packet and determines that the packet is to be sampled. The first routing device samples the packet by storing first information associated with the packet and transmits the first information to a measurement server. The first routing device transmits the packet towards a destination according to routing information. A second routing device receives the packet and determines that the packet is to be sampled. The second routing device samples the packet by storing second information associated with the packet and transmitting the second information to the measurement server. The measurement server determines a measurement based on the first information and second information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas SELLA, James Michael SELLA
  • Publication number: 20160094471
    Abstract: A content delivery network has at least a first tier of servers. A content delivery method includes, at a first server in the first tier of servers, obtaining a request from a client for a resource. If the resource is available at the first server or at a peer of the first server, then the resource is served to the client from the first server. Otherwise, it is determined whether the resource is popular, and if the resource is determined to be popular, then the first server obtains the resource and the first server serves the resource to the client. If the resource is determined not to be popular, the server contacts a second server to obtain the resource, not in the first tier of servers, and the second server provides the resource to the first server. The first server is instructed not to cache the unpopular content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Newton, Kevin Johns, William Power
  • Publication number: 20160094416
    Abstract: A user of a communication network may have specific requirements for its critical data streams. The user may require dedicated channel capacity for its critical application. A dedicated channel may be separate from a common channel carrying non-critical data of the user. The user may create policies for assigning channel capacities to its critical data streams based on various criteria. The user may also create policies on sharing the dedicated channel capacity among its different critical data streams.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas SELLA, James Michael SELLA, Pete Joseph CAPUTO
  • Publication number: 20160094445
    Abstract: A network application may transmit data over a network connection. The application may require certain functionality for the network connection. An embodiment provides a method for the application to inform the network of its requirement. The application may use a control packet to inform the network of its functionality requirement for the connection it is using. The control packets may be sent to the network at the same time the application is transmitting its data. In an embodiment, a user using the application instructs the network to provide certain functionality using the control packet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: William Thomas SELLA
  • Publication number: 20160073244
    Abstract: Implementations of the present disclosure involve systems and methods for federating communications between a first network that transmits and receives messages formatted in a first format and a second network that transmits and receives messages formatted in a second format. The systems and methods are configured to receive a message from the first network formatted in the first format. The system then converts the message into a unified format that may be sent to the second network. After receiving the message in the unified format, the message may then be converted into the format of the second network and sent on the second network like any other message on the second network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2015
    Publication date: March 10, 2016
    Applicants: Level 3 Communications, LLC, Vail Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: William B. Long, Bopsi Chandramouli, Todd J. Whiteley
  • Publication number: 20160072851
    Abstract: A network provisioning system includes a computer-based set of instructions that receive, from a third party network provisioning system managed by a third party service provider, provisioning information associated with a wiretap to be setup on a customer communication device. The instructions then transmit the provisioning information to a policy server in a network domain. Thereafter, when the media gateway transmits a policy request message to the policy server to establish a call session for the customer communication device, the policy server issues instructions to establish the wiretap in the media gateway.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Publication date: March 10, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth C. Bade
  • Publication number: 20160057043
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided for managing diagnostic routing procedures through a communication node having a link aggregation group (LAG). The apparatus receives a first diagnostic routing request message to perform a diagnostic routing procedure on a communication path between the first communication node and a second communication node. When the communication path between the first communication node and the second communication node is configured in a link aggregation group (LAG), the apparatus transmits a second diagnostic routing request message through each of the links of the LAG to the second communication node, the LAG comprising a plurality of independent links that collectively convey the communication path, and receives a response to the second diagnostic routing request message from the second communication node through one or more of the links.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Eric Osborne
  • Publication number: 20160057015
    Abstract: Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for custom-defined network routing. In one implementation, a set of custom defined network flow rules is received at an edge router of a primary network, which is in communication with a customer network. The set of custom defined network flow rules correspond to network traffic associated with the customer network. The set of custom defined network flow rules is stored in a forwarding table on the edge router. A packet of data is received at the edge router. The packet of data is attributed to the customer network. The set of custom defined network flow rules is applied to the pack of data using the forwarding table.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2015
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Eric Osborne
  • Publication number: 20160028476
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for monitoring optical communications between a managed location and a remote location. In particular, an optical signal is transmitted over an optical fiber and passed-through a test device. A portion of the optical signal is filtered from the original optical signal and passed to a monitoring unit. The monitoring unit may instruct one or more switches in the test device to loop the optical signal back toward the managed location. Subsequently, testing and monitoring may be performed at the managed location. The device may provide a test output or may transmit the information to the managed location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2015
    Publication date: January 28, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey Kendall Storey, John F. Waters, JR., Andrew Dugan, Salvador Paredes, Gary Ratterree
  • Publication number: 20160020989
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a method exchanges routing data within a network including control and forwarding on separate devices. In the method, a first reachability information session is established between a forwarding device and a first control device and a second reachability information session is established between the forwarding device and a second control device. Also, a third reachability information session is established between the forwarding device and an external routing device. Finally, advertisements are exchanged between the first and second reachability information sessions and the third reachability information session such that the first and second control device appear to the external routing device to be a single device. System and computer program product embodiments are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2015
    Publication date: January 21, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas Sella, James Michael Sella
  • Publication number: 20160021790
    Abstract: A computing rack airflow directing system includes upper and lower rails configured for releasable attachment to a computing rack, and a flexible curtain suspended between the upper and lower rails at upper and lower edges of the curtain, respectively. The curtain is movable along the rails from a retracted position proximate a first end of the rails to provide access to one or more equipment modules mounted in the computing rack to an extended position to form a plenum for directing an airflow between the equipment modules and an airflow port. The airflow port is formed at either the upper edge or the lower edge of the curtain.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2014
    Publication date: January 21, 2016
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Joseph Nguyen, Joel S. Skoglund
  • Publication number: 20150381405
    Abstract: Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for investigating, tracking, preventing, and providing accountability for telecommunication network outages, particularly human error outages. In one implementation, a ticket is received for a network outage. The ticket specifies a responsible team and an estimated outage reason for the network outage. The estimated outage reason indicates a human error by the responsible team. A notification of the ticket is provided to the responsible team. The notification prompts an action by the responsible team. The action specifies whether the team made the human error. The ticket is completed based on the action and stored. The completed ticket details a root cause of the network outage and a performance management strategy for preventing future network outages similar to the network outage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Publication date: December 31, 2015
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: James Male, Cecil Sunder, Paul J. Yelton, Jennifer L. Moses
  • Publication number: 20150372969
    Abstract: A method of generating a routing table containing information as to the weighted distance between client's that use a resolver and each rack gateway, taking into account how traffic to each client can egress from the CDN AS. The routing table is generated from matrix multiplication of two matrices. One matrix contains information as to the proportion of each client's use of each resolver in a first autonomous system. The second matrix contains information as to the distance between each client and each rack, with respect to an egress gateway, in a second autonomous system. The resulting routing table is used to identify a gateway from which to serve content to a client.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Hopkins, Joel C. Maslak
  • Publication number: 20150373207
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, for obtaining information concerning a telecommunications network from various databases and/or informational spreadsheets, aggregating the information into a database, and displaying the information to aid in providing a telecommunication service to a customer. In one embodiment, the information in the database may be provided to an administrator of the telecommunications network through a user interface available to the administrator. With the information provided, the administrator may determine the network services available to a potential customer of the network and may generate a plan to provide the services to the customer's location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Timothy S. Day, Shannon Griffith, Takashi E. Tatsumoto
  • Publication number: 20150365321
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for managing the distribution of content and/or communications from a computer network to an end user of the network. In general, the system receives a request for content from the network from a user of the network and determines a server or content providing component within the network to provide the content to the user. In addition, the network may reduce the number of components and distance requests for the content are transmitted through the associated networks. In one embodiment, the network may provide altered destination paths to one or more access networks through which the end user accesses the network. The altered destination paths may be used by the end user's service provider or local network to select an access network for accessing the computer network to minimize the impact on the computer network for providing the content to the end user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2014
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Joel C. Maslak
  • Patent number: 9203636
    Abstract: A method, operable in a framework wherein resources of a content provider may be delivered to clients from at least two distinct content delivery networks (CDNs). Responsive to a client request, one of the CDNs is selected, the selection being based at least in part on one or more policies set by the content provider. The client is provided with information associated with the selected CDN. The information may be a domain name such as a CNAME for the selected CDN. The policies may include a load share policy that specifies a relative load share for each CDN, and the selecting may attempt to satisfy the load share policy. Updated content provider policies may be obtained, at regular intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Paul E. Stolorz, John K. Salmon, Michael S. Warren, Jeffrey G. Koller, Aric Hagberg, Maksim Yevmenkin, Mark Brady, David Pfitzner, Ted Middleton
  • Patent number: 9202031
    Abstract: A system includes least one processor in communication with a memory storing instructions, the at least one processor to receive an authentication request comprising authentication information from a user requesting access to a computing device connected to a communications network, determine a type of authentication request sent by the user, transmit the authentication request to an appropriate authentication server responsive to the type of authentication request, receive an authentication response from the appropriate authentication server, determine a permission level for the user requesting access to the computing device and attach the permission level to the authentication response, and transmit the authentication response to the user requesting access to the computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Brad Bernay Doctor, Nathaniel David Jamiel, Taylor David Fraley, IV, John Grayson Fable
  • Patent number: D754162
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Yunas Nadiadi, Paul Farnsworth, Jeff Storey, Ajit Kumar Rao, Eric David Gundersen, Melinda Nies