Patents Assigned to Level 3 Communications, LLC
  • Publication number: 20180288083
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method compares metrics from different data flows to detect flaws in collection of data describing operation of a network. The method uses a first network data collection technique to collect a first metric describing a characteristic of a network interface. Using a second network data collection technique different from the first network data collection technique, a second metric describing the characteristic of the network interface is collected. The first metric is compared with the second metric to determine whether the first and second metrics are incongruous. When the first and second metrics are determined to be incongruous, a flaw is detected to exist in the first or second network data collection techniques.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2017
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communication, LLC
    Inventor: Sergey Yermakov
  • Publication number: 20180287890
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve provisioning customers of an aggregator, such as a reseller, of a content delivery network (CDN). In one aspect, content requests to the CDN are processed in accordance with the virtual IP (VIP) address at which the request was received, according to a property template bound to the VIP where the template is selected by the customer and only involves discrete parameters for the reseller. In another aspect, cache fills of the network are processed without direct knowledge of the customer origin through a combination of some request attribute, e.g., alias host of the customer, and an attribute of the reseller to make a DNS request to a name server outside the CDN. Another aspect involves receiving a property template selection, an origin and an alias from a customer of the reseller, and providing appropriate DNS entries to validate the customer and provide origin information to the CDN.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Christopher Newton
  • Publication number: 20180287849
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for implementing a registrar component or functionality in a telecommunications network. In one implementation, the registrar functionality is handled at a Session Border Controller (SBC) or Network Address Translation (NAT) Traversal Manager (NTM) device of the network to alleviate an application server of the network from performing the registration function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Richard Dean Terpstra
  • Patent number: 10091107
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a system routes a new data stream from a source to a destination through a plurality of forwarding devices interconnected with links. The system includes a control device that receives a request to create a path through the plurality of interconnected forwarding devices for a new data stream and determines a type of the new data stream. A data flow database stores historical usage characteristics of data streams having the determined type. A path computation module determines, based on the historical usage characteristics of data streams having the determined type, the requested path through plurality of interconnected forwarding devices from the source to the destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: William Thomas Sella
  • Patent number: 10084923
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems and methods for providing routing of a communication received at a telecommunications network based on a unique identifier. In particular, a telecommunications network may route one or more communications based on a dynamically updated trunk group identifier associated with an egress user. Thus, in addition to routing the communication based on a telephone number or Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a user, the network may also route the communication based upon a dynamically updated trunk group identifier included in an updated routing function of the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Claudia M. Combellas, Dana A. Johnston
  • Patent number: 10084539
    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: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey K. Storey, John F. Waters, Andrew Dugan, Salvador Parades, Gary Ratterree
  • Patent number: 10078535
    Abstract: A network service infrastructure management system includes a computing system that communicates with a network service computing device to receive a request to generate a network service comprising one or more network node functions. Based on the request the computing system communicates with an operating system of the network service computing device to instantiate one or more tasks corresponding to the one or more network node functions in which each task is instantiated at a level of workload capability specified for its respective network node function. Once instantiated, the computing system may then launch each network node function on its respective task.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Claudia M. Combellas, Dana Johnston
  • Patent number: 10079758
    Abstract: A network includes a plurality of endpoint routers and intermediate routers. When a new data stream is detected at any endpoint router, the first packet is sent to a virtual routing server with knowledge of the entire network topology. Based on the topology, current usage, and historical usage, the virtual routing server determined a path for the data stream and begins to update the routing tables of the intermediate routers to reflect the determined path. Until the update is complete, all packets in the data stream are routed first to the virtual routing server and then to their destination. Once the update is complete, packets in the data stream are routed directly along the determined path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas Sella, James Michael Sella
  • Patent number: 10069792
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for extracting information associated with one networking transmission protocol, such as Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), based on information associated with a different networking transmission protocol, such as Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv4). More specifically, when resolving an IP address for a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) through which a content file may be obtained, the system may base the resolved URL on attributes of an IPv4 address extracted from an IPv6 address for a machine associated with the request. In one particular example, a geographic location of a requested computing device or machine may be determined or estimated based on an IPv4 address extracted from an IPv6 address associated with the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Joelle T. Maslak
  • Patent number: 10069968
    Abstract: Systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, are provided herein for collaboration conferencing with multiple participants over a communications network, and more specifically for utilizing a received Automatic Number Identification (ANI) value to validate an identification of a user of the collaboration system. In general, the ANI is a value associated with a telephone call or other communication of a telecommunications network that identifies the originating telephone number. For example, a telephone call placed from a communication device (such as a telephone at a person's home) may include the telephone number associated with the communication device, such as the ten-digit telephone number of the device. The ANI value may be obtained by one or more networking devices to determine the originating device or number of the communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Andrew J. Broadworth
  • Publication number: 20180241819
    Abstract: Methods and systems for storing and distributing content include executing storage rules against ingested content to determine in which of a plurality of storage systems to store the ingested content. A metadata collection that includes records corresponding to the stored content is maintained such that the content may be located by querying or otherwise searching the metadata collection. The metadata collection may be analyzed using various criteria to identify content to be migrated between different storage systems.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Huselton, William R. Power
  • Patent number: 10057322
    Abstract: A content delivery method, and related apparatus, that involves the operations of receiving a request for a content resource including at least one embedded resource with a tag. Upon identification of the tag, using at least one delivery parameter to generate a modified embedded resource. Embedding the modified embedded resource in a content resource, such as as an HTML document. Delivering, such as in response to request from a browser, the content resource with the modified embedded resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Newton, William R. Power
  • Patent number: 10057129
    Abstract: A regenerator system is provided for dynamic and asymmetric bandwidth capacity adjustment when exchanging data between a first remote network device and a second remote network device. The regenerator includes first and second couplers in communication with the first and second remote network devices, respectively, using a first communication medium that provides multiple communication channels, and at least one redirecting device operable to selectively configure at least one of the channels for either transmission of a signal from the first remote network device to the second remote network device, or transmission of the signal from the second remote network device to the first remote network device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Peter Brennan Doerr
  • Patent number: 10057158
    Abstract: A Software Defined Network (SDN) includes a plurality of forwarding devices and a routing control device located separate from the forwarding devices. The routing control device, establishes paths to and from the network forwarding devices. Using such paths, forwarding devices send the routing control device information reflecting the topology if the network. Embodiments disclosed herein enable automatic discovery of the topology of the network and the paths to and from the routing control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas Sella, James Michael Sella
  • Patent number: 10057161
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for collaboration conferencing with multiple participants over a communications network, and more specifically for a conferencing routing service for managing and routing collaboration participants. A collaboration conferencing routing server may provide configurability in routing a collaboration conference to a conference bridge based on any number of criteria and information about the requester and the communications network on which the conference occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew James Broadworth, Darren James Behmlander, Adam C. Uzelac
  • Publication number: 20180234714
    Abstract: A system and corresponding method facilitate resolution of discontinuities in manifest files used in the distribution of stored content. Resolution of discontinuities includes identifying each of a discontinuity in a first manifest file and a corresponding entry in a second manifest file for the same or substantially similar content segment stored at a different location. A combined manifest file is then generated by inserting the entry of the second manifest file or otherwise inserting the location information of the second manifest file entry into the first manifest file. The systems and methods herein may be implemented at various locations within a system for providing content to a client device and may be implemented at various times in the process of generating or distributing content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2018
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Kevin C. Johns
  • Patent number: 10050900
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for the automatic allocation and/or provisioning of various infrastructural computing resources upon which networks, such as telecommunication networks operate. In various aspects, data identifying one or more computing resources needed to implement, support, and/or otherwise facilitate the execution and/or development of a particular computing process, application, software, process, and/or service may be received via one or more interfaces, such as a graphical user-interface (“GUI”). The data may be processed to automatically provision the require resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Craig William Hotes, Kevin Dean Wein, James Edward Borowicz, Madhukar Bandi, Ken Rumer, Nick Taylor, Rich Haase, William Charles Ramthum
  • Publication number: 20180227212
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems for providing multiple egress routes from a telecommunications network for a client of the network. In general, the system provides for a client of the network to receive intended packets of information through multiple connections to the network such that load balancing and failover services for traffic to the customer are provided. The process and system allows for telecommunications network to utilize a common next-hop value of announced border gateway protocol (BGP) routes to advertise multiple routes to reach a destination customer network or address. By utilizing a common next-hop value in the announced BGP information, the devices of the network may load balance communication packets to the destination customer or address among the multiple egress locations from the network, as well as providing fast failover to alternate routes when a failure at the network or customer occurs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2018
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Francis Ferguson, Eric Osborne, Clyde David Cooper, III, Brent W. Smith
  • Publication number: 20180219882
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for detecting a spoofed source IP address on an incoming communication to any type of network, such as a telecommunications or content delivery network. Each interface to the network may include a classifier that defines or describes source IP addresses that are recognized by the interface as a valid source IP address. If a received communication packet includes a source IP address that is not included or defined by the interface classifier, the packet is considered as a possible spoofed IP address and one or more mitigation techniques may be applied to the incoming packet to prevent an attack on a device or network utilizing the spoofed packet. Such techniques may lessen or prevent an unauthorized access of the device or network or a DDOS attack on the network or device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Thomas B. Boatwright
  • Publication number: 20180219912
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for providing a proxy server or scrubbing service for an authoritative domain name server (DNS) of a CDN to prevent or otherwise mitigate attacks on the server. The proxy server may receive incoming requests to the authoritative DNS and determine which requests are valid and which are potentially part of an attack on the network. In one embodiment, the proxy server may then “scrub” or otherwise remove the requests of the attack to mitigate the effect of the attack on the network. For example, the proxy server may ignore the request, may direct the request to a “dead-end” server or other device to prevent overloading of the target device, may instruct a device from which the request was sent to discard the request, etc.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Joel C. Maslak, Todd J. Williamson, Kevin Brady