Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes acquiring an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) address for a physical interface of a first network element. The method also includes configuring an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) over IPv6 tunnel between the first network element and a second network element using the physical interface of the first network element. The method also includes acquiring an updated IPv6 address for the physical interface of the first network element and using an IPv6 Service Level Agreement (SLA) Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) operation to notify the second network element of the updated IPv6 address to establish a bidirectional IPv4 over IPv6 tunnel. The method further includes establishing a control connection with an IPv4 SD-WAN controller and automatically building an SD-WAN overlay tunnel with the bidirectional IPv4 over IPv6 tunnel as a transport.

Abstract: Service requests, which are used to properly process a network access request received from a client, are processed by routing the service requests between at least two service component instances according to a load balancing algorithm. Load balancing includes: calculating a first ticket amount and a second ticket amount; assigning the first ticket amount to a first instance and the second ticket amount to a second instance; using a selection scheme to select an instance having a ticket amount greater than a threshold amount to process a service request; decrementing the ticket amount corresponding to the instance selected; and scheduling the instance selected to receive a service request. The present invention may further include distinguishing between operable and inoperable instances, providing ticket amounts that are not based on performance ratings to inoperable instances, and providing ticket amounts that are based on performance ratings to operable instances.

Abstract: A method and system for authenticated access to multicast traffic receives a request for a user to join a multicast channel. Access privileges of the user to the multicast channel are authenticated. The request is disallowed in response to at least an unsuccessful authentication.

Abstract: A method for handling access requests at multiple PoPs using the sharing of NAS information between the PoPs, enabling each PoP to maintain its own, independent, database of user records. When an access request is received, it is forwarded to a specific PoP designated as the user's “home PoP”. This home PoP is the only PoP to contain the user's records. The home PoP may then handle the access request by utilizing a local NAS list, the local NAS list being synchronized with other NAS lists in the network and providing information on all the “known” NASes throughout the entire network. This allows for a user to roam between PoPs, while reducing the bandwidth and security concerns that have existed in the past when users chose to roam. The NAS lists may then be updated via a central Network Control Console.

Abstract: A method for conveying data communications network management information to an umbrella management system whereby network management information events are published on an information bus and received at a subscribing monitor interface located on the information bus. The monitor interface then converts the network management information events into umbrella management system-useable information and communicates the umbrella management useable information to the umbrella management system. In this manner, the umbrella management system is able to import valuable information pertaining to the devices and services that comprise the overall network. The monitor interface includes an adapter located on the information bus that subscribes to network management information events, a converter that formats the network management information events into data useable by the umbrella management system, and a forwarder that communicates the umbrella management system-useable data to the umbrella management system.

Abstract: A method for maintaining Quality of Service for communication network subscribers regardless of their log-on location is disclosed. For one embodiment the communications network has a first access point having a first router and a local memory containing at least one user profile containing a subscriber's pool identifier, and a second access point having a second router configured to provide a forwarding rate based on a source address from each of said packets. A service type for a subscriber is defined. A pool identifier corresponding to a service level agreement is assigned to the subscriber. If the subscriber attempts to log-on to the second access point, the subscriber's pool identifier is obtained from a global memory available to the second access point. The pool identifier is used to select a source address. A packet sent by the subscriber is forwarded using the second router, each packet containing the source address.

Abstract: A system for managing access to IP multicast traffic includes a join request manager within an access router. The access router includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory unit. The access router replicates multicast traffic flows for communication to one or more user devices within user systems coupled to the access router using a link. The join request manager receives a request to receive a multicast traffic flow, the request being received from one of the user devices within one of the user systems, and denies the request if a system metric is above a threshold.

Abstract: An address is allocated to a host device which is selected to obtain network access from any access point within a given communications system, while maintaining a network bandwidth management scheme that is consistently applied to a user's network bandwidth usage regardless of the access point used by the user. This is accomplished using a communications network having a at least one access point coupled to a first router which is configured to forward packets at a forwarding rate based on a source address contained in each of the packets. A user profile is assigned to each subscriber belonging to an access point. Each user profile includes a pool identifier which corresponds to a forwarding rate used by the router for packets corresponding to the subscriber.

Abstract: An address is allocated to a host device which is selected to obtain network access from any access point within a given communications system, while maintaining a network bandwidth management scheme that is consistently applied to a user's network bandwidth usage regardless of the access point used by the user. This is accomplished using a communications network having a at least one access point coupled to a first router which is configured to forward packets at a forwarding rate based on a source address contained in each of the packets. A user profile is assigned to each subscriber belonging to an access point. Each user profile includes a pool identifier which corresponds to a forwarding rate used by the router for packets corresponding to the subscriber.

Abstract: A method for handling access requests at multiple PoPs using the sharing of NAS information between the PoPs, enabling each PoP to maintain its own, independent, database of user records. When an access request is received, it is forwarded to a specific PoP designated as the user's “home PoP”. This home PoP is the only PoP to contain the user's records. The home PoP may then handle the access request by utilizing a local NAS list, the local NAS list being synchronized with other NAS lists in the network and providing information on all the “known” NASes throughout the entire network. This allows for a user to roam between PoPs, while reducing the bandwidth and security concerns that have existed in the past when users chose to roam. The NAS lists may then be updated via a central Network Control Console.

Abstract: A method for conveying data communications network management information to an umbrella management system whereby network management information events are published on an information bus and received at a subscribing monitor interface located on the information bus. The monitor interface then converts the network management information events into umbrella management system-useable information and communicates the umbrella management useable information to the umbrella management system. In this manner, the umbrella management system is able to import valuable information pertaining to the devices and services that comprise the overall network. The monitor interface includes an adapter located on the information bus that subscribes to network management information events, a converter that formats the network management information events into data useable by the umbrella management system, and a forwarder that communicates the umbrella management system-useable data to the umbrella management system.

Abstract: Service requests, which are used to properly process a network access request received from a client, are processed by routing the service requests between at least two service component instances according to a load balancing algorithm. Load balancing includes: calculating a first ticket amount and a second ticket amount; assigning the first ticket amount to a first instance and the second ticket amount to a second instance; using a selection scheme to select an instance having a ticket amount greater than a threshold amount to process a service request; decrementing the ticket amount corresponding to the instance selected; and scheduling the instance selected to receive a service request. The present invention may further include distinguishing between operable and inoperable instances, providing ticket amounts that are not based on performance ratings to inoperable instances, and providing ticket amounts that are based on performance ratings to operable instances.

Abstract: A data transfer interface for importing data from a source system to a target system, including a source data adapter having an attribute definition transcriber for generating transcribed data, and a target data adapter having a data format converter for converting the transcribed data from a first format to a second format. The data transfer interface may include a data validator to ensure that the user data selected for importation is valid before the data is transcribed. The source data adapter and the target data adapter may be configured for use with a communications architecture that allows the source data adapter and the target data adapter to receive and transmit user data as events on a data communications network.

Abstract: Service requests, which are used to properly process a network access request received from a client, are processed by routing the service requests between at least two service component instances according to a load balancing algorithm. Load balancing includes: calculating a first ticket amount and a second ticket amount; assigning the first ticket amount to a first instance and the second ticket amount to a second instance; using a selection scheme to select an instance having a ticket amount greater than a threshold amount to process a service request; decrementing the ticket amount corresponding to the instance selected; and scheduling the instance selected to receive a service request. The present invention may further include distinguishing between operable and inoperable instances, providing ticket amounts that are not based on performance ratings to inoperable instances, and providing ticket amounts that are based on performance ratings to operable instances.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing dynamic IP address allocation in a data communications network having a point of presence, a network access device associated with said point of presence, and user connections to users formed through the network access device. The system includes a protocol gateway in communication with the network access device, an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server in communication with the protocol gateway, a dynamic IP allocation server in communication with the protocol gateway, a local memory in communication with the protocol gateway; and a local memory publisher, which periodically publishes the contents of the local memory over an information bus so that the contents may be received by subscribing entities.

Abstract: An address is allocated to a host device which is selected to obtain network access from any access point within a given communications system, while maintaining a network bandwidth management scheme that is consistently applied to a user's network bandwidth usage regardless of the access point used by the user. This is accomplished using a communications network having a at least one access point coupled to a first router which is configured to forward packets at a forwarding rate based on a source address contained in each of the packets. A user profile is assigned to each subscriber belonging to an access point. Each user profile includes a pool identifier which corresponds to a forwarding rate used by the router for packets corresponding to the subscriber.

Abstract: Network access requests, which may based on different access methods, are processed by using a protocol gateway that insulates the processing of the access requests from the specialized protocols required to obtain the necessary services required for the different access methods supported. In a first aspect of the present invention, this includes using a protocol handler that is responsive to the network protocol used by the access request. The protocol handler performs a set of steps necessary for responding to the access request. If the steps include procuring a state service, a state object is used to obtain the state service, insulating the protocol handler from having to communicate with a provider of the state service, such as a service component. Upon completion of the steps defined within the set of steps, the protocol handler denies or grants network access.

Abstract: A single database maintained centrally hosts both proxy service data and authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) data. Data is then copied to storage used locally by each system when both systems are instantiated. Therefore the ISP/Telco need not maintain two different data bases. A protocol gateway (PGW) is used to determine if the incoming user is a wholesale or retail user. The PGW filters the domain portion of the access request to locate a remote AAA service. If one such service is found, the PGW routes the communication via the proxy service to proxy it to the remote AAA service. The returned packet from the remote AAA service is then searched for an IP address to be assigned to the incoming user. If one is not found the PGW obtains a dynamically allocated IP address from a DHCP server (using an IP-Pool-ID if supplied in the returned packet from the remote AAA service). The same mechanism is used to forward accounting event packets from the NAS to the remote AAA server.

Abstract: An information broker is provided which receives information regarding the updating of IP addresses and distributes the information to subscribing Domain Name Service (DNS) or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers. A list of subscribing servers is maintained by the broker. The broker may broadcast information regarding the allocation of a IP addresses to subscribing DNS servers, which then may be added to the DNS databases or the database may be updated with the new information. The broker may also broadcast information regarding the revocation of IP addresses to subscribing DNS servers, which may then be used to clear DNS entries in the database. Revocation of dynamically allocated IP addresses in networks with multiple DHCP servers may also be simplified by using the broker, where the broker broadcasts information regarding the revocation of IP addresses to subscribing DHCP servers.

Abstract: A single database maintained centrally hosts both proxy service data and authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) data. Data is then copied to storage used locally by each system when both systems are instantiated. Therefore the ISP/Telco need not maintain two different data bases. A protocol gateway (PGW) is used to determine if the incoming user is a wholesale or retail user. The PGW filters the domain portion of the access request to locate a remote AAA service. If one such service is found, the PGW routes the communication via the proxy service to proxy it to the remote AAA service. The returned packet from the remote AAA service is then searched for an IP address to be assigned to the incoming user. If one is not found the PGW obtains a dynamically allocated IP address from a DHCP server (using an IP-Pool-ID if supplied in the returned packet from the remote AAA service). The same mechanism is used to forward accounting event packets from the NAS to the remote AAA server.