U.S. patent application number 11/051227 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for apparatus and methods for dynamic bandwidth allocation.
This patent application is currently assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Chawla, Hamesh, Waclawsky, John G..
Application Number | 20050128951 11/051227 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34375083 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050128951 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chawla, Hamesh ; et
al. |
June 16, 2005 |
Apparatus and methods for dynamic bandwidth allocation
Abstract
A system capable of dynamically reserving bandwidth and
adjusting bandwidth reservations for active sessions of data
communication in a data communications device is provided. The
system generally separates the operation of bandwidth allocation
and adjustment from the operation of data transport through the
device, thereby allowing bandwidth reservations and adjustments to
be made without disturbing sessions of data communication that are
actively being transported through the device. The system can
accept requests to allocate or reserve bandwidth in a data
communications device using bandwidth reservation protocols such as
RSVP. The reservation requests create sender state data that can be
used to compute resource allocation data. The resource allocation
data can be used to label data storage locations in a data storage
mechanism according to the required bandwidth reservations. A data
scheduling apparatus, which is ignorant of particular sessions and
specific amounts of reserved bandwidth, examines data and deposits
data into data storage locations having a label corresponding to a
session identification specified in the data, if any. If an unknown
or no session identification is specified in the data, the data
scheduler deposits data into a data storage location that is
unlabeled or that has an unreserved label. Thus session bandwidth
is determined by the percentage of labeled data storage locations
for the session. Changes in bandwidth reservations are reflected in
the separate operation of alterations made in the data storage
labeling scheme, and do not affect the data scheduler, or data
dequeuing mechanisms, thus allowing data sessions to continue
without interruption during bandwidth adjustments.
Inventors: |
Chawla, Hamesh; (San
Leandro, CA) ; Waclawsky, John G.; (Fredrick,
MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Barry W. Chapin, Esq.
CHAPIN & HUANG, L.L.C.
Westborough Office Park
1700 West Park Drive
Westborough
MA
01581
US
|
Assignee: |
Cisco Technology, Inc.
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
34375083 |
Appl. No.: |
11/051227 |
Filed: |
February 4, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11051227 |
Feb 4, 2005 |
|
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09317381 |
May 24, 1999 |
|
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6876668 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/235 ;
370/431 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 47/50 20130101;
H04L 47/70 20130101; H04L 47/822 20130101; H04L 47/765 20130101;
H04L 47/803 20130101; H04L 47/724 20130101; H04L 47/52 20130101;
H04L 49/90 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/235 ;
370/431 |
International
Class: |
H04J 003/14; H04L
012/26 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for dynamically adjusting reserved bandwidth in a data
communications device while transporting a session of data
communication within the device, the method comprising the steps
of: receiving a first RSVP bandwidth reservation request associated
with application data of a session of data communication; reserving
a first amount of data storage locations in the data communications
device for the session of data communication, the first amount of
data storage locations reserved based upon an amount of bandwidth
requested in the first RSVP bandwidth reservation request; and
dynamically adjusting the first amount of data storage locations in
the data communications device for the session of data
communication to produce a second amount of data storage locations
in the data communications device for the session of data
communication request while continually maintaining the session of
data communication, the dynamic adjusting based upon bandwidth
allocation adjustment information within a second RSVP bandwidth
reservation request.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein reserving comprises: labeling,
with an identity of the session of data communication, a first
percentage of available data storage locations used to store
application data transported through the data communications device
to establish a first bandwidth reservation, the first percentage of
available data storage locations labeled based upon the amount of
bandwidth requested in the first RSVP bandwidth reservation
request.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein dynamically adjusting comprises:
labeling, with an identity of the session of data communication, a
second percentage of available data storage locations used to store
application data transported through the data communications device
to establish a second bandwidth reservation while continually
maintaining the session of data communication, the second
percentage of available storage locations labeled based upon an
amount of bandwidth requested in a second bandwidth reservation
request, the second percentage of storage locations labeled being
different than the first percentage of storage locations
labeled.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving comprises: receiving a
first RSVP bandwidth reservation request associated with
application data of a session of data communication, the first RSVP
bandwidth reservation request distinct from the application
data.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein dynamically adjusting comprises:
dynamically adjusting the first amount of data storage locations in
the data communications device for the session of data
communication to produce a second amount of data storage locations
in the data communications device for the session of data
communication request while continually maintaining the session of
data communication, the dynamic adjusting based upon bandwidth
allocation adjustment information within a second RSVP bandwidth
reservation request, the second RSVP bandwidth reservation request
distinct from the application data.
6. A data communications device comprising: at least one
communications interface; controller; and an interconnection
mechanism coupling the at least one communications interface, the
memory, and the processor; wherein data communications device is
configured to: receive a first RSVP bandwidth reservation request
associated with application data of a session of data communication
via the at least one communications interface; reserve, via the
controller, a first amount of data storage locations in the data
communications device for the session of data communication, the
first amount of data storage locations reserved based upon an
amount of bandwidth requested in the first RSVP bandwidth
reservation request; and dynamically adjust the first amount of
data storage locations in the data communications device for the
session of data communication to produce a second amount of data
storage locations in the data communications device for the session
of data communication request while continually maintaining the
session of data communication, the dynamic adjusting based upon
bandwidth allocation adjustment information within a second RSVP
bandwidth reservation request received via the at least one
communications interface.
7. The data communications device of claim 6 wherein, when
reserving, the data communications device is configured to: label,
with an identity of the session of data communication, a first
percentage of available data storage locations used to store
application data transported through the data communications device
to establish a first bandwidth reservation, the first percentage of
available data storage locations labeled based upon the amount of
bandwidth requested in the first RSVP bandwidth reservation
request.
8. The data communications device of claim 7 wherein, when
dynamically adjusting, the data communications device is configured
to: label, with an identity of the session of data communication, a
second percentage of available data storage locations used to store
application data transported through the data communications device
to establish a second bandwidth reservation while continually
maintaining the session of data communication, the second
percentage of available storage locations labeled based upon an
amount of bandwidth requested in a second bandwidth reservation
request, the second percentage of storage locations labeled being
different than the first percentage of storage locations
labeled.
9. The data communications device of claim 6 wherein, when
receiving, the data communications device is configured to: receive
a first RSVP bandwidth reservation request associated with
application data of a session of data communication, the first RSVP
bandwidth reservation request distinct from the application
data.
10. The data communications device of claim 6 wherein, when
dynamically adjusting, the data communications device is configured
to: dynamically adjusting the first amount of data storage
locations in the data communications device for the session of data
communication to produce a second amount of data storage locations
in the data communications device for the session of data
communication request while continually maintaining the session of
data communication, the dynamic adjusting based upon bandwidth
allocation adjustment information within a second RSVP bandwidth
reservation request, the second RSVP bandwidth reservation request
distinct from the application data.
11. A computer program product having a computer-readable medium
including computer program logic encoded thereon for allocating
bandwidth in a data communications device, such that the computer
program logic, when executed on at least one processing unit with
the data communications device, causes the at least one processing
unit to perform the steps of: receiving a first RSVP bandwidth
reservation request associated with application data of a session
of data communication; reserving a first amount of data storage
locations in the data communications device for the session of data
communication, the first amount of data storage locations reserved
based upon an amount of bandwidth requested in the first RSVP
bandwidth reservation request; and dynamically adjusting the first
amount of data storage locations in the data communications device
for the session of data communication to produce a second amount of
data storage locations in the data communications device for the
session of data communication request while continually maintaining
the session of data communication, the dynamic adjusting based upon
bandwidth allocation adjustment information within a second RSVP
bandwidth reservation request.
12. A data communications device comprising: at least one
communications interface; a controller; and an interconnection
mechanism coupling the at least one communications interface and
the controller; wherein the data communications device is
configured to produce a means dynamically adjusting reserved
bandwidth in a data communications device while transporting a
session of data communication within the device, such means
including: means for receiving a first RSVP bandwidth reservation
request associated with application data of a session of data
communication; means for reserving a first amount of data storage
locations in the data communications device for the session of data
communication, the first amount of data storage locations reserved
based upon an amount of bandwidth requested in the first RSVP
bandwidth reservation request; and means for dynamically adjusting
the first amount of data storage locations in the data
communications device for the session of data communication to
produce a second amount of data storage locations in the data
communications device for the session of data communication request
while continually maintaining the session of data communication,
the dynamic adjusting based upon bandwidth allocation adjustment
information within a second RSVP bandwidth reservation request.
13. The data communications device of claim 12 wherein the means
for reserving comprises: means for labeling, with an identity of
the session of data communication, a first percentage of available
data storage locations used to store application data transported
through the data communications device to establish a first
bandwidth reservation, the first percentage of available data
storage locations labeled based upon the amount of bandwidth
requested in the first RSVP bandwidth reservation request.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the means for dynamically
adjusting comprises: means for labeling, with an identity of the
session of data communication, a second percentage of available
data storage locations used to store application data transported
through the data communications device to establish a second
bandwidth reservation while continually maintaining the session of
data communication, the second percentage of available storage
locations labeled based upon an amount of bandwidth requested in a
second bandwidth reservation request, the second percentage of
storage locations labeled being different than the first percentage
of storage locations labeled.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/317,381, filed May 24, 1999, issued as U.S. Pat. No. ______,
the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A typical data communications network includes many hosts
interconnected by various data communication devices. The data
communication devices can be routers, bridges, switches, access
servers, gateways, hubs, concentrators, proxy servers, repeaters
and so forth which exchange data over an interconnection of data
links. The data links may be physical connections or may be
provided using wireless communication mechanisms. The network
allows data to propagate between various applications that execute
on the hosts. The hosts are often general purpose computer systems
such as personal computers, workstations, minicomputers, mainframes
and the like, or the hosts may be dedicated devices such as
web-site kiosks, facsimile servers, video servers, audio servers,
and so forth. Each host couples to one or more of the data
communications devices that form the network.
[0003] Various physical or hardware data communications connection
mechanisms allow the hosts to interconnect with the network.
Physical data communications connection mechanisms can include
modems, transceivers, network interface cards, fiber optic cards,
ports and other hardware devices which allow data to be transferred
at various data transfer rates (i.e., bandwidths) to and from the
hosts and between data communications devices. For example, certain
hosts may have high-speed network interfaces which provide
connections to the network at high data rates such as
fractional-T1, T1, E1 or higher, while other hosts may use an
inexpensive modem that provides a maximum data transfer rate of
56.6 kilobits per second (Kbps) to and from the network.
[0004] Depending upon a specific use of the host which often
depends on an application running on a host, data traveling across
the network that is associated with those applications may require
different levels of data service (i.e., data transfer rates or
network bandwidth). For example, a distributed applications
protocol such as the Multicasting Protocol can be used to serve
streams of data from one or more source hosts to one or more
destination hosts which subscribe to the stream (called joining a
multicast group). A multicasting video server coupled to the
network may require a minimum amount of network bandwidth to be
supplied from itself to all other hosts that require access to the
streams of transmitted multicasted video. Another host may be
supplying multicasted audio streams to remote destination hosts
throughout the network. Though streaming audio data typically
requires less network bandwidth than streaming video data (which
usually contains encoded audio data as well as video images), both
data types require a certain guaranteed minimum quality of service
or QoS since each of these data types requires real-time
transmission. The real-time bandwidth requirements of video or
audio data contrast sharply with best-effort only bandwidth
requirements associated with non-urgent data such as E-mail
communications which can be delayed in the network for prolonged
periods without affecting the intended purpose or performance of
the E-mail application.
[0005] As another example of the need for varying bandwidth
requirements, hosts that connect or subscribe to networks using
high speed connection mechanisms such T1 interface cards generally
expect to be provided with, and often pay a premium for the ability
to send and receive data across the network at T1 data rates. Other
hosts may not require such high data transfer rates and therefore
only subscribe to the network and pay for the capability to
transfer data at lower data transfer rates. In either case, the
data communications devices in the network must be able to
distinguish and handle the flows of data from hosts having
differing levels or qualities of service.
[0006] Since many connections, sessions or data traffic flows
(i.e., data associated with an end-to-end application or stream)
from multiple hosts with potentially different data rates are
frequently switched, routed or transferred through the same data
communication devices in a network such as the Internet, the data
communications devices must provide a way to establish, allocate or
reserve the bandwidth requirements for the various flows, sessions,
or connections. Once the bandwidth is allocated, the devices must
distinguish the different data flows or connections requiring the
different levels of service (i.e., different data rates or
bandwidth requirements). Once distinguished, the data
communications devices must be able to service each connection or
flow at its prescribed level of service. For example, if T1 service
is required, the data communications devices must identify and
transport data on T1 or higher speed links through the network at
T1 speeds, while data from slower links should at least be
transferred through the network at a minimum subscription rate of
those links. Management of the various data transmission and
propagation requirements associated with data having differing
levels of service is a well known problem associated with data
communications devices in modem networks.
[0007] Various bandwidth allocation or reservation protocols have
been developed for use in modern networks to provide guaranteed QoS
or controlled end-to-end delays for transmitted data. These
protocols allow applications that exchange data between sending and
receiving hosts to establish reservations of bandwidth over the
network for the various services required by the applications. One
such protocol is called RSVP, which stands for the ReSerVation
Protocol.
[0008] As its name implies, hosts use RSVP to request a specific
QoS from the network on behalf of an application data stream. RSVP
carries the request through the network, visiting each data
communications device or node that the network will use to carry
the stream. At each node, RSVP attempts to make a resource (i.e.
bandwidth) reservation for the stream. Once bandwidth is reserved
in each node on the network path from sender to receiver, the
sender can commence transmission of the stream using the reserved
network bandwidth. The QoS for that stream is generally guaranteed
since the bandwidth is reserved for use by that particular stream
(e.g., Multicast group) and no other.
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical architecture and data flow of a
prior art data communications device 100 configured to use RSVP.
Traditionally, to make a resource reservation in the data
communications device 100 (e.g. a router), an RSVP daemon 101
executing on the device 100 communicates with two local decision
modules, admission control 102 and policy control 103. Admission
control 102 determines whether the device 100 has sufficient
available resources (e.g., buffer capacity, processor and I/O
bandwidth) to supply the requested QoS. Policy control 103
determines whether a user, host or application (typically on
another device or host) requesting the bandwidth reservation has
administrative permission (i.e. access control) to make the
reservation. If either check fails, the RSVP daemon 101 returns an
error notification to the application process that originated the
request. If both the admission and policy control checks succeed,
the RSVP daemon 101 defines a set of filterspec parameters provided
to a packet classifier 104 and a set of flowspec parameters
provided to the packet scheduler 106 to configure and obtain the
desired QoS in the device 100 for that stream.
[0010] The packet classifier 104 uses the filterspec parameters to
filter each packet (data in) that arrives at the device to
determine the route and queue for the packet within the data
queuing mechanism 105. For example, there may be many prioritized
queues, each providing a specific level of service or QoS. The
packet scheduler 106 uses the flowspec parameters to properly
service the queues in the data queuing mechanism 105 to achieve the
promised QoS for each stream. Typically, the packet scheduler 106
employs a weighted fair queuing algorithm to dequeue the data from
the various queues in the data queuing mechanism 105 according to
the bandwidth allocation requirements or QoS defined in the
flowspec parameters.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art packet data structure 510
used to transport data in a data stream for which RSVP has reserved
bandwidth in data communications device 110. The data packet 510
includes an RSVP header field 180 followed by UDP and IP headers
181, 182 and the data 183. The RSVP header 180 typically includes
various fields 184 through 191. Of particular interest is the Tspec
field 191 which provides a description or identification of the
traffic flow, session, or data stream to which this data packet 510
is associated. The packet classifier 104 and the packet scheduler
106 can use the Tspec field 191 to identify different flows of data
and enforce the bandwidth allocations or QoS for each identified
flow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The RSVP protocol does not define how a device (e.g. 100 in
FIG. 1) is to implement the actual bandwidth reservations allocated
to a session or flow of data communication between hosts. Rather,
RSVP simply provides a mechanism to exchange bandwidth reservation
and path messages along the path of data communication between
sending and receiving hosts. The reservation messages simply
identify a session or stream of data communication and indicate a
requested level of service for that stream of data. The path
messages indicate where the data is to come from and also indicate
where to transmit the data. The mechanisms to set aside or reserve
the bandwidth resources in the device are implementation
dependant.
[0013] Accordingly, RSVP only provides a framework for hosts to
notify and request reservations of bandwidth in all data
communications devices that are on paths between sending and
receiving hosts. Once the data communications devices have agreed
to reserve the requested bandwidth (i.e., admission and policy
control), the implementation of how that bandwidth is actually
reserved or set aside within each device is left up to the device
and is not part of the RSVP protocol. The previously described
prior art implementations of device bandwidth reservation
mechanisms using customized packet classifiers and packet
schedulers which operate in conjunction with the RSVP protocol have
become quite popular.
[0014] However, one problem that stems from these prior art
implementations is that they do not allow adjustments to be made to
the amount of bandwidth reserved to a session of data communication
without requiring the session to be interrupted. That is, once the
prior art implementations of bandwidth reservation techniques (i.e.
modified classifiers and schedulers) reserve a set amount of
bandwidth between two or more hosts, the prior art implementations
cannot adjust the amount of reserved bandwidth without clearing the
session from end-to-end of all data in the path(s) between sending
and receiving hosts. This essentially requires the sender(s) to
stop sending session data to provide time for all session data in
the network to clear and reach the intended receiver(s). In other
words, if the bandwidth or QoS requirements of a session need to
change (e.g., the receiver needs more bandwidth to properly receive
the stream), the RSVP negotiation that must take place requires
that the sending host halt data transmission for a period of time,
while the sending and receiving hosts, and all data communication
devices in between, clear themselves of the session data. Then, the
sender and receiver must use another set of RSVP reservation and
path messages to adjust (i.e., increase or decrease) the amount of
bandwidth allocated between the sender and receiver hosts to meet
the new requirements.
[0015] One reason that current implementations of RSVP do not allow
bandwidth adjustments once a communication session is in progress
is not due to limitations of the RSVP protocol. Rather, the design
of prior art data communications devices that support RSVP, such as
show in FIG. 1, impose the limitations. A customized data
classifier 104 and scheduler 106 support RSVP bandwidth reservation
requests and enforce the bandwidth allocation requirements in prior
art data communications devices that support RSVP. The RSVP daemon
101 periodically updates the customized classifier 104 with
filterspec information which allows the classifier 104 to properly
examine and classify packets of data with the flow identification
associated with the packets. If a packet is associated with a flow
of data for which bandwidth has been allocated via RSVP, the
customized classifier 104, for example, directs this packet to a
queue reserved for this flow. Once queued, the customized scheduler
106 typically uses a weighted fair queuing algorithm to dequeue the
data from the various queues according to the bandwidth allocation
requirements associated with the various flows of data in relation
to each queue as defined by flowspec requirements.
[0016] By way of example, if the classifier 104 identifies data
associated with a session having a high bandwidth reservation, the
classifier 104 may queue the data in a high bandwidth queue. The
scheduler 106 may service the high bandwidth queue more frequently
that other queues which may have lower bandwidth allocations or
reservations which are serviced less frequently. Since the
classifier, the scheduler, and sometimes the queuing structure are
all involved in prior art device specific implementations of
bandwidth reservation using RSVP, data associated with a specific
session may exist in any one of these components in the device at
any point in time. Hence, if the RSVP daemon 101 were to attempt to
change the allocation of reserved bandwidth during an active
session of data communication, the scheduler 106 might need to
reconfigure queuing structures and the classifier 104 might need to
be made aware of the new bandwidth allocation scheme for that
session. If data communications devices using prior art
implementations of RSVP attempted to dynamically reconfigure
bandwidths allocated to sessions of data communication during
transport of those sessions, significant delays and/or lost data
would result for flows using the data communications device.
[0017] To avoid such losses or delays of data, prior art
implementations of RSVP require that the sending host halt the
transmission of data and that all data be flushed through the
network to the receiver. Once the prior art devices clear the
network of any data associated with a specific session of data
communication, the prior art devices use another sequence of RSVP
messages to adjust bandwidth and establish a new session. Once the
prior art devices have established a new bandwidth allocation, a
new session of data communication must be reinitiated.
[0018] The present invention avoids the prior art situation of
requiring a break in a data communication session in order to
re-allocate or adjust bandwidth reserved for a session. The present
invention provides a device implementation that can accept
bandwidth allocation changes and can dynamically adjust bandwidth
during an active session of data communication using a protocol
such as RSVP without requiring a pause or break in the transmission
of data along the entire path from sender(s) to receiver(s). This
can be accomplished since the present invention manages resources,
and is not focused on managing time.
[0019] More specifically, the present invention provides a data
communications device capable of dynamically adjusting reserved
bandwidth while maintaining a session of data communication. The
device includes an input for receiving data including bandwidth
reservation requests and a data storage mechanism including data
storage locations. Also included is a bandwidth reservation
processor coupled to the input port which accepts a first bandwidth
reservation request indicating a first amount of bandwidth to
reserve for the session of data communication in the data
communications device. The bandwidth reservation processor then
establishes a first bandwidth reservation associated with a session
of data communication in the data storage locations. A data
scheduler is included and is coupled to the input port and coupled
to the data storage mechanism. The data scheduler receives data
associated with the session of data communication and deposits the
data associated with the session of data communication into the
data storage locations associated with the first bandwidth
reservation. Using such a mechanism, data transport is separated
from bandwidth reservation and allocation. The bandwidth
reservation may enforce reservations for high priority traffic, for
example.
[0020] In another embodiment which allows dynamic adjustments to
the bandwidth reservation already in effect, the bandwidth
reservation processor receives bandwidth allocation adjustment
information from the input port during the session of data
communication and dynamically adjusts the first bandwidth
reservation in the data storage locations to produce a second
bandwidth reservation for the session of data communication in
accordance with the bandwidth allocation adjustment information.
This apparatus performs this operation while the data scheduler
continually receives and deposits data associated with the session
of data communication into the data storage locations associated
with the session of data communication. In other words, the session
of data communication continues during the bandwidth adjustment
processing.
[0021] In a more detailed embodiment, the bandwidth reservation
processor includes a bandwidth request handler coupled to the input
port to receive bandwidth reservation requests. Also provided is a
bandwidth labeler coupled to the bandwidth request handler and
coupled to the data storage locations. The bandwidth labeler
receives bandwidth allocation information indicated in the first
bandwidth reservation request and labels, with an identity of the
session of data communication, a first available percentage of the
data storage locations used to store data transported through the
data communications device thus establishing the first bandwidth
reservation.
[0022] Another embodiment is provided in which the bandwidth
reservation processor further includes a resource allocation table
accessible by the bandwidth labeler and a resource allocation
calculator coupled to access the resource allocation table
independently of the bandwidth labeler. The resource allocation
calculator receives the bandwidth allocation information indicated
in the first bandwidth reservation request and calculates and
stores in the resource allocation table a first percentage of total
device bandwidth to allocate to the session of data communication
based upon the first bandwidth reservation request. Using these
mechanisms, the bandwidth reservation processor can continually
allow for bandwidth adjustments over time without disturbing the
session of data communication for which the bandwidth reservation
exist.
[0023] Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for
reserving bandwidth in a data communications device. The system
includes a bandwidth request handler that accepts a first bandwidth
reservation request indicating a first amount of bandwidth to
reserve for a session of data communication in the data
communications device. Also included is a bandwidth labeler coupled
to the bandwidth request handler. The bandwidth labeler labels,
with an identity of the session of data communication, a percentage
of available data storage locations used to store data transported
through the data communications device to establish a first
bandwidth reservation. The percentage of storage locations labeled
is based upon the first amount of bandwidth requested as indicated
in the first bandwidth reservation request. Preferably, the data
storage locations for a path or session of data communication are
in the form of a single rotating queue structure.
[0024] Similar to this embodiment, another embodiment is a data
communications device that includes a bandwidth reservation
processor that processes requests to reserve bandwidth for a
session of data communications and labels a percentage of available
data storage locations in the data communications device with a
session identifier. A data transporter in this embodiment
concurrently processes and transports data through a data
communications device using the available data storage locations to
store data as it is processed. The data transporter deposits only
data having a corresponding identifier equivalent to the session
identifier of the storage locations into the data storage locations
labeled with the session identifier. In this manner, only labeled
storage location are use for session data and comprise the reserved
bandwidth.
[0025] The aforementioned apparatus embodiments perform processing
that is unique to this invention as well. The processing steps also
are embodiments of the invention and are summarized below.
[0026] Specifically, one processing or method embodiment provides a
method for separately handling bandwidth reservation processing in
a data communications device from data transport processing. The
method includes the steps of processing requests to reserve
bandwidth for a session of data communications and labeling a
percentage of available data storage locations in the data
communications device with a session identifier. Also, the method
includes the step of concurrently processing and transporting data
through a data communications device using the available data
storage locations to store the data as it is processed, and
depositing only data having a corresponding identifier equivalent
to the session identifier of the storage locations into the data
storage locations labeled with the session identifier. Using such a
method, the device can reserve bandwidth while concurrently
processing session data in the device.
[0027] In another method of the invention, the step of processing
requests, processes requests to change an amount of reserved
bandwidth associated with the session of data communication.
[0028] In yet another method embodiment, a method of storing
bandwidth reservation information is provide and includes the steps
of accepting a bandwidth reservation request indicating an amount
of bandwidth to reserve for a session of data communication. Then,
the step of calculating a percentage of total device bandwidth to
allocate to the session of data communication based upon the
bandwidth reservation request is performed. This is then followed
by the step of storing the percentage in a resource allocation
table which is independently accessible by a flow labeler.
[0029] Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for
dynamically adjusting reserved bandwidth in a data communications
device while transporting a session of data communication within
the device. This method embodiment includes the steps of
establishing a first bandwidth reservation associated with a
session of data communication in the data communications device.
This may be done, for example, by accepting a first bandwidth
reservation request indicating a first amount of bandwidth to
reserve for the session of data communication in the data
communications device and by labeling, with an identity of the
session of data communication, a first percentage of available data
storage locations used to store data transported through the data
communications device thus establishing the first bandwidth
reservation. The first percentage of storage locations labeled is
generally based upon the first amount of bandwidth requested as
indicated in the first bandwidth reservation request.
[0030] Preferably, after the step of accepting a first bandwidth
reservation request, the step of establishing a first bandwidth
reservation further includes the step of calculating and storing a
first percentage of total device bandwidth to allocate to the
session of data communication based upon the first bandwidth
reservation request. The first percentage of data storage locations
labeled in the step of labeling is based upon the calculated first
percentage of total device bandwidth to allocate to the session of
data communication. Also, the step of calculating and storing
preferably stores the calculated first percentage in a resource
allocation table which is independently accessible by the step of
labeling and the step of dynamically adjusting, so as to allow the
step of dynamically adjusting to alter the calculated percentage in
the resource allocation table without disrupting the step of
labeling, thus allowing the bandwidth reservation in the device to
be adjusted without effecting operation of a step of transporting
(summarized below). Accordingly, data storage locations are labeled
in accordance with the bandwidth requests and the labeling of the
locations inherently reserves the bandwidth for sessions associated
with the label.
[0031] As noted above, the embodiment also includes the step of
transporting, through the data communication device, data
associated with the session of data communication utilizing data
storage locations associated with the first bandwidth reservation.
The step of transporting can deposit the data associated with the
session of data communication into data storage locations having an
identification associated with the session of data communication
and does so independently of how the identification associated with
the session of data communication is created. Preferably, this step
of transporting deposits the data associated with the session of
data communication only into those data storage locations having an
identification associated with the session of data communication.
In other words, storage locations are labeled with an identity of a
session of data communication for which bandwidth is reserved and
during data transport, data associated with that session of data
communication is placed into the labeled storage locations
corresponding to the session. Preferably, other data not associated
with the session of communication does not use the labeled
locations, since they are reserved for the session data only. In
this manner, the number of labeled locations selected from a total
set of available location, such as labeling selected data storage
locations in a single large rotating queue, are reserved for the
session data.
[0032] The embodiment also includes the step of receiving bandwidth
allocation adjustment information during the session of data
communication. Preferably, this is done via a resource allocation
protocol such as RSVP. That is, the data communications device uses
an RSVP protocol to determine an amount of bandwidth to
reserve.
[0033] Furthermore, the embodiment includes the step of dynamically
adjusting the first bandwidth reservation to produce a second
bandwidth reservation for the session of data communication in
accordance with the bandwidth allocation adjustment information
while continually maintaining the session of data
communication.
[0034] In another embodiment based on the former embodiment, the
step of dynamically adjusting the first bandwidth reservation to
produce a second bandwidth reservation includes the steps of
accepting a second bandwidth reservation request indicating a
second amount of bandwidth to reserve for the session of data
communication, and labeling, with an identity of the session of
data communication, a second percentage of available data storage
locations used to store data transported through the data
communications device thus establishing the second bandwidth
reservation. The second percentage of storage locations labeled is
based upon the second amount of bandwidth requested as indicated in
the second bandwidth reservation request, and the second percentage
of storage locations labeled is different than the first percentage
of storage locations labeled. This allows bandwidth to be adjusted
by altering the labeled percentages for storage locations (e.g. in
the single rotating queuing structure) associated with (i.e.,
labeled to receive) various sessions of data communication.
[0035] In another embodiment, after the step of dynamically
adjusting the first bandwidth reservation to produce a second
bandwidth reservation completed, the method further includes the
step of calculating and storing a second percentage of total device
bandwidth to allocate to the session of data communication based
upon the second bandwidth reservation request. The second
percentage of data storage locations labeled in the step of
labeling is based upon the calculated second percentage of total
device bandwidth to allocate to the session of data communication.
The second percentage replaces the first percentage calculated
previously.
[0036] Preferably, the step of calculating and storing stores the
calculated second percentage in a resource allocation table as a
replacement for the calculated first percentage. The step of
calculating can include the steps of obtaining a current
measurement of data communications device data storage locations
available for data storage and a current bandwidth utilization rate
and then computing an amount of bandwidth to reserve for the
session of data communication based on the current bandwidth
utilization rate and on the current measurement of data
communication device data storage locations available for data
storage.
[0037] The resource allocation table is independently accessible by
the step of labeling and the step of dynamically adjusting, so as
to allow the step of dynamically adjusting to alter the calculated
first percentage in the resource allocation table without
disrupting the step of labeling, thus allowing the first bandwidth
reservation in the device to be adjusted without effecting
operation of the step of transporting. The resource allocation
table may be a database, table, linked list, object, or other data
structure or storage mechanism used to store resource allocation
data as described herein.
[0038] In another embodiment, the step of dynamically adjusting the
first bandwidth reservation to produce a second bandwidth
reservation includes the steps of accepting a bandwidth reservation
request indicating a specific amount of bandwidth to reserve for
the session of data communication. Next, a step of calculating and
storing a percentage of total device bandwidth to allocate to the
session of data communication based upon the bandwidth reservation
request is performed, followed by a step of labeling, with an
identity of the session of data communication, a percentage of
available data communication device data storage locations used to
store data transported through the data communications device. In
this embodiment, the labeled percentage is based upon the
calculated percentage of total device bandwidth to allocate to the
session of data communication. Thus, the data storage locations are
labeled according to reserved bandwidth requirements.
[0039] Other apparatus embodiments include computer program
product(s) having a computer-readable medium including computer
program logic encoded thereon for allocating bandwidth in a data
communications device. The computer program logic, when executed on
one or more processing units with the data communications device,
cause the processing unit(s) to perform any and all of the
aforementioned methods steps. That is, since certain embodiments of
the invention can be implemented in software, the computer program
embodiments cover a disk or other computer readable medium encoded
with instructions to execute the invention as a software program.
The disks or other mediums themselves containing the code are
actual embodiments of this invention.
[0040] The resource allocation information for bandwidth
reservations is preferably stored in the resource allocation table.
In one embodiment, a computer readable medium is provided that is
encoded with a data structure. The data structure stores bandwidth
allocation information. The bandwidth allocation information
includes an identity of at least one session of data communication
and a number representing a percentage of data storage locations to
associate with the identity of the at least one session of data
communication. The number representing the percentage of data
storage locations to associate with the identity of the session of
data communication is preferably a number indicating a number of
labels to apply to data storage locations so as to reserve the data
storage locations for the data associated with the at least one
session of data communication. This data structure embodiment can
be used to maintain bandwidth reservation information within a data
communications device and can be dynamically changed to
re-apportion bandwidth resources while the device concurrently and
separately maintains the sessions of data communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of
the invention will be apparent from the following more particular
description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference
characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being
placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art implementation of the
RSVP protocol used to reserve bandwidth within a data
communications device.
[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a prior art packet used
to transfer data according to the RSVP protocol.
[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates a data communications networking
environment using data communications devices configured to reserve
bandwidth according to the invention.
[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates an internal architecture and data flow
diagram of a data communications device configured according to one
embodiment of the invention.
[0046] FIG. 5 illustrates a more detailed architecture and data
flow diagram for a data communications device configured according
to the invention.
[0047] FIG. 6A illustrates a resource allocation table created
illustrating example data flow resource allocations according to an
embodiment of the invention.
[0048] FIG. 6B illustrates a detailed view of a queue entry
labeling arrangement according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0049] FIG. 7 illustrates bandwidth policy and admission control
processing steps performed by a bandwidth reservation processor
configured according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0050] FIG. 8A illustrates resource allocation calculation
processing steps performed according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0051] FIG. 8B illustrates queue entry label processing steps
performed by a bandwidth labeler configured according to one
embodiment of the invention.
[0052] FIG. 9A illustrates how data storage locations can be
labeled according to percentages of flow bandwidth per flow
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0053] FIG. 9B illustrates how data storage locations can be
labeled according to another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0054] An brief overview of the invention will assist in
understanding the discussion of detailed embodiments. Generally,
the system of the invention allows a data communications device to
dynamically reserve bandwidth and adjust bandwidth reservations for
sessions of data communication without session disruption. The
device can perform reservation and adjustment operations
independently of sessions of data communication that are in
progress (i.e. actively being transmitted) in the device and that
may be using any currently reserved bandwidth resources. However,
as the bandwidth is adjusted, the session(s) for which bandwidth
adjustment is made are transported according to the new bandwidth
reservation. That is, adjustments in reserved bandwidth for a
session of data communication can be made without concerning or
bothering the continual process of transporting data for that
session, but the session data itself will be transported using the
new bandwidth reservation as it is put in place, whether the new
reservation is an increase or decrease in available bandwidth.
[0055] By having the device separate the operation of bandwidth
allocation and adjustment from the continual operation of
transporting data through the device, the device can perform
bandwidth reservations and adjustments without disturbing the flow
or sessions of data communication. The system can accept requests
to allocate or reserve bandwidth in a data communications device
using bandwidth reservation protocols such as RSVP. The reservation
requests create sender state data that can be used to compute
resource allocation data. The device uses the resource allocation
data to associate labels with data storage locations in a data
storage mechanism according to the required bandwidth reservations.
A data scheduling apparatus, which is ignorant of particular
sessions having specific amounts of reserved bandwidth, examines
data and deposits data into data storage locations having an
associated label corresponding to a session identification
specified in the data, if any. This way, the device only places
session data into the labeled storage locations reserved for that
session data. If the data contains an unknown session
identification (or none at all), the data scheduler deposits data
into a data storage location that is unlabeled or that has an
unreserved label. Thus the percentage of data storage locations
labeled in a device for a session determines bandwidth reserved for
the session. The data storage labeling scheme of the invention
operates separately from the data scheduling, enqueuing and data
dequeuing mechanisms to allow data sessions to continue without
interruption during bandwidth adjustments.
[0056] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communications network
200 configured according to the invention. The network 200 includes
data links 202 which interconnect data communications devices 201-A
through 201-E, network policy server 150, and hosts 210 (including
hosts 210-A1, 210-A2 and 210-A3). The data links 202 allow
communications to take place between the various components shown
in the figure and can be any type of communication medium including
physical network cables, wires, fiber optic links, any type of
wireless transmission links or another communications medium.
Though the network 200 is illustrated as a relatively small network
for ease of description of the invention, the invention is
applicable to networks of all sizes, including interconnected local
area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), intranets,
extranets, and conglomerations of many networks, such as the
Internet, for example.
[0057] As illustrated, the hosts 210 are general purpose computer
systems such as personal computers, mini-computers, mainframes or
the like that exchange data, as will be explained, over the network
200. It is to be understood, however, that the hosts 210 may be
many different types of computing or data exchanging devices such
as file servers, web-site servers, network-telephony devices, audio
or video servers, and so forth and that the invention is not
limited to application only in a computer network or only for data
exchange between devices of a specific type.
[0058] The data communication devices 201 provide the processing
resources (routing and switching algorithms, queues, buffers,
switching fabrics, data busses, backplanes, input and output ports,
and so forth) to propagate data through the network 200 between the
hosts 210. The data communication devices 201 may be any type of
data processing device that can transfer, switch, route or
otherwise direct or propagate data in a network. Possible examples
of data communications devices 201 are network access servers,
routers, switches, hubs, bridges, gateways, proxy servers,
firewalls, modem banks, concentrators, repeaters, and similar data
transfer devices, or any combination thereof. Preferred embodiments
of invention are implemented within the data communications devices
201 and allow each device 201 to dynamically reserve bandwidth to
one or more sessions of data communication between hosts 210 and
allow the amount of bandwidth that is reserved by or to those
sessions to be changed without disrupting the sessions that are
using the reserved bandwidth or that require a change in the amount
of reserved bandwidth in each data communications device 201.
[0059] FIG. 3 is suitable for illustrating some example operations
of embodiments of the invention which are helpful in understanding
more detailed embodiments presented later. In FIG. 3, suppose, for
example, that host 210-A1 is a video server that serves a stream of
video packets 203 (the "A" video stream) across the communications
network 200 to recipient hosts 210-A2 and 210-A3 using a
multicasting protocol. Furthermore, assume that in order for a
receiving host 210-A2, 210-A3 to properly receive the "A" video
stream 203 with adequate quality, the hosts 210-A2, 210-A3 require
an end-to-end network bandwidth of 100 Kilobits per second (Kbps).
That is, each data communications device 201-B through 201-E that
transports the stream of "A" video packets 203 between sending host
210-A1 and recipient hosts 210-A2 and 210-A3 must supply a minimum
data transfer rate (i.e., bandwidth) of 100 Kbps for the "A" video
stream 203.
[0060] Due to the critical or real-time nature of data in the "A"
video stream 203, the sending and receiving hosts 210-A1, 210-A2
and 210-A3, in conjunction with the data communications devices
201-B, 201-C 201-D and 201-E use a bandwidth reservation protocol
such as RSVP to establish and reserve a 100 Kbps channel for the
"A" video stream 203 through the network 200. Specifically, using
RSVP, each data communications device 201-B, 201-C 201-D and 201-E
receives RSVP path and bandwidth reservation request messages (not
specifically shown in this figure) which specify, among other
things, an identity of a specific session of data communication
(the "A" video stream 203 in this example), an amount of bandwidth
to reserve for the session of data communication (100 Kbps in this
example), and the path for which the requested bandwidth is to be
reserved for the specified data stream (i.e., 203) within each
particular device 201-B through 201-E. In an alternative
embodiment, the network policy server 150 supplies the requests to
each device 201 (in the form of commands) which tell the devices
201 how much bandwidth to reserve for flows, streams, or sessions
of data communication in the network 200.
[0061] According to the invention, each data communication device
201 contains a bandwidth reservation processor 500 (abbreviated
B.R.P. in FIG. 4) and a data transporter 300 (abbreviated D.T. in
FIG. 4). In the illustrated example, only device 201-B is
illustrated with the bandwidth reservation processor 500 and the
data transporter 300, though it is assumed for this example that
all devices 201 are configured in a similar manner. All of the
processing associated with the reservation and allocation of
bandwidth is performed by the bandwidth reservation processor 500
in a device 201, while all of the processing associated with the
transport of data (e.g., stream 203) through a device 201 is
handled separately and concurrently by the data transporter 300.
Using this configuration, a data communications device 201 can
configure, control and adjust (if needed) bandwidth reservation
requirements for streams of data (e.g., alter the 100 Kbps channel
for the "A" video data stream 203) independently of transferring
the actual data (e.g., the "A" data stream packets) through the
device 201.
[0062] Continuing with the example, the bandwidth reservation
processor 500 in each device 201-B through 201-E receives the RSVP
path and bandwidth reservation request messages. If the bandwidth
reservation processor 500 determines that a requesting application
or host (e.g., receiving hosts 210-A2 or 210-A3) has permission or
privileges to reserve the requested bandwidth (e.g., RSVP policy
control) and also determines that the requested resource (e.g., the
100 Kbps bandwidth) is available in the device 201, the bandwidth
reservation processor 500 in each data communications device 201-B
through 201-E grants the request and establishes the 100 Kbps
bandwidth reservation for the "A" data stream 203 along the path
from sending host 210-A1 to receiving hosts 210-A2 and 210-A3. Once
the bandwidth reservation is established, each data communications
device 201-B through 201-E transports data (i.e., packets)
associated with the session of data communication (i.e. the "A"
video data stream 203) using the reserved 100 Kbps resources (data
storage locations in this invention, as will be explained).
[0063] Extending the example, assume that each recipient host
210-A2 and 210-A3 receives the "A" data stream 203 at the reserved
rate of 100 Kbps. That is, the bandwidth reservation processor 500
configures each data communications device 201-B through 201-E with
a bandwidth reservation of 100 Kbps of its total bandwidth (i.e.,
its total data transfer capacity or throughput for the path
specified for, or required by, the data stream) for the "A" video
stream packets 203 which are continuously delivered to the
recipient hosts 210-A2 and 210-A3 in real-time across network 200.
If a video client application (not shown) executing on recipient
host 210-A3 senses that more network bandwidth is required (such as
120 Kbps) to effectively receive the "A" video data stream 203, the
host 210-A3 can use RSVP to make a bandwidth reservation request
(not shown) containing bandwidth allocation adjustment information
to each network device 201-E, 201-D, 201-C and 201-B. The bandwidth
allocation adjustment information in the bandwidth reservation
request specifies a request for 120 Kbps of bandwidth to be
reserved for the "A" video data stream 203.
[0064] Using the invention, the bandwidth reservation processor 500
in each device 201-E through 201-B along the path of the "A" data
stream 203 receives the RSVP bandwidth allocation adjustment
information. Assuming bandwidth resources (i.e., an extra 20 Kbps)
are available to meet the needs of the additional request (e.g.
RSVP admission control), and that permission is granted for the
requesting host (e.g., 210-A3) or client application to increase
bandwidth to the requested level, the bandwidth reservation
processor 500 in each device 201-E through 201-B dynamically
adjusts the original bandwidth reservation of 100 Kbps to produce a
new bandwidth reservation of 120 Kbps for the "A" video data stream
203 while continually maintaining (i.e., transporting) the "A"
video data stream 203. Essentially, the invention's implementation
of the separation of bandwidth reservation, adjustment and control
from the transportation of data through a data communications
device, as configured according to the invention allows a session
of data communication to be uninterrupted during adjustments to
bandwidth for that session.
[0065] FIG. 4 illustrates a more detailed architecture of a data
communications device 201 configured according to one embodiment of
the invention which provides the processing capabilities explained
above. In this embodiment, the data communications device 201
contains the data transporter 300 including a data scheduler 320
and a data storage mechanism 340, and the bandwidth reservation
processor 500 including a bandwidth request handler 520 and a
bandwidth labeler 550. At least one input port 505 is provided in
the data communications device 201 which is illustrated as
receiving application or session data (e.g., the "A" video data
stream packets 203 in FIG. 1) and RSVP reservation requests and
path messages 511, shown as an "R" packet. An output port 506 is
also provided which transmits data onto the network 200. Only one
input and output port 505, 506 are illustrated for ease of
description of the invention. It is to be understood that many
ports serving as both input and output ports may exist in a
preferred embodiment of the data communications device 201.
[0066] The network policy server 150 is also shown in this
embodiment to illustrate that the bandwidth reservation processor
500 can receive commands 530 to govern bandwidth allocation
operations (as explained herein), instead of using bandwidth
reservation requests 511 from individual hosts 201. This
alternative arrangement may be beneficial when each data
communications device 201 network-wide is to have a permanent
amount of dedicated reserved bandwidth for use by a special purpose
application or network wide (e.g. multicast) session of data
communication, for example.
[0067] According to the general operation of the data
communications device 201, initial bandwidth reservation for a
particular session of data communication is generally performed
before data communication for the session actually begins. The
invention however is equally applicable to situations where a
session of data communication is already established (i.e., data
transport is underway across the network) but there is no
particular amount of bandwidth pre-allocated for that session in
the data communications devices 201 which are transporting the
data. That is, the invention can be used to establish a bandwidth
reservation concurrently with an active session of data
communication that is already being transported through a network
without having to disrupt or interrupt the session in any way. In a
similar manner, as explained in the above example, the invention
can also be used to adjust or modify a bandwidth reservation
already assigned to a data communication session that is underway
and that is currently being transported through a network.
[0068] To reserve bandwidth for a session(s) of data communication
in any of these situations, the data communications device 201
receives bandwidth reservation requests and path messages 511 which
are directed to the bandwidth request handler 520. The bandwidth
request handler 520 is a process that executes on the data
communications device 201 and is responsible for accepting or
denying the bandwidth reservation requests 511. If accepted, the
bandwidth request handler 520 provides one or more data structures
called sender state data 504 (FIG. 5) to the bandwidth labeler 550.
Sender state data 504 specifies source and destination points for a
particular session or sessions of data communication that exist (or
that will exist) (i.e., the "A" video stream data 203 in FIG. 3), a
path (i.e., input port to output port) for the session or sessions
of data communication, and an amount of bandwidth (e.g., 100 Kbps)
required to be reserved for the session or sessions over the
specified path.
[0069] The path in the sender state data 504, in this example
embodiment, indicates a route through which the session data
travels (DATA IN, DATA and DATA OUT in FIG. 4) within the data
communication device 201 from an input port 505 at which the
session data is received, through the data transporter 300 (to be
explained shortly), to an output port 506 which transmits the
session data towards its destination. In this example embodiment,
assuming a session of data communication enters and exits only
through a single pair of input and output ports 505, 506 in the
data communications device 201, the slowest port of a single
input/output port pair 505, 506 limits the amount of bandwidth
available. By way of example, assuming the input and output ports
505, 506 are configured the same (i.e., have the same maximum
bandwidths), if the ports 505, 506 each support a connection data
rate of 400 Kbps, then the bandwidth reservation processor 500 can
reserve a maximum of 400 Kbps for a session of data communication
on these ports. In the example provided above with respect to the
initial bandwidth reservation provided for the "A" video data
stream 203 in FIG. 1, the bandwidth request handler 520 produces
sender state data 504 that specifies that a session of "A" video
data requires 100 Kbps of bandwidth between input port 505 and
output port 506.
[0070] Once the bandwidth labeler 550 obtains the sender state data
504, the bandwidth labeler 550 accesses 512 the data storage
mechanism 340 to establish the requested bandwidth reservation as
specified in the sender state data 504. The bandwidth labeler 550,
as its name implies, operates (as will be explained in more detail)
to label a certain percentage of data storage locations (not shown
in this figure) maintained within the data storage mechanism 340
with the identity (i.e., a label) of the session of data
communication for which bandwidth is to be reserved as specified in
the sender state data 504. Using the aforementioned example, the
bandwidth labeler 550 labels a certain percentage of data storage
locations used to transfer data between input port 505 and output
port 506 in the data storage mechanism 340 with a label
corresponding to the "A" video data stream 203. The percentage of
storage locations labeled is based upon the amount of bandwidth
requested (100 Kbps) as indicated in the bandwidth reservation
request, which is also provided in the sender state data 504.
[0071] In this manner, bandwidth reservation is accomplished via
use of the bandwidth reservation processor 500 which accesses the
data storage mechanism 340 to label certain data storage locations
with a labels corresponding to the sessions of data communication
requiring reserved bandwidth.
[0072] During a session of data communication, the input port 505
receives packets of application data 203 (which in this invention
generally refers to data transferred in a session of data
communication) directs them to the data scheduler 320. The data
scheduler 320 schedules or deposits the data packets 203 into data
storage locations (not specifically shown) within the data storage
mechanism 340 which have corresponding labels provided by the
bandwidth labeler 550. The data storage mechanism 340 then operates
to transport the application data packets 203 back onto the network
200 from an appropriate output port 506, in order to send the
application data 203 further towards its eventual destination
(e.g., one of receiving hosts 210-A2, 210-A3 in FIG. 1 in this
example).
[0073] It is important to understand that the data scheduler 320
does not need to be made aware or provided with an indication of
each different session (active or not) of data communication (i.e.,
"A" data stream 203) for which bandwidth is reserved in the data
communications device 201 configured according to this embodiment
of the invention. Rather, the data scheduler 320 only needs to look
at each data packet 203 to determine if the packet is associated
with any session of data communication and if so, the data
scheduler 320 deposits the packet into a data storage location in
the data storage mechanism 340 that has a corresponding label
equivalent to the label for the session contained in the packet
header 180 (e.g., in the Tspec field 191 in FIG. 2). One or more
fields 184 through 191 in packet header 180, as explained with
respect to FIG. 3, are preferably used to determine if a particular
packet 203 is associated with any session(s) of data communication
or not. In other embodiments, non-header fields such as data field
183 (FIG. 2) may be used to determine if the packet 510 (FIG. 2)
(or cell, frame, etc.) is associated with a session of data
communication corresponding to a labeled storage location.
[0074] In this manner, the bandwidth reservation processor 500
reserves bandwidth in a data communications device 201 without
requiring the data scheduler 320 to be notified each time bandwidth
is allocated for a session of data communication. This aspect of
the invention also allows the bandwidth reservation processor 500
to adjust bandwidth for a session of data communication without
requiring any runtime changes or notifications to be made, or
provided, to the data scheduler 320. That is, the data scheduler
320 can remain ignorant of how many sessions of data communication
are currently active and/or have bandwidth reserved in the data
communications device 201. Instead, the data scheduler 320 can
focus on repetitively depositing packets into data storage
locations having labels that match an RSVP packet header 180, if
any. If no RSVP packet header 180 or other session identifier
information exists for a packet, then the data scheduler 320
deposits that packet into any data storage location that is not
presently labeled.
[0075] FIG. 5 illustrates a more detailed embodiment of a data
communications device 201 configured according to the invention. In
the example illustrated in FIG. 5, there are four active flows of
data 203, 204, 205 and 206 that are transported through the data
communications device 201. Each flow is pictured at various
positions of transit within the device 201 as one or more small
circular packets which are labeled with a letter "A", "B", "C" or
"U" to indicate the flow to which that packet belongs. The flows
"A" 203, "B" 204 and "C" 205 represent sessions of data
communication for which bandwidth is reserved in the data
communications device 201. The flow "U" 206, in which the "U"
stands for unreserved, represents all other application data that
is transported through the device 201 for which there is no
specific amount of bandwidth reserved. Since there is no specific
bandwidth reservation established for the "U" data flow 206, the
device 102 services the "U" flow 206 in a best-effort manner using
any remaining unreserved device bandwidth (e.g., using any
unlabeled or unreserved data storage locations, such as location
556 in FIG. 5).
[0076] In this embodiment, the data storage mechanism 340 (FIG. 4)
is represented as a single circular rotating queue structure 340-1
that includes a number of queue entries 345. In this particular
example, there are twelve available queue entries 345 arranged in
the circular formation as shown in FIG. 5. Each queue entry 345 is
capable of storing one packet of data (i.e., one packet of a flow
203, 204, 205 or a packet of unreserved data 206) while the packet
awaits transmission from a port (e.g. output port 506) in the
device 201. In this illustration, the conveyor belt-like queue
structure 340-1 rotates in a clockwise direction. The data
scheduler 320 deposits data packets (e.g., packets from flows 203
through 206) into the various queue entries 345, as indicated by
the arrows 535, as will be explained in more detail shortly. Note
that in this example, the data scheduler 320 can deposit data
packets 203-206 into more than one queue entry 345 at one time as
they arrive at the data scheduler 320. This is indicated by arrows
535 that point to more than one queue entry 345. As a packet 203
through 206 waits in the queue 340-1, a dequeuing mechanism 350
services the queue 340-1 at periodic intervals and the queue 340
rotates clockwise as the dequeuing mechanism 500 services each
entry 345 (rotation indicated by the circular arrows at each end of
the queue 340-1) so that queue 340-1 shifts the packets from left
to right and closer to a dequeuing mechanism 350 on the right end
of the queue 340-1.
[0077] The dequeuing mechanism 350 removes the data packets 203
through 206 from the queue 340-1 as they appear at the right-most
end and transfers the data packets from the device 201 via output
port(s) 506 onto the network 200. The speed at which the dequeuing
mechanism 350 dequeues packets, the rotation of the queue 340-1,
and the number of queue entries 345 that make up the queue 340-1
generally determine the overall bandwidth that can be provided to
transport data to the output port 506. It is assumed in this
example that the input and output ports 505, 506 can handle data
faster that the data transporter 300 and that, for purposes of this
explanation, the data scheduler 320 can examine the packet headers
(e.g., RSVP header 180) to determine where to direct a packet
(e.g., 203 through 206) at a rate that is greater than the overall
maximum bandwidth for a port or session of data communication. Thus
the data scheduler 320 does not act as a bottleneck in the device
201.
[0078] Of particular importance to the invention is the manner in
which the data scheduler 320 deposits data packets 203 through 206
into the queue 340-1 within the data storage mechanism 340. Since
the invention in this embodiment eliminates the need for the data
scheduler 320 to be made aware of what particular data flows or
sessions of data communication (e.g., 203 through 205) have
associated reserved bandwidth at any point in time, the data
scheduler 320 simply examines information in each packet 203
through 206 that arrives at the input port 505 and deposits that
packet into a queue entry 345 that contains a label, such as label
555 "C", that matches the information examined in the packet (i.e.,
203 through 206).
[0079] The information examined in each packet 203 through 206 is
preferably packet or RSVP header information contained in one or
more of header fields 180, 181 and 182, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
As indicated above in the discussion of FIG. 4, the bandwidth
labeler 550 labels (during the independent operation of the
bandwidth reservation processor 500) certain queue entries 345
(i.e., data storage locations) based upon the sender state data
504. This labeling process will be discussed in more detail
shortly. In any event, as packets 203 through 206 arrive from the
input port 505, the data scheduler 320 determines if each packet
203 through 206 has an associated identification of one or more
sessions of data communication (that may or may not have reserved
bandwidth, which is unimportant as far as the data scheduler 320 is
concerned), as specifically indicated, for example, by the Tspec
field 191 in each packet 510 (FIG. 2). Based on the value in the
Tspec field 191, the data scheduler 320 deposits the packets 203
through 205 (206 not having a Tspec field since packet 206 is not
associated with a particular flow or session of data communication
having reserved bandwidth) into queue entries 345 that have
identification labels (e.g., 555) corresponding to the
identification (Tspec field 191) of the session of data
communication for those packets 203 through 205.
[0080] In other words, the data scheduler 320 is coupled to the
input port 505 to receive data packet 203 through 206 associated
with one or more sessions of data communication (e.g., "A" 203, "B"
204, etc.) and deposits the data packets 203 through 205 associated
with that session(s) into data storage locations (queue entries 345
in this embodiment) associated with the bandwidth reservation for
each session. The data scheduler 320 deposits "U" Packets 206 that
are not associated with a particular session of data communication
into queue entries 345 that have either no label (i.e., do not
contain a label 555 for a reserved bandwidth session) or a label
indicating that the entry 345 is unreserved, as illustrated by the
example queue entry label "U" 556.
[0081] In this manner, the data transporter 300 including the data
scheduler 320 and the data queuing mechanism 340 operate
independently of the bandwidth reservation processor 500 to
continually maintain and transport one or more sessions of data
communication along with data (e.g., 206) not specifically
associated with reserved bandwidth reserved in the device 201. The
operations of the data scheduler 320 and data storage mechanism 340
(e.g. queue 340-1) can be performed irrespective of the current
bandwidth reservations (i.e., number of labeled queue entries 345)
that may exist or that may change for session(s) of data
communication (e.g. streams "A" 203, "B" 204, "C" 205).
[0082] The bandwidth reservation processor 500 including the
bandwidth request handler 520 and the bandwidth labeler 550
operates asynchronously with the data transporter 300 mechanisms
(e.g., 320, 340) and is responsible for labeling the queue entries
345 in the queue 340-1. Using the data storage location labeling
techniques explained herein, bandwidth reservations are established
and maintained for each session of data communication 203 through
205. The techniques also allow for data 206 which is not
specifically associated with reserved bandwidth sessions to be
transported as well.
[0083] More specifically, with respect to the example embodiment in
FIG. 5, the bandwidth request handler 520 receives bandwidth
reservation requests and path messages 511 (e.g., from hosts 210 on
network 200 in FIG. 3). The reservation request and path messages
511, as previously explained, are used to request bandwidth
reservations in the device 201 for one or more flows or sessions of
data communication, such as 203 through 205 in this example. In
this embodiment, the bandwidth request handler 520 includes a
bandwidth daemon 501 which preferably is an RSVP protocol daemon
process (e.g., RSVPD) that executes on a processor (not
specifically shown) within the device 201. The bandwidth daemon 501
receives the bandwidth request and path messages 511 and consults
the admission control module 502 and the policy control module 503
to determine, respectively, bandwidth resource availability and
access control permission with respect to a requesting host 205 or
application. Once access is granted and the bandwidth resources are
determined to be available, the bandwidth daemon 501 creates the
sender state data 504.
[0084] In this example embodiment, sender state data 504 includes,
for each session of data communication for which bandwidth
resources are requested (e.g., each session listed in the sender
state data, such as streams 203 through 205), an identity of the
session of data communication, an amount of bandwidth associated
with the session of data communication, and the path (e.g.,
input/output port pair) through the device 201 that the session of
data communication is to traverse using the reserved bandwidth
resources. More specifically, Table 1 below illustrates an example
of the sender state data 504 created by the bandwidth daemon 501,
including some example requested bandwidth rates to be reserved for
the sessions or flows "A" 203, "B" 204 and "C" 205 in FIG. 5.
1TABLE 1 Example of Sender State Data 504 REQUESTED SESSION
RESERVED SESSION PATH IDENTIFICATION BANDWIDTH (PORT-TO-PORT) "A"
100 Kbps Input Port 505-Output Port 506 "B" 64 Kbps Input Port
505-Output Port 506 "C" 132 Kbps Input Port 505-Output Port 506
[0085] As shown in Table 1, the request 511 (FIG. 5) for the "A"
session 203 (i.e., hosts sending and receiving this stream or flow
of data) indicates that 100 Kbps of bandwidth is to be reserved,
while the "B" session 204 has requested 64 Kbps of bandwidth, and
the "C" session 205 has requested 132 Kbps. In this example, each
of these flows or sessions of data communication "A" 202, "B" 204
and "C" 205 are traveling on the same path through the device 201
configured with the sender state data 504 in Table 1. In other
words, in the example embodiment shown in FIG. 5, an assumption is
made that queue 340-1 services a single path within the data
communications device 201. For example, queue 340-1 may be
associated with the output port 506. Assuming there are many output
ports in the device 201, each output port (e.g. 506) in this
embodiment thus has its own associated queue structure similar to
340-1 provided in order to buffer or store data packets (e.g.,
packets 203 through 206) that are to be transported from that
output port onto the network 200.
[0086] To assist in the explanation of the operation of this
example embodiment, it is also assumed that the maximum total
bandwidth for the output port 506 is 400 Kbps. Thus when the data
scheduler 320, queue 340-1 and dequeuing mechanism 350 all operate
at peak capacity, a maximum bandwidth or throughput of 400 Kbps is
available from the output port 506.
[0087] To configure bandwidth reservations for each flow or session
of data communication (e.g., "A", "B", "C") defined in the sender
state data 504, the bandwidth labeler 550 in this embodiment
includes a resource allocation calculator 552, a resource
allocation table 553, and a label calculator 554.
[0088] The resource allocation calculator 552 creates labeling
information that is maintained in the resource allocation table 553
based on the sender state data 504. To do so, in this embodiment,
the resource allocation calculator 552 obtains as input 560 the
size and speed of rotation of the data storage mechanism 340 (e.g.
queue 340-1). Essentially, the resource allocation calculator 553
calculates and stores a percentage of total bandwidth (for the path
to the output port 506 in this example) to allocate or reserve for
each session of data communication based on the sender state data
504 as defined by the received bandwidth reservation requests
511.
[0089] FIG. 6A illustrates an example of the contents of the
resource allocation table 553. In Column 1 "FLOW ID", the resource
allocation table 553 provides an identification of each flow or
session of data communication (e.g., "A", "B", "C"), and includes
an entry marked "U" representing resource allocation data for all
data (e.g. packets 206) not specifically associated with any
session or reserved bandwidth. Column 2 "PERCENT UTILIZATION"
indicates a percent utilization of total bandwidth for the queue
340-1 to which this resource allocation table 553 is associated.
Column 3 "ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE" indicates the number of
queue entries 345 that should be labeled in the queue 340-1 for
each particular flow (i.e., row) represented in the resource
allocation table 553.
[0090] As noted above, the resource allocation calculator 552
obtains as input the queue size and speed data 560 from the data
storage mechanism 340. Using this information in conjunction with
the sender state data 504, the resource allocation calculator 552
computes PERCENT UTILIZATION and ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE
values for each flow or session of data communication (e.g., "A"
203, "B" 204, "C" 205) in the sender state data 504.
[0091] The resource allocation calculator 552 computes PERCENT
UTILIZATION by converting the requested bandwidth to be reserved
for each data flow or session to a percentage of total bandwidth
for the queue 340-1. In this embodiment, the queue size/speed data
560 determines total bandwidth for the path. In this example, the
queue 340-1 has a queue size equal to twelve queue entries 345.
Each entry 345 can store one packet (e.g., one packet 203 through
206). A packet size in this embodiment is assumed to constant at
1000 bits. The queue speed in this example is assumed to be 331/3
rotations per second. Based on these values, the total bandwidth
for this queuing structure 340-1 can be computed as follows:
QUEUE_BANDWIDTH=TOTAL_NUMBER_OF_ENTRIES*ENTRY_SIZE*ROTATIONS_PER_SECOND.
[0092] Or for this particular embodiment, overall total queue
bandwidth equals:
400 Kbps=(12 Queue entries)*(1000 bit entry size)*(331/3 Rotations
per second).
[0093] Once the total queue bandwidth is calculated, PERCENT
UTILIZATION may be calculated as follows:
PERCENT
UTILIZATION=REQUESTED_BANDWIDTH_PER_FLOW/QUEUE_BANDWIDTH.
[0094] In the example embodiment, since the overall queue bandwidth
is 400 Kbps using the requested reserved bandwidth values from
Table 1 (sender state data 504), the PERCENT UTILIZATION for each
FLOW ID for flows "A", "B" and "C" (203 through 205) is computed as
follows:
2 FLOW ID A .25 = 100 Kbps/400 Kbps FLOW ID B .16 = 64 Kbps/400
Kbps FLOW ID C .33 = 132 Kbps/400 Kbps Total Reserved: .74 * 100 =
74 Percent.
[0095] Any remaining bandwidth, expressed as a percentage (i.e.,
100 percent-Total Reserved percentage), is allocated to all
unreserved data packets 206 (e.g. all data with FLOW ID="U"). In
this example, data associated with FLOW ID "U" gets 26 percent of
the total bandwidth, since that is the remaining amount of
bandwidth not reserved to the sessions of data communication 203
through 205.
[0096] The resource allocation calculator 552 computes ENTRY COUNT
OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE (Column 3) values in the resource allocation
table 553 based on the percent utilization of each FLOW ID in
proportion to the number of total queue entries 345 in the queue
340-1. The final result may be rounded or the allocation can be
adjusted over each rotation of the data storage mechanism 340-1 so
the average transmission rate converges to the correct percentage.
Specifically, in this example embodiment:
ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE=PERCENT
UTILIZATION*TOTAL_NUMBER_OF_ENTRIE- S.
[0097] In the example embodiment, since there are twelve queue
entries 345 in the queue 340-1, the ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE
values are computed as follows:
3 FLOW ID A 3 = .25 * 12 FLOW ID B 2 = .16 * 12 FLOW ID C 4 = .33 *
12 FLOW ID U 3 = .25 * 12 TOTAL LABELED 12
[0098] Once the resource allocation calculator 552 computes the
data in the resource allocation table 553, the label calculator 554
can use the resource allocation table 553 to properly produce
labels (e.g., 555) for the queue entries 345 in the queue 340-1. As
indicated in FIG. 5, the label calculator 554 accesses the resource
allocation table 553 to determine how many entries 345 are to be
labeled with each particular session identification label or FLOW
ID which identifies the session (FIG. 6A). As indicated in the
example resource allocation table 553 in FIG. 6A, the label
calculator 552 labels three queue entries 345 with "A", two queue
entries 345 with "B", four queue entries 345 with "C", and three
queue entries 345 with "U", for a total of twelve labeled queue
entries that make up the total queue 340-1.
[0099] FIG. 6B illustrates in more detail an example structure of
the queue entries 345 that make up the queue 340-1. Each entry
345-1, 345-2 and 345-3 is essentially a data storage location
346-1, 346-2, 346-3 that includes an associated label portion
555-1, 555-2 and 555-3, respectively. The data scheduler 321
deposits the data (i.e. packets 310) into the data storage location
portion 346 of the entry 345 in this figure. As indicated in this
sample segment of the queue 340, the data storage location 346-1
for queue entry 345-1 currently stores an A-PACKET 310-1 that is
associated with the "A" session of data communication 203 (FIG. 5),
while the data storage location 346-2 for queue entry 345-2 stores
a B-PACKET 310-2 that is associated with the "B" session of data
communication 204 (FIG. 5), and the data storage location 346-3 for
queue entry 345-3 stores a C PACKET 310-3 that is associated with
the "C" session of data communication 205. These packets 310-1,
310-2 and 310-3 are stored in these respective locations 346-1,
346-2 and 346-3 because the labels for these locations 555-1, 555-2
and 555-3 created by the label calculator 554 in the bandwidth
labeler 550 match the session or flow identification information
contained in the header 180 of each packet 310-1, 310-2 and 310-3.
That is, the data scheduler 320 places the A-packet 310-1 into the
location 346-1 because the label 555-1 indicates that the location
346-1 is reserved for "A" data 203.
[0100] Accordingly, by labeling the data storage locations 345 that
form the queue 340-1 with the appropriate labels 555 for each flow
identification (FLOW ID, Column 1) specified in the resource
allocation table 553, the bandwidth labeler 550 can constantly
maintain the appropriate amount of reserved bandwidth for each
session of data communication 203, 204, 205. The data scheduler 320
uses the entries 345 that are either unlabeled by the bandwidth
labeler 550 or that are labeled with a "U" (signifying unreserved
or unlabeled), as indicated by label 556 in FIG. 5, to deposit any
data (e.g. data packets 206) that does not contain a flow or
session identification.
[0101] In this embodiment, the bandwidth labeler 550 can
continuously monitor the sender state data 504 for changes in
bandwidth requests (i.e., bandwidth reservations or changes that
have been granted by the bandwidth daemon 501) for any session of
data communication (e.g. 203, 204, 205). Once a change is detected
in the sender state data 504, the resource allocation calculator
552 recalculates the values in the resource allocation table 553.
The label calculator 554 detects this change and then
correspondingly alters the labeling of the queue entries 345 to
effectuate the requested bandwidth change.
[0102] In this manner, the system of the invention allows bandwidth
to be dynamically adjusted without affecting the data scheduler
320. That is, since the bandwidth reservation processor 500 adjusts
a proportionate number of labels 555, 556, etc. for sessions of
data communication within the queue entries 345, the maximum
allowable bandwidth for the sessions (e.g. 203, 204 or 205 in this
example) is inherently governed, since the data scheduler 320 can
only place as many packets of session data (i.e. 310) into labeled
queue entries 345 as there are matching labels 555 associated with
the entries 345.
[0103] By isolating the operation of the data scheduler 320 from
the bandwidth reservation processor 500 as shown in the previous
embodiments, it has been illustrated how bandwidth may be reserved
and adjusted dynamically at any time before, during, or after one
or more sessions of data communication (e.g. 203 through 205) are
in operation. Once the data scheduler 320 queues a data packet 310
for a session of data communication in the queue 340-1, the data
310 remains in the data storage location 346 until it is dequeued
by dequeuing mechanism 350. The label calculator 554 in this
embodiment only labels 555 or changes labels of queue entries 345
that do not already contain data 310. In this manner, the data
scheduler 320 and queue 340-1 operate in continuously the same
manner. This allows any session data in the "pipeline" comprising
the input port 505, data scheduler 320, queue 340-1, dequeuing
mechanism 350, and output port 506 to remain undisturbed during a
change in bandwidth.
[0104] Recall that prior art implementations of bandwidth
reservation require a session of data communication to be broken or
halted for a period of time while classification, scheduling,
queuing, and dequeuing mechanism are all reconfigured to handle the
new bandwidth requirements. Once reconfigured, the session can then
be reinstated. The system of the invention avoids much of this
effort and allows the session to be continually transmitted before,
during and after bandwidth allocations or adjustments. The
adjustments take effect dynamically as the new label configurations
for the data storage locations 345 in queue 340-1 are used. Thus
the bandwidth labeler 550 can dynamically re-label queue entries
345 and the new labels are used by the data scheduler 320 to
deposit session data.
[0105] An example highlights the particular importance of this
aspect of the invention. Suppose that the device 201 is currently
transporting the "B" session 204 of data communication at a maximum
bandwidth of 64 Kbps, as illustrated in FIG. 5 and in the resource
allocation table in 553 in FIG. 6A. Next assume that the "B" stream
204 requires more bandwidth. The new bandwidth required might be,
for example, 100 Kbps. This may be sensed by one of the receiving
hosts 205-A2, 205-A3 (FIG. 3), for example, that determines that
the current allocation of 64 Kbps is insufficient and that an
additional 36 Kbps would correct the situation. Using RSVP or
another bandwidth reservation protocol, the bandwidth request
handler 520 receives the request for additional bandwidth 511
(either a request for an additional 36 Kbps, or a request for a
change from 64 Kbps to 100 Kbps, or a new reservation request for
100 Kbps for the "B" stream).
[0106] Assuming the bandwidth daemon 501 grants the request 511,
the sender state data 504 for the SESSION IDENTIFICATION "B"
indicates a REQUESTED RESERVED BANDWDITH value of 100 Kbps. The
resource allocation calculator 552 detects the change in the sender
state data 504 and updates the resource allocation table 553 as
explained above so that FLOW ID "B," (which was set at 16 percent
with 2 queue entries labeled with "B"), now contains a PERCENT
UTILIZATION value of 0.25 (or 25 percent of the total 400 Kbps
bandwidth for this path) and an ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL QUEUE SIZE
value of 3. When the resource allocation table 553 is updated in
this manner, the label calculator 554 detects the change and begins
to re-label the queue entries 345 according to the new information
in the resource allocation table 553. Once the label calculator 554
re-labels all entries 345 in the queue 340-1, three entries 345 are
labeled with a "B" instead of two as in the previous configuration.
Note that the label calculator 554 preferably operates to re-label
queue entries 345 just after the dequeuing mechanism 350 removes
the data (310 in FIG. 6B) from each entry 345. The "X" in the data
storage location 346 in FIG. 5 indicates that the queue entry 346
is now void of any data packet 310 and can be re-labeled if
required.
[0107] Alternative embodiments of the invention provide that the
label calculator 554 always operates to continuously label entries
345 according to the resource allocation table 553. In this manner,
if the number of labels required for all sessions having reserved
data exceeds the total number of queue entries 345 in the overall
queue 340-1, each entry 345 is provided with a different label upon
being emptied by the dequeuing mechanism 350. In other words, if
the rotation speed 560 of a short queue 340-1 (i.e. a queue 340-1
having so few entries 345 that all entries 345 combined cannot hold
the total amount of reserved bandwidth) is fast enough, the label
calculator 554 can simply provide labels for every entry 345 after
that entry passes the dequeuing mechanism 350. In this manner, a
short queue changes its labeling configuration with each rotation,
and the label calculator controls the bandwidth allocation for each
session via the labels for the entries 345.
[0108] All data packets (e.g., packets for sessions 203 through 205
and unreserved data packets 206) that currently exist in the queue
340-1 during the labeling process remain queued and eventually
propagate their way to the dequeuing mechanism 350. Preferably,
relabeling takes place as soon as each entry 345 in the queue 340-1
is emptied or dequeued of its data packet 310 by the dequeuing
mechanism 350. As the relabeled queue entries 345 make their way
clockwise around to the data scheduler 320 to obtain more data
packets 310, the new labeling configuration (i.e., the queue 340-1
now containing three "B" labeled entries 345) will dictate what
data can be placed into which entries 345. In this manner, the
bandwidth can be changed for the session of data communication 204
without disrupting the transport of data for the session.
[0109] FIG. 7 illustrates the processing steps performed by the
bandwidth request handler 520 configured according to this
invention. In step 600, the bandwidth allocation request 511 is
obtained from the network 200. In step 601, the bandwidth daemon
501 determines the requested resource availability via admission
control. If the requested resource is not available, the bandwidth
daemon 501 processing denies the request and returns to step 600.
If the bandwidth daemon 501 in step 601 does not deny the request,
the bandwidth daemon 501 in step 602 authenticates access to the
requested resource via policy control. If in step 602 the bandwidth
daemon 501 determines that the access should not be granted to the
requested resource, the bandwidth daemon 501 denies the request and
processing returns to step 600. If steps 601 and 602 pass, step 602
directs processing depending upon the type of request (511)
received. If the request 511 is a new request to reserve bandwidth
for a session that does not yet have bandwidth reserved, the
processing proceeds to step 603 and the bandwidth daemon 501
produces the new sender state data 504 for a session identification
associated with the newly requested resource. If however step 602
determines that the request 511 is requesting alteration of a
resource already reserved to a particular session or sessions of
data communication, then processing follows as explained in step
604.
[0110] In step 604, the bandwidth daemon 501 updates the sender
state data 504 that already exists for the requested resource,
without disturbing any session or sessions of data communication
that may be using that resource (i.e., without notifying the data
scheduler 320). In step 605, the bandwidth daemon 501 makes the
sender state data 504 available to the bandwidth labeler 550 so
that the bandwidth labeler 550 can label (e.g., 555) the data
storage locations (e.g., entries 345) accordingly in the data
storage mechanism 340, which is preferably the rotating queue
structure 340-1 discussed above. By making the sender state data
504 available to the bandwidth labeler 550, the bandwidth request
handler 520 can focus its operation primarily on bandwidth request
processing and does not need to make the sender state data 504
available to other components of the system, such as the data
scheduler 320 or the dequeuing mechanism 350.
[0111] FIG. 8A shows the general processing steps performed by the
resource allocation calculator 552 in the bandwidth labeler 550
according to one embodiment of the invention. In step 700, the
resource allocation calculator 552 queries the sender state
database 504. Alternatively, step 700 may be performed by having
any changes in the sender state data 504 be signaled (i.e., via
step 605 in FIG. 7) to the resource allocation calculator 552. In
step 701, current statistics of the data storage mechanism 340 such
as queue size (e.g., total number of entries 345) and speed (e.g.,
how many entries are dequeued over a period of time, rotation,
etc.) are queried to determine the overall current bandwidth
characteristics for the requested path. Step 702 then calculates
and/or updates the resource allocation table 553 values (Columns 1,
2 or 3) with the current session attributes, as explained above. In
this manner, the processing of FIG. 8A converts the sender state
data 504 into meaningful data usable by the label calculator 554 to
label (555 in FIG. 6B) the data storage location 346 (i.e., queue
entries 345) in the data storage mechanism 340 (e.g., queue
340-1).
[0112] FIG. 8B shows the general processing steps associated with
the label calculator 554. In step 750, the label calculator 554
queries the resource allocation table 553 for flow label
identification (i.e., Columns 1 and 3). This step could be
triggered by a change in the resource allocation table 553, or may
be performed periodically or continuously. Step 751 then determines
queue entry 345 label allocations.
[0113] In one embodiment, step 751 consults the entry label counts
for each session of data communication as indicated in Column 3 of
the resource allocation table 553. Step 752 then labels 555 the
entries 345 according to the entry label calculations. The labeling
of queue entries 345 may proceed serially by labeling entries 345
with all of the "A" labels (e.g., 3 "A" labels 555), and then when
there are no more "A" labels remaining, labeling entries 345 with
"B" labels (2 in the example) until none remain, and so forth. With
respect to the example resource allocation table 553 in FIG. 6A,
the twelve labeled entries in the example queue 340-1 in FIG. 5
would have a labeling order as follows:
[0114] "A" "A" "A""B" "B" "C" "C" "C" "C" "U" "U" "U"
[0115] However, as will be explained next with respect to FIGS. 9A
and 9B, the label calculator 554 may label the entries 345 in the
queue 340 in step 752 in a variety of other patterns so as to
evenly distribute labeled entries 345 for each session or FLOW ID,
depending upon the selected embodiment.
[0116] FIG. 9A illustrates an example of a labeling pattern. In
FIG. 9A, the bandwidth labeler 550 sequentially "uses up" the
labels for each session having a reserved resource in a serial
manner, and when none are left, moves on to the next set of labels.
As indicated in the figure, which corresponds to the bandwidth
reservations established in the resource allocation table 553 in
FIG. 6A, the "A" session of data communication 203 has twenty-five
percent of the bandwidth reserved via "A" labels in the queue
entries 345. Thus the data scheduler 320 in FIG. 5 is able to queue
"A" data packets 203 into one quarter of the entire queue space on
each rotation. The "C" data stream has thirty-three percent of the
queue reserved, and the "B" stream has sixteen percent reserved.
This leaves a remaining twenty-five percent of the queue entries
345 labeled with "U", or not labeled at all. The "U" labeled
entries 345 are used for all data 206 that does not belong to a
session having a bandwidth reservation in this device 201.
[0117] It may be apparent to those skilled in the art that a
situation might arise where the data scheduler 320 detects an RSVP
header that indicates a session identification (i.e., a labeled
packet) for which there are currently no corresponding labeled
queue entries 345. The invention addresses this situation in a
number of ways. First, the data scheduler 320 can simply buffer the
data until an entry 345 having a corresponding label 555 appears.
After a certain time period, which preferably corresponds to a
certain number of rotations of the queue 340, if no labeled entry
345 appears (to the data scheduler 320) that matches the packet
data (with a session identification) that is buffered with the
unknown session identification, the data scheduler 320 can either
discard the unknown session data or can simply deposit the data
into one of the data storage locations that is indicated as being
unreserved (i.e. labeled "U"). The later mechanism (queuing into an
unreserved entry 345) is preferred over the packet discard
mechanism, since data will not be lost and will not require
re-transmission from the sender if the unknown data stream has such
error detection/correction capabilities enabled.
[0118] In this manner, if session data is transported to a device
201 which is unaware of the existence of the session, the invention
still allows the data to be transported as if it were unlabeled
data not associated with any particular session. In prior art
systems in which a classifier and scheduler are made aware of all
active sessions, the unknown session data might confuse the
classifier and/or scheduler and may require either, at a minimum,
to pause operation to consult with the RSVP daemon (e.g., 101 in
FIG. 1) to determine how to handle the unknown session data. The
invention avoids such cumbersome approaches and keeps the data
transport mechanism separated from the bandwidth allocation and
administration aspects of the device 201.
[0119] FIG. 9B illustrates another labeling pattern which can be
used by the label calculator 554 to label queue entries 345 with
session labels. The approach taught in FIG. 9B is cycling label
approach. In this approach, the label calculator 554 repetitively
cycles through each FLOW ID in the resource allocation table 553
and labels one queue entry 345 for each session or flow id per
cycle. During the repetitive cycling, the label calculator 554
decrements the number of labels remaining for each FLOW ID. When a
FLOW ID has no labels remaining (i.e., its ENTRY COUNT OF TOTAL
QUEUE SIZE value is zero), no more labels are created for that
session or flow identification. In this manner, a more balanced
approach is provided for the queue entry labeling process of the
invention, since each flow is provided with a labeled entry 345
that is separated from another similarly labeled entry 345 by other
entries labeled for other flows that still have more bandwidth to
be reserved (i.e., more entries that are to be labeled). As
illustrated in FIG. 9B, from left to right, the labels on queue
entries 345 appear in this example as follows:
[0120] "A" "B" "C" "U" "A" "B" "C" "U" "A" "C" "U" "C"
[0121] In total, there are three "A" entries, two "B" entries, four
"C" entries, and three "U" entries, and that the entries are
somewhat staggered from each other. The sequence A-B-C-U begins at
the left and repeats itself twice, after which there are no more
"B" labels to be produced, and so the remaining "A" and "U" labels
are produced. In this manner, the bandwidth labeler 550 presents a
more even distribution of labeled (i.e., reserved) bandwidth
entries 345 so that the data scheduler 320 does not have to wait
for significant periods of time while buffering data and awaiting
for an entry with the correct label to appear.
[0122] In yet another embodiment of the bandwidth labeler 550 and
the label calculator 554, the label calculator 554 only labels the
queue entries 345 each time the resource allocation table 553
changes. As such, the labels (e.g. 555 in FIGS. 5 and 6B) remain
allocated or associated with each entry 345 as the entry 345
continually circulates around and around the queue 340. In this
manner, the bandwidth reservations for each session are static
until they need to be changed. That is, the only time the queue
entries 345 are relabeled is if a change is detected to the
bandwidth reservations as communicated by the change in data values
in the resource allocation table 553. This embodiment conserves
processing resources used by the bandwidth labeler 550, which can
enter an idle state until the sender state data 504 changes. The
change causes the resource allocation calculator 552 to "wake up"
and update the resource allocation table 553, which in turn causes
the label calculator 554 to re-label entries 345 as required.
[0123] It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the
labeling patterns in FIGS. 9A and 9B are illustrative as examples
only, and are not limiting of the present invention. Rather, other
fair, weighted, or even distribution schemes known to those skilled
can be used to label the sequence of queue entries 345 so as to
best distribute the reserved bandwidth for each session of data
communication across the entire queue 340-1. For example, in an
alternative embodiment, each queue entry 345 may be larger than the
size of a single packet. In such cases, an entry 345 may hold many
packets, cells, frames, or other unit of data from the session of
data communication. In another alternative embodiment, each entry
may have more than one label. That is, is two or more sessions of
data communication are somehow related, or have equivalent
bandwidth reservations (e.g., same percentage for both sessions),
the bandwidth reservation processor might label a single entry with
more than one session identification. In this manner, the data
scheduler 320 can deposit any one or a number of different packets
into the multi-labeled entry 345.
[0124] It is also to be understood that the invention is not
limited to applications providing bandwidth reservation and
allocation using the RSVP protocol. Rather, the invention is
intended to operate in conjunction with other bandwidth
reservation, allocation, or adjustment protocols that currently
exist or that may be developed in the future. For example, future
versions of RSVP may provide specific message formats to enable
bandwidth adjustments. The invention provides implementations of
data communications devices as explained herein that can take
advantage of such messages to dynamically adjust bandwidth as
required for sessions of data communication.
[0125] For more details on the operation of bandwidth reservation
protocols such as RSVP and its derivatives, the reader is directed
to Request For Comments 2205 and 1633 and RSVP93 (RFC-2205,
RFC-1633, RSVP93), published by the Network Working Group of the
Internet Engineering Task Force (IEFT), and available on the
Internet at ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2205.txt, each of which
protocol references is hereby incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
[0126] The invention applies to all types of data transmitted to or
from any type of device through any type of network and/or network
communications medium. While the illustrated examples discuss
packet data which is primarily applicable to Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networks such as the Internet,
the invention is equally applicable to networks that use such units
of data as tokens, cells, frames, blocks, and so forth. Other
network architectures such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
networks can use the concepts of the invention as well to reserve
bandwidth for cell transfer. Also, networking architectures such as
packet-wireless, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Systems
Network Architecture (SNA), Digital Subscriber Link (DSL), Advanced
Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) and others may benefit from use of
the invention.
[0127] Another alternative scenario that could illustrate the
features of the invention would be to have several networked
computers each running different types of applications having
different data communications requirements. The data produced from
each application may need to be transferred between the computers
at different reserved rates. The invention could be used to provide
this capability. It is also understood that a data communications
device 201 configured according to the invention may have one or
more data schedulers 320 and one or more data queues 340. An
arrangement such as a single data scheduler per input port that can
deposit data into many different queues 340-1, 340-2, etc., where
there is one queue 340 per output port is contemplated as a device
configured according to the invention. Other arrangements are
possible as well which are contemplated by the invention. Such
alternative arrangements and alternative designs of data
communications devices can apply the concepts of the invention as
disclosed herein to provide dynamic bandwidth reallocation without
interrupting streams of data, since the operation of the bandwidth
allocation mechanisms are generally separated from the data
transport mechanisms, as explained herein.
[0128] While this invention has been particularly shown and
described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will
be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in
form and details may be made therein without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
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