Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L47/00—Traffic control in data switching networks
  • H04L47/10—Flow control; Congestion control
  • H04L47/12—Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
  • H04L47/125—Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
  • H04L45/24—Multipath
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L47/00—Traffic control in data switching networks
  • H04L47/10—Flow control; Congestion control
  • H04L47/24—Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
  • H04L47/2408—Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
  • H04L69/22—Parsing or analysis of headers
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
  • H04W48/18—Selecting a network or a communication service

Definitions

• Terminal which can be connected simultaneously to several access networks, method for differentiating traffic emitted by the terminal, device and method for traffic management.
• the invention relates to the general field of telecommunications. It relates more particularly to the field of load shedding of communications, usually called in English “offload”.
• a majority of the terminals currently available on the market can connect to access networks of different technologies, such as a WiFi access network, a wired access network (in optical fiber, ADSL or Ethernet) , or a cellular access network (3G, 4G or 5G for example).
• a WiFi access network such as a Wi-Fi access network, a Wi-Fi access network, a Wi-Fi network, or a Wi-Fi network.
• a wired access network in optical fiber, ADSL or Ethernet
• a cellular access network 3G, 4G or 5G for example.
• Such terminals have a module for selecting the access network.
• terminals which can be connected simultaneously to two access networks. This functionality is known as access network aggregation.
• Such terminals have an aggregation module.
• FIG. 1 shows an architecture of a network of the prior art.
• a TRM terminal with an access network selection module and an aggregation module can connect alternately or simultaneously to two access networks LAN 1 and LAN2.
• the TRM terminal connects to a CAN core network via at least one of the LAN 1 and LAN2 networks.
• the CAN network is connected to another N AND network.
• Two servers SRV1 and SRV2 are connected to the NET network.
• the NET network can be the Internet network.
• the CAN network is a core network managed by the same operator as the LAN 1 and LAN 2 access networks.
• the TRM terminal aggregation module deploys the MPTCP protocol (for "Multi Path Transport Control Protocol” in English) defined by the I ETF (RFC6824 standard).
• MPTCP protocol for "Multi Path Transport Control Protocol” in English
• I ETF RRC6824 standard
• Apple terminals registered trademark
• this MPTCP protocol to aggregate traffic between the terminal and an SRV1 server for example, it is necessary that this SRV1 server also supports this same MPTCP protocol.
• the traffic sent by the TRM terminal in aggregation on the LAN1 and LAN2 access networks is routed to an MCP equipment (for “MPTCP Convergent Point” in English) which allows interoperability between the MPTCP protocol and a standard TCP / UDP / SCTP protocol supported by the SRV2 server.
• MCP equipment for “MPTCP Convergent Point” in English
• the MCP equipment is a node of the CAN network and it is also connected to the NET network.
• the access network aggregation function makes it possible in particular to manage traffic peaks and to ensure the transition of traffic from one access network to another, the transition possibly being partial or complete.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a software architecture of a terminal T of the prior art, which can be connected simultaneously to several access networks.
• the terminal T has two access network interfaces HW1 and HW2.
• the HW1 interface is an electrical circuit (chipset) of WiFi technology
• the HW2 interface is an electrical circuit (chipset) of cellular radio technology, the two circuits being accompanied by their control software (driver).
• An OS operating system is installed above the HW1 and HW2 interfaces.
• a module of a TCP / IP protocol stack is integrated into the OS.
• the TCP / IP module includes an ICMP (for Internet Control and Error Message Protocol) submodule.
• ICMP for Internet Control and Error Message Protocol
• an access selection module and an access aggregation module are also integrated without the operating system.
• APP applications are installed. These applications are based on API interfaces provided by the operating system.
• these APIs there is the TCP / IP API which allows an APP application to communicate on at least one of the access networks without specifically knowing which HW1 or HW2 access interface is used.
• an APP application can obtain via the APIs, information on the state of connectivity with access networks.
• APIs other than the TCP / IP API can provide applications in "pull", “push” or “notification” mode with the commonly used access network interface, HW1 and / or HW2.
• the APP application can adapt its services according to the access network.
• a VoIP application installed on a smartphone-type TRM terminal may only transmit / receive communications when the selected access network interface is HW1 using WiFi technology and not the D interface. HW2 cellular radio access.
• Terminal providers generally aim to improve the user experience. They therefore offer terminals which automatically select the access network offering a better connection quality, or terminals which allow the user to select the access network or networks to be used.
• the terminals connecting to their networks select, if possible, a WiFi or wired access network, rather than a cellular access network.
• cellular radio resources are limited.
• the overall throughput of a cellular radio antenna is limited (even by aggregating several frequency blocks and / or by multiplying the number of antennas in MIMO technology (for “Multiple Input Multiple Output” in English) and / or in improving coding and protection algorithms, especially since this bit rate is shared between several connected terminals, and it should be noted that the bandwidth consumed per user doubles every year with the multiplication of uses, mainly the exchange of video traffic .
• a known solution consists in installing on a terminal which can be connected to several access networks, a software application accessible by the access provider, such as the "My network” application or the “Orange and me” application. »(Applications provided by the operator Orange).
• a software application accessible by the access provider, such as the "My network” application or the “Orange and me” application. »(Applications provided by the operator Orange).
• Such an application provides information on the selection or aggregation functions used by this terminal, for example the number of packets transmitted on each access network.
• This solution is not satisfactory, on the one hand because the applications are not compatible with all the operating systems of the terminals, and on the other hand because the users do not always install these applications on their terminals.
• the access provider therefore only has partial information. In addition, this information is not accessible by service providers.
• the invention relates to a method of differentiating transmitted traffic, implemented by a terminal which can be connected simultaneously to several access networks including a nominal access network and at least one additional access network different from the network. nominal, said nominal network being that which the terminal uses in its default configuration, the method comprising steps of:
• the invention relates to a terminal which can be connected simultaneously to several access networks including a nominal access network and at least one additional access network different from the nominal network, said nominal network being that which the terminal uses in its default configuration, the terminal comprising:
• a module for processing transmitted traffic the module being configured to insert at least one primary marking information, interpretable by a network device, in a first field of a packet, if and only if this packet is intended to be sent via the additional access network;
• the invention relates to a method for managing data traffic transmitted by a terminal.
• This process is implemented by a network device. This process includes steps of:
• the invention relates to a network device for managing data traffic transmitted by a terminal, the device comprising:
• - communication means configured to receive a packet from the terminal intended for a recipient device
• - detection means configured to detect, in a first field of the packet, at least one primary marking information constituting an indication that the packet has been sent via an additional access network for the terminal, the terminal not using said additional access network in its default configuration;
• processing module configured to process the packet according to the marking information
• the communication means being further configured to send the packet to the destination device.
• the terminal can be a mobile phone of the smartphone type, a computer, a tablet, or any other communicating device configured to be able to be connected simultaneously to two or more access networks.
• a "nominal" access network relating to a terminal is the network that the terminal uses in its default configuration, this being for example supplied by the supplier of this terminal.
• the “additional” network relating to this terminal is another access network different from the nominal network, and to which the terminal can connect.
• the nominal network can be a cellular access network, while the additional network can be a WiFi access network.
• the nominal network can be a wired fiber optic access network, while the additional network can be a WiFi access network or an ADSL wired access network.
• the nominal network can be a WiFi access network.
• the terminal according to the invention is a mobile phone or a tablet having an active SIM card.
• the nominal access network is a cellular access network, for example of the 3G, 4G or 5G type.
• the additional access network is a WiFi or Bluetooth access network.
• the terminal according to the invention is a computer.
• the nominal access network is a wired access network, for example of the Ethernet, ADSL or fiber optic type.
• the additional access network is a WiFi access network.
• the packets sent by a terminal via its additional access network are packets sent in offload mode.
• the packets sent by a terminal via its nominal access network are packets sent in nominal mode.
• the primary marking information is an indication that this packet is intended to be sent by the terminal via the additional access network, that is to say ie in offload mode.
• This primary marking information can be interpreted by a network device.
• the invention allows an access provider or the administrative entity managing a determined access network to distinguish, by primary marking information:
• this access network constitutes the nominal network of the terminals which sent these packets
• this access network constitutes the additional network of terminals which sent these packets.
• the access provider or the administrative entity managing the access network can apply different packet processing policies, these policies being implemented by the management device according to the invention during the processing step of the management method according to the invention.
• the distinction of packets sent in nominal mode from packets sent in offload mode allows an operator of an access network to better manage his network, for example in terms of network sizing or services offered.
• the invention makes it possible to favor, at the level of an access point to an access network, the packets transmitted in nominal mode compared to packets transmitted in offload mode, by classifying them in two different queues, one of which has priority over the other.
• a WiFi access point can favor traffic emitted by a tablet that does not have a SIM card, compared to traffic emitted by a mobile phone that can connect to a cellular access network.
• packets sent in nominal mode from packets sent in offload mode also makes it possible to perform statistics on the number or percentage of packets sent in nominal mode or in offload mode. These statistics can be used to size access networks, to anticipate changes in a network, to propose new connection features to a network, to adapt the quality of service offered by a network, and / or to establish billing policies.
• the differentiation method according to claim 1 further comprises a step of inserting additional marking information, interpretable by a network device, in a second field of the packet.
• the additional marking information is inserted in addition to the primary marking information, and it includes additional information thereto.
• the additional marking information relates to the fact that the packet is intended to be sent via the additional access network, in offload mode.
• the terminal processing module according to the invention is further configured to insert the additional marking information in the second field of the packet.
• the primary marking information is accompanied by the additional marking information to provide clarifications relating to the use of the additional network.
• This additional marking information can also be interpreted by a network device.
• the primary marking information and the additional marking information are inserted in order to be communicated to a network device, such as a management device according to the invention.
• the management method further comprises a step of obtaining at least additional information for marking a second field of the packet, the packet being further processed as a function of this information additional marking.
• the detection means of the management device according to the invention are further configured to obtain additional information for marking the second field of the packet, the processing module of the management device being configured to further process the packet based on this additional marking information.
• the invention thus makes it possible to differentiate the packets sent in offload mode (all comprising primary marking information) between them, by the additional information.
• This mode allows to have several granularities of packet processing according to the additional information.
• this mode makes it possible to carry out finer statistics thanks to the additional information.
• the additional marking information includes at least one of:
• nominal access network cellular, satellite, optical fiber, xDSL, Ethernet, or other
• An identifier of the nominal access network for example an identifier of the MNC type, for “Mobile Network Code” in English);
• an identifier of the country of the nominal access network for example an identifier of the MCC type, for “Mobile Country Code” in English
• information of different natures can be used for processing packets.
• the MNC and MCC type identifiers can be extracted via API interfaces of a SIM card or an eSIM card of the terminal, by low-level protocol layers such as the TCP / IP stack, or by the selection module. terminal access, or by the terminal access aggregation module.
• the additional marking information may include an identifier of the country of the cellular network having supported the terminal as well as an identifier of the network operator l 'having taken charge. This information can be used to identify whether the terminal is in a Home or Roaming situation.
• the processing step comprises storage by the management device, of the primary marking information and / or of the additional marking information. This information can then be retrieved later by interrogating the management device.
• the processing step comprises an incrementation of a packet counter comprising marking information. This mode is used to perform statistics on packets sent in offload mode.
• the processing step comprises an incrementation of a packet counter comprising additional marking information constituted by an identifier of an administrative entity of the nominal access network
• statistics obtained by this counter can be used for financial transfers between the administrative entity of the nominal network and the administrative entity of the additional network.
• statistics obtained by this counter can be used for:
• a terminal can send packets in offload mode because it is configured in airplane mode, or because it is configured to prefer the additional network, or because consumption on the nominal network has reached a certain threshold;
• a terminal can send packets in offload mode because the nominal network is not available, or the quality of service offered by the nominal network is not satisfactory, or because of a synchronization problem between the terminal and a nominal network access point.
• the processing step includes deleting the primary marking information and / or the additional marking information.
• This mode is suitable for local processing of packets, at the level of the management device in accordance with the invention, without disclosing the marking information to the other devices through which the packet passes until it reaches the recipient device.
• the processing step comprises a modification of the primary marking information and / or of the additional marking information. This mode can be implemented to ensure compatibility during a passage of the packet from one network to another, these two networks not using the same format of the marking information.
• the processing step comprises an application of a method of differentiating traffic in quality of service as a function of the primary marking information.
• the management device can process packets sent in nominal mode in a privileged way than packets sent in offload mode: by placing them in priority or shorter queues, or by passing them over a communications channel with better performance (in terms of signal-to-noise ratio for example), or passing them to faster roads, etc.
• the processing step comprises an application of a method of differentiating traffic in quality of service as a function of the primary marking information and of the additional marking information.
• the management device may favor:
• a management device when the additional marking information includes an identifier of the nominal access network, can process the packets sent in offload mode by favoring packets indicating that the nominal network is a wired access network (packets sent by computers for example), compared to packets indicating that the nominal network is a cellular network (packets sent by mobile phones for example).
• This embodiment allows a priori to favor professional users.
• the processing step may include a differentiation of the packets sent by the same administrative entity managing the management device according to the invention. For example, when the management device belongs to a specific operator, it can favor packets sent in offload by telephones having SIM cards from the same operator.
• the processing step comprises a marking of IP DSCP type (for "Differentiated Service Code Point" in English). This mode makes it possible to notify nodes placed downstream of the management device, of a priority level associated with the packet and / or of another processing to be applied to the packet.
• the processing step comprises an application of a billing method as a function of the primary marking information, or of the primary marking information and of the additional marking information.
• the processing step comprises an application of a routing method as a function of the primary marking information, or of the primary marking information and of the additional marking information.
• the routing method can include routing packets to different paths based on their marking information.
• the processing step comprises a storage of session parameters during which the packet is received, to identify at least one response packet sent by the recipient device intended for the terminal.
• This mode allows specific processing to be applied to response packets to marked packets sent by the terminal according to the invention.
• the processing applied to response packets can be identical to the processing of packets sent by the terminal.
• the differentiation method further comprises steps of:
• the invention allows the user of the terminal, to choose via the application programming interface, to apply the marking of the packets that his terminal sends in offload mode or not.
• the invention allows the user to specify the marking information.
• the application programming interface of the terminal is firmware software installed on the terminal. The user of the terminal, according to the invention, can configure his terminal directly and implicitly via this firmware software to implement or not the differentiation process, according to the invention.
• the application programming interface of the terminal is a communications interface between the terminal and a server of the “Device Management” or “Entitlement server” type. The terminal is configured dynamically and explicitly through this server to implement or not the differentiation process, according to the invention.
• the implementation or not of the differentiation process, according to the invention, by a terminal according to the invention can result from a choice of the manufacturer of the termina, this choice being able to be modified by the user.
• the implementation or not of the differentiation process, according to the invention, by a terminal according to the invention can result from a choice of the access provider to an access network, for example depending :
• a location of the terminal for example a telephone connected to a Home mobile network managed by the access provider, or to a visited mobile network Host managed by another provider;
• the packet is of IPv4 type, the first field being the "IP service type” field and the second field being the "IP options” field.
• the packet is of the IPv6 type, the first and second fields being fields of the “IP extension header” type.
• the invention is compatible with the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, and can therefore be easily implemented by terminals and devices currently available on the market with minor modifications to insert, retrieve and process the marking information.
• the invention can be used to mark traffics of different applications, such as web browsing applications, mail applications, FTP file transfer applications (for "File Transport Protocol"), applications for TV, VoD video applications (for "Video on Demand”), VoIP VoIP applications (for "Voice over IP”), etc.
• the tagging information is inserted at the level of the IP headers and does not impact the data of these applications integrated into the bodies of the packets.
• the invention is compatible with the MPTCP aggregation protocol.
• the invention can be compatible with the combinational tunnel mechanisms, making it possible to switch from one protocol among the IPv4, IPv6 and GTP protocols (for “GPRS Tunneling Protocol” in English) to another.
• the invention is also compatible with the state of the art security mechanisms, such as IPSec (for “Internet Protocol Security), sRTP (for“ Secured Real Time Protocol ”), SIPS (for“ Session Initiation Protocol Secured ”), HTTPS (for“ Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secured ”), and TLS (for“ Transport Layer Security ”).
• IPSec for “Internet Protocol Security”
• sRTP for“ Secured Real Time Protocol ”
• SIPS for“ Session Initiation Protocol Secured
• HTTPS for“ Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secured
• TLS for“ Transport Layer Security
• the recovery, modification or deletion of marking information does not penalize the latency of packet routing because in any case, the IP headers are handled for NAT type functionalities (for "Network Address Translation"), a replacement of an IP address, or a port or a recalculation of information of the checksum type.
• NAT type functionalities for "Network Address Translation”
• a replacement of an IP address or a port or a recalculation of information of the checksum type.
• the impact of the invention on the MTU criteria is not penalizing.
• the MTU criteria relate to the maximum size of a packet that can be transmitted at one time.
• the primary marking information can consume a single bit to distinguish the packets transmitted via the nominal network from the packets transmitted via the additional network.
• the number of bits used to insert the additional marking information is also limited, according to a maximum number of all the possible additional information.
• the "Type of service” field of an Ipv4 packet has 8 bits, of which only 6 bits are currently used by prior art methods. One of the two remaining bits can be used to transport the primary information of marking according to the invention.
• the size of the IP packet is not increased.
• the majority of prior art equipment already deals with this "Type of service” field. however, the size of this field does not allow additional information defined in this invention request to be passed in addition.
• the additional marking information is inserted in the "IP options" field of an IPv4 packet, it is possible to use an option class reserved for future use (the classes 1 and 3 for example) and create a new "Offload" option in one of these classes.
• the terminal according to the invention implements the differentiation method, according to the invention, for all the packets that it transmits via the additional network.
• the terminal according to the invention implements the differentiation process only for certain packets which it transmits via the additional network, for example, exclusively for a determined number of the first IP packets of the same IP session.
• the additional network for example, exclusively for a determined number of the first IP packets of the same IP session.
• the management device treats all the packets of the same IP session in the same way. Indeed, once the IP session is established, when the management device according to the invention detects marking information on a first packet of the session, it can deduce that the packets of the same session are also sent by the same terminal via its additional access network.
• the management device may include:
• - network termination equipment such equipment is marketed in France under the name of "box” offering multiple services, such as LiveBox equipment (product marketed by Orange);
• an access point of a cellular access network such as an antenna of the eNodeB type; - a router; or
• a person skilled in the art can apply the differentiation method according to the invention, to differentiate traffic sent by an access point or a gateway that can send packets over different WAN interfaces.
• This access point or this gateway can insert in a field of a packet to be sent, marking information comprising a type or an identifier of the WAN interface used to send this packet.
• the invention also relates to a system for managing traffic emitted by a terminal according to the invention.
• This system comprises the terminal and at least one management device according to the invention.
• the invention also relates to a first computer program on a recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a computer or a terminal according to the invention.
• This program includes instructions adapted to the implementation of a traffic differentiation method as described above.
• the invention also relates to a second computer program on a recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a computer or a management device according to the invention.
• This program includes instructions adapted to the implementation of a management process as described above.
• Each of these programs can use any programming language, and be in the form of source code, object code, or intermediate code between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any other desirable form.
• the invention also relates to an information medium or a recording medium readable by a computer, and comprising instructions of the first or second computer program as mentioned above.
• the information or recording media can be any entity or device capable of storing the programs.
• the supports may include a storage means, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a ROM microelectronic circuit, or a magnetic recording means, for example a floppy disk or a hard disk, or a flash memory.
• the information or recording media can be transmissible media such as an electrical or optical signal, which can be routed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio link, by optical link without wire or by other means.
• the programs according to the invention can in particular be downloaded from a network of the Internet type.
• each information or recording medium can be an integrated circuit in which a program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the response method according to the invention or the method of providing a response element according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 already described, illustrates an architecture of a network of the prior art supporting the MPTCP protocol
• FIG. 2 Figure 2, already described, illustrates a software architecture of a terminal of the prior art, which can connect simultaneously to several access networks;
• FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture of a network in which the methods of the invention are implemented according to an embodiment of the invention
• Figure 4 is a flowchart representing steps of a differentiation process, according to the invention, implemented according to one embodiment
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing steps of a traffic management method, according to the invention, implemented according to one embodiment;
• FIG. 6 presents functional architectures of a management system, of a terminal and of a management device, in accordance with the invention;
• FIG. 7 presents a hardware architecture of a terminal according to an embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 8 presents a hardware architecture of a management device according to an embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture of a NET network in which the methods of the invention are implemented according to an embodiment of the invention.
• the NET network comprises a LAN2 access network of ADSL technology, a metropolitan MAN network and a CAN core network. These three LAN2, MAN and CAN networks are managed by the same administrative entity.
• the CAN core network and connected to the Internet network via an RTR-A router, and to an extranet network via an RTR-B router. Internet and Extranet networks are also included in the NET network.
• P-SRV1, P-SRV2 and P-SRV3 service platforms are connected to the Internet, extranet and CAN networks respectively.
• the architecture of the NET network is similar to a network of the prior art.
• a TRM terminal can be connected simultaneously to the LAN2 access network and to another LAN1 access network.
• the TRM terminal is a smartphone type telephone;
• LAN1 is a cellular access network.
• the LAN1 network constitutes a nominal network, within the meaning of the invention, for the TRM terminal, while the LAN2 network constitutes an additional network, within the meaning of the invention, for the TRM terminal.
• An access point PA included in the LAN2 network allows the terminal TRM to communicate with the LAN2 network and thus the NET network.
• the PA access point is network termination equipment, commercially known in France by the name "box". It has a wired connection interface and a WiFi connection interface.
• This access point constitutes a management device in accordance with the invention.
• FIG. 4 is a flowchart representing steps of a traffic differentiation method, according to the invention, implemented by the TRM terminal, according to the invention and described with reference to FIG. 3.
• the terminal TRM checks in a queue, whether it has packets to be sent. We assume here that there is a P packet in this queue and that the TRM terminal supports the IPv4 protocol.
• the terminal obtains information from its selection module, to determine whether it sends the packet P to its destination via the nominal access network LAN1, or the additional access network LAN2. If the information obtained from the selection module indicates that the packet must be sent via the nominal network LAN1, the terminal TRM sends during a step E420 the packet P to its destination via the network LAN1.
• the TRM terminal obtains info-conf configuration information from a step E430 from a application programming interface (API) of this terminal.
• info-conf configuration information includes a command to mark packets sent via the additional LAN2 network.
• the terminal TRM obtains primary marking information, iMARK.
• the iMARK information is obtained from the info-conf configuration information and it includes information to be inserted in the packet P to indicate that it is sent by the TRM terminal via the additional LAN 2 network.
• the terminal TRM obtains at least one additional marking information, iMARK '.
• the iMARK 'information is obtained from the selection module, and it includes information on the reason why the selection module selected the additional network LAN2.
• the two steps E432 and E434 can be implemented simultaneously, or one after the other, regardless of which precedes the other.
• the terminal TRM inserts the primary marking information iMARK into the header of the packet P in the field "type of IP service" in accordance with the IPv4 protocol.
• the terminal TRM inserts the additional marking information iMARK 'into the header of the packet P in the "IP options" field in accordance with the IPv4 protocol.
• the two steps E436 and E438 can be implemented simultaneously, or one after the other, regardless of which precedes the other.
• the terminal TRM sends the packet P, comprising the information iMARK and iMARK 'in its header, to its destination via the additional access network LAN2.
• the packet P will then be received in the first place by the access point PA, described with reference to FIG. 3.
• the destination of this packet P is the service platform P-SRV1
• the packet P will be routed from the access point PA to the router RTR-A, via the MAN network and then the CAN network.
• the P packet is then routed by the RTR-A router to the P-SRV1 platform via the Internet.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing steps of a traffic management method, according to the invention, implemented by the access point PA, according to the invention and described previously.
• the access point PA checks in an input queue, whether it has received a packet.
• the access point PA receives the packet P sent by the terminal TRM via its additional access network LAN2.
• the access point PA checks whether the received packet includes primary marking information. If the packet does not include such information, the access point PA deduces that this received packet was sent by a terminal via its nominal network. In this case, the access point PA sends the packet to its destination, during a step E550, in accordance with the state of the art. In this example, the received packet P actually includes the iMARK information inserted (E436) by the terminal TRM. The access point PA therefore checks, during a step E520, whether the received packet P also includes additional marking information.
• the packet P actually includes the iMARK 'information inserted (E438) by the terminal TRM.
• the access point PA processes the packet P according to the two pieces of information iMARK and iMARK '.
• the processing step E530 comprises an incrementation of a first counter C1 of packets received by the access point PA and comprising primary marking information and an incrementation of a second counter C2 of packets received by the access point PA and comprising additional marking information identical to the information iMARK ', that is to say packets sent by their sending terminals via their additional networks for the same reason as that of the terminal TRM .
• the access point PA may not detect, during step E520, additional information in the header of the received packet.
• the access point PA processes the packet received during a step E540 according to the primary marking information iMARK only.
• the processing (E540) may include an incrementation of the counter Cl.
• the access point sends the packet P, during the step E550 to its destination P-SRV1.
• the RTR-A router also constitutes a management device according to the invention.
• the steps E530 and E540 of processing the packets comprising marking information iMARK and possibly iMARK ' can comprise an incrementation counters as described previously, or a modification or a deletion of marking information, or a selection of a routing path towards the destination P-SRV1 of the packet P according to the marking information which it comprises.
• These actions can also be implemented by the access point PA.
• the service platform P-SRV1 also constitutes a management device according to the invention. When it receives the packet P, it implements the steps of the management method described with reference to FIG. 5.
• the steps E530 and E540 of processing the packets comprising marking information iMARK and possibly iMARK ', may include one of the actions already described previously (for the PA access point or the RTR-A router).
• the service platform P-SRV1 can adapt the characteristics of the service it offers to the TRM terminal according to the access network used, LAN1 or LAN2, for example by using video coders of a quality determined according to '' a type of network used (cellular or WiFi). In a similar way to the differentiation process implemented by the terminal
• the access point PA can insert marking information into a packet P that it sends, this marking information comprising a type or an identifier of a WAN interface used to route this packet P to its destination.
• this marking information comprising a type or an identifier of a WAN interface used to route this packet P to its destination.
• the access point PA can be connected to a WAN network via various means, for example in optical fiber and in ADSL link.
• the access point can have several WAN interfaces of the same technology.
• the following table illustrates, by way of example, an implementation of a new “offload” option which can be integrated into the “IP option” field in accordance with the IPv4 protocol.
• the coding of the “Offload” option could for example be defined as option number 10 in option class 0 of the prior art and its coding could be of the TLV type (Type, Length, Value).
• the primary marking information in accordance with the invention corresponds to the code of type "0" and the value "1", this code constitutes an indication that the packet is intended to be sent via the additional network.
• the type “0” makes it possible to distinguish a packet intended to be sent via the nominal network (the value being “0”), from a packet intended to be sent via the additional network (the value being “1”) .
• the primary marking information is information on the fact that the terminal has decided to send the packet via the additional access network, this decision not being based on the marking information itself.
• the codes of types 1 to 6, including all their possible values constitute additional marking information within the meaning of the invention.
• the processing step E530 implemented by the access point PA includes an addition of additional information iMARK '.
• additional information iMARK ' The following table illustrates, by way of example, a coding of the new “Offload” to implement the information added by the access point.
• the codes of types 20 to 22, whatever their values, constitute additional marking information within the meaning of the invention.
• the marking information defined with reference to the IPv4 protocol in the two tables, can also be coded in an "Options" field of a header of an IPv6 packet, for example the "HopByHopHeader” header or the "DestinationOptionsHeader” header
• FIG. 6 represents functional architecture, according to an embodiment of the invention, of a traffic management system SYS, of a terminal TRM and of a management device PA (or RRH or RTR- A), the SYS system, the TRM terminal and the management device all conforming to the invention.
• the SYS system comprises the terminal TRM and the management device PA, RTR-A, P- SRV1.
• the TRM terminal includes:
• this MRK1 module being configured to insert the primary iMARK marking information in a first field of a P packet, when this P packet is intended to be sent via the additional access network LAN2;
• - COM communication means configured to send the packet P to a destination device P-SRV1 via the additional access network LAN2.
• the processing module MRK1 is further configured to insert the additional marking information iMARK 'in a second field of the packet P.
• the device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 for managing data traffic transmitted by the terminal TRM comprises:
• - COM communication means configured to receive the packet P from the terminal TRM, having been sent via the additional access network LAN2 and being intended for a destination device P-SRV1;
• - DTC detection means configured to detect the primary iMARK marking information in a first field of the P packet, and possibly the additional iMARK 'marking information in a second field of the P packet;
• a processing module PROC configured to process the packet P as a function of the iMARK marking information (and possibly of the iMARK 'information);
• the communication means COM being further configured to send the packet P to the destination device P-SRV1.
• the TRM terminal has the hardware architecture of a computer, as illustrated in FIG. 7.
• the architecture of the TRM terminal notably includes a processor 7, a random access memory 8, a read-only memory 9, a non-volatile flash memory 10 in a particular embodiment of the invention, as well as communication means 11.
• Such means are known per se and are not described in more detail here.
• the ROM 9 of the terminal TRM according to the invention constitutes a recording medium according to the invention, readable by the processor 7 and on which is recorded here a ProgTx computer program according to the invention.
• the memory 10 of the TRM terminal makes it possible to record variables used for the execution of the steps of the differentiation method according to the invention, such as the packet P, the marking information iMARK, iMARK 'and the configuration information info- conf.
• the ProgTx computer program defines functional modules and software here, configured to differentiate traffic emitted by the TRM terminal. These functional modules rely on and / or control the hardware elements 7-11 of the TRM terminal mentioned above.
• the management device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 has the hardware architecture of a computer, as illustrated in FIG. 8.
• the architecture of the management device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 comprises in particular a processor 7, a random access memory 8, a read-only memory 9, a non-volatile flash memory 10 in a particular embodiment of the invention, as well as communication means 11. Such means are known per se and are not described in more detail here.
• the read-only memory 9 of the management device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 according to the invention constitutes a recording medium according to the invention, readable by the processor 7 and on which a program d is recorded here.
• ProgRx computer according to the invention.
• the memory 10 of the management device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 makes it possible to record variables used for the execution of the steps of the management method according to the invention, such as the packet P and the information of iMARK, iMARK 'marking.
• the ProgRx computer program defines functional modules and software here, configured to manage traffic sent by the TRM terminal. These functional modules rely on and / or control the hardware elements 7-11 of the management device PA, RTR-A, P-SRV1 mentioned above.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

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• 2018
  • 2018-12-10 FR FR1872577A patent/FR3089732A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
• 2019
  • 2019-11-19 WO PCT/FR2019/052739 patent/WO2020120850A1/fr unknown
  • 2019-11-19 EP EP19831785.1A patent/EP3895389A1/de active Pending
  • 2019-11-19 US US17/312,358 patent/US20220052952A1/en active Pending

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