Cloud based customer premises equipment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9374267-B2
Application number	US-201113520500-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 30, 2011
Priority date	Dec 30, 2011
Publication date	Jun 21, 2016
Grant date	Jun 21, 2016

Abstract

Network (cloud) based customer premises equipment may receive, over a broadband access circuit, layer 2 traffic from an access device at a customer premises; provide dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) services for computing devices at the customer premises, the DHCP services providing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the computing devices at the customer premises; and provide network address translation (NAT) services for the computing devices at the customer premises.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, implemented by a network device, comprising:
receiving, by the network device and over a broadband access circuit, layer 2 traffic from a plurality of access devices at a plurality of customer premises,
the plurality of access devices at the plurality of customer premises including an access device at a customer premises,
the network device being located external to the customer premises and implementing a virtual private network for the customer premises,
the virtual private network including an application server that is external to the customer premises,
the application server providing one or more services to the customer premises, and
the virtual private network enabling the one or more services to logically appear, from a perspective of a user utilizing a computing device of one or more computing devices located at the customer premises, as if the application server is within a local area network associated with the customer premises;

providing, by the network device, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises,
the DHCP services providing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises; and

providing, by the network device, network address translation (NAT) services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises,
one of the DHCP services or the NAT services being provided as global services that are shared by computing devices at the plurality of customer premises,
the global services being provided by a same virtual router instance included in the network device, and

one of the DHCP services or the NAT services being provided as isolated services that are provided for the one or more computing devices at the customer premises separately from other computing devices at another customer premises of the plurality of customer premises,
the isolated services being provided to the one or more computing devices at the customer premises by a first virtual router instance, included in the network device, that is separate from a second virtual router instance, included in the network device, that provides the isolated services to the other computing devices at the other customer premises;

maintaining, by the network device, state information, on a per-computing device basis, for the customer premises,
the state information indicating a state of a session; and

providing, by the network device and based on the state information and a user switching use of a first computing device at the customer premises to a second computing device at the customer premises, continuity of services across the first computing device and the second computing device based on the state of the session.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing at least one of:
firewall services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises, or
IP routing and port forwarding services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises.

3. The method of claim 1 , where the NAT services include carrier grade network address translation (CGNAT).

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
using the first virtual router instance, corresponding to the customer premises, to provide the DHCP services as the isolated services to the customer premises,
using the second virtual router instance, corresponding to the other customer premises, to provide the DHCP services as the isolated services to the other customer premises, and
using the same virtual router instance to provide the NAT services as the global services to the customer premises and the other customer premises.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
associating each of the plurality of customer premises with a different virtual local area network (VLAN).

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
implementing a respective virtual private network for each customer premises of the plurality of customer premises.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, from a location that is different than a location of the customer premises, a request from a second access device that is associated with the customer premises; and
including the second access device in the virtual private network implemented for the customer premises.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
implementing universal plug and play (UPnP) services to automatically discover the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises.

9. The method of claim 1 , where the network device includes an edge router in a service provider network.

10. The method of claim 1 , where the layer 2 traffic received from the access device at the customer premises is processed by the same virtual router instance and the first virtual router instance, and
where the layer 2 traffic received from another access device at the other customer premises is processed by the same virtual router instance and the second virtual router instance.

11. A device comprising:
ports to receive layer 2 traffic from subscribers,
at least some of the layer 2 traffic being received from a plurality of access devices at a plurality of customer premises,
the plurality of access devices at the plurality of customer premises

including an access device at a customer premises,
the customer premises being connected to the device via a broadband access circuit,
the device being external to the customer premises, and
the device implementing a virtual private network for the customer premises,
the virtual private network including an application server that is external to the customer premises,
the application server providing one or more services to the customer premises, and

the virtual private network enabling the one or more services to logically appear, from a perspective of a user utilizing a computing device of one or more computing devices located at the customer premises, as if the application server is within a local area network associated with the customer premises; and

one or more processors to:
provide dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises,
the DHCP services providing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises,

provide network address translation (NAT) services for the one or more computing devices located at the customer premises,
one of the DHCP services or the NAT services being provided as global services that are shared by computing devices at the plurality of customer premises,
the global services being provided by a same virtual router instance included in the device, and

one of the DHCP services or the NAT services being provided as isolated services that are provided for the one or more computing devices at the customer premises separately from other computing devices at another customer premises of the plurality of customer premises,
the isolated services being provided to the one or more computing devices at the customer premises by a first virtual router instance, included in the device, that is separate from a second virtual router instance, included in the device, that provides the isolated services to the other computing devices at the other customer premises,

maintain state information, on a per-computing device basis, for the customer premises,
the state information indicating a state of a session, and provide, based on the state information and a user switching use of a first computing device at the customer premises to a second compu

Assignees

• Poirier Jason P
• Krishnan Sudhir
• Barth Colby
• Scano John C
• Liddy John
• Kalra Sanjay
• Kokot Mathias
• Blanco Javier Aviles
• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Poirier Jason P
• Krishnan Sudhir
• Barth Colby
• Scano John C
• Liddy John
• Kalra Sanjay
• Kokot Mathias
• Blanco Javier Aviles

Classifications

• H04L61/2015

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L61/2528 Primary

  Translation at a proxy · CPC title

• H04L29/12575

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L61/2592

  using tunnelling or encapsulation · CPC title

• H04L12/4641

  Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] (LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272) · CPC title