18529878. SEGMENT ROUTING NETWORK SIGNALING AND PACKET PROCESSING simplified abstract (Cisco Technology, Inc.)

SEGMENT ROUTING NETWORK SIGNALING AND PACKET PROCESSING

Organization Name

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Inventor(s)

Clarence Filsfils of Brussells (BE)

Zafar Ali of Hicksville NY (US)

Syed Kamran Raza of Kanata, Ontario (CA)

Ahmed Refaat Bashandy of Milpitas CA (US)

Nagendra Kumar Nainar of Morrisville NC (US)

Carlos M. Pignataro of Cary NC (US)

Jaganbabu Rajamanickam of Stittsville (CA)

Rakesh Gandhi of Stittsville (CA)

Bhupendra Yadav of Kanata (CA)

Faisal Iqbal of Ottawa (CA)

SEGMENT ROUTING NETWORK SIGNALING AND PACKET PROCESSING - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18529878 titled 'SEGMENT ROUTING NETWORK SIGNALING AND PACKET PROCESSING

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a method for instrumenting service chain data packets as they are transmitted among network nodes, providing visibility into service-level and networking operations.

• Service chain data packets include a header identifying a service group with one or more service functions.
• Network nodes add networking and service-layer operations data to the service chain data packets, such as performance metrics related to packet transport and service-level processing.
• The data packets are not probe packets but actual data packets being transmitted in the network.

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in:

• Network monitoring and troubleshooting
• Quality of Service (QoS) optimization in networks
• Service-level agreement (SLA) enforcement

Problems Solved

This technology helps solve:

• Lack of visibility into service-level and networking operations
• Inefficient troubleshooting processes in networks
• Difficulty in monitoring and optimizing QoS in networks

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include:

• Improved network performance and reliability
• Enhanced visibility into service-level operations
• Streamlined troubleshooting processes

Potential Commercial Applications

Potential commercial applications of this technology include:

• Network equipment and software vendors
• Telecommunication service providers
• Cloud service providers

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art for this technology could be:

• Network packet analysis tools used for monitoring and troubleshooting network performance.

What are the potential security implications of instrumenting service chain data packets in a network?

There could be concerns about:

• Data privacy and confidentiality
• Potential vulnerabilities introduced by adding operations data to packets

How does this technology compare to traditional network monitoring solutions?

This technology offers:

• More granular visibility into service-level operations
• Enhanced performance metrics for troubleshooting and optimization.

Original Abstract Submitted

In one embodiment, a service chain data packet is instrumented as it is communicated among network nodes in a network providing service-level and/or networking operations visibility. The service chain data packet includes a particular header identifying a service group defining one or more service functions, and is a data packet and not a probe packet. A network node adds networking and/or service-layer operations data to the particular service chain data packet, such as, but not limited to, in the particular header. Such networking operations data includes a performance metric or attribute related to the transport of the particular service chain packet in the network. Such service-layer operations data includes a performance metric or attribute related to the service-level processing of the particular service chain data packet in the network.