| 摘要 |
A system for use in a transport network that connects to the Internet or to a similar IP network, by which the class of service and Quality of Service of the connection to the Internet over the transport network may be dynamically adjusted to meet changing requirements. In contrast to static systems which require manual reconfiguration to change the class of service, a system according to an embodiment of the present invention provides for on-demand changing of the class of service depending on the current needs. A set of tunnels from the transport network's first switch (the "aggregator" or the DSLAM) to the interface between the transport network and the IP network (the "edge router") is pre-configured to provide the different levels of service that are supported. By selecting the appropriate tunnel through which the connection is made at the time the session is established, dynamic selection of Class of Service, and hence Quality of Service, is effected. Each tunnel can conduct multiple PPP sessions having the same Class of Service. A variety of selection methods are provided, depending on the particulars of the access/transport network. The invention realizes substantial advantages by utilizing PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE) as an alternative to the Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol currently in use for tunnels. |
