At an SDN controller executing using a processor and a memory, a tracing packet is configured with a default value in a tag field. The tracing packet is inserted from the SDN controller into the SDN at a switch in the SDN. A returned packet and a port identifier is received at the controller, from the switch, the returned packet including a modified content in a location of the tracing packet that is different from the tag field. The port identifier corresponds to a port of the switch on which the switch received the returned packet from an middlebox. A function of the middlebox is identified by analyzing a modification applied to the modified content by the middlebox. The function of the middlebox and a location of the middlebox in the SDN are saved. The location includes the port identifier and an identifier of the switch.

Rather than using a large number of transceivers (transmitter/receiver pairs) operating in parallel, Access Points with multiple channels are used to aggregate, or stack, transmitted response communications, e.g., transmitting multiple acknowledgements (ACKs) in a single packet to one or more sources of received packets. The method includes sending on a plurality of channels, by each of a plurality of respective first nodes, a communication to a second node, receiving on the plurality of channels, by the second node, the communication from each of the plurality of first nodes and sending, by the second node, a transmission that contains a response to each communication that was successfully received from each of the plurality of first nodes. The response to each of the plurality of first nodes is part of a single message sent by the second node.

A system and method for predicting the geographic location of an Internet Protocol (IP) address are disclosed. A particular embodiment of the system and method includes receiving a model to predict a geographic coordinates position of a network device given traceroute information corresponding to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the network device; receiving traceroute information corresponding to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of one or more beacons without requiring the geographic location of the one or more beacons associated with the traceroute information; generating, by use of a processor, an output model representing one or more predicted geographic coordinates corresponding to the network device based on the model and the traceroute information; and returning a result including the predicted geographic coordinates of the network device.

For allocating resources in a mesh communications network for setting up a data stream transmission from a talker device to a listener device via at least one node device, data paths being defined throughout the mesh communications network following a link-state routing protocol, each node device performs receiving, obtaining, determining, and checking. And when there are enough said resources, temporarily reserving and propagating. And when receiving for said data stream transmission a stream reservation response representative of a positive acknowledgement to said stream reservation request, effectively allocating and propagating.

A device receives capability information associated with a next hop device of a wireless local area network (WLAN). The device also determines, based on the capability information, whether the next hop device is capable of implementing security for traffic, where the security includes a media access control (MAC) security standard and a layer 2 link security standard. The device further creates, via the MAC security standard, a secure channel with the next hop device when the next hop device is capable of providing security for traffic.

A method, system and apparatus for an OpenFlow hybrid architecture network device. In one embodiment, a hybrid approach is enabled by a network device that brackets an OpenFlow forwarding plane with conventional forwarding planes. Interfaces between the OpenFlow forwarding plane is provided via logical ports that pass packets along with associated metadata.

In general, techniques for facilitating a distributed network (L3) subnet by which multiple independent control planes of network devices connected to physically separate L2 networks provide L2 reachability to/from a single L3 subnet. In some examples, a shared L2 network physically situated to connect a plurality of physically separate L2 networks “stitches” the L2 networks together within the respective, independent control planes of switches such that the control planes bridge L2 traffic for a single bridge domain for the separate L2 networks to the shared L2 network and visa-versa. Each of the independent control planes may be configured with a virtual IRB instance associated with the bridge domain and with a common network subnet. Each of the virtual IRBs provides a functionally similar routing interface for the single bridge domain for the separate L2 networks and allows the shared network subnet to be distributed among the independent control planes.

A method and a system for providing an overlay network interworking with an underlay network are disclosed. The method for providing the overlay network interworking with the underlay network comprises a method for providing an overlay based virtual network between data centers (DC) connected with a wide area network (WAN), the method comprises the steps of: identifying accessibility between a source customer system connected to a first network virtualization device included in a first DC and an object customer system connected to a second virtualization device included in a second DC by a network virtualization management device; transferring forwarding information obtained by interworking with the first network virtualization device to the second virtualization device by the network virtualization management device; and configuring a path so as to perform a tunneling process between the first network virtualization device and the second network virtualization device using information on a WAN section and a control command by the network virtualization management device.

Techniques for providing closed-loop control and predictive analytics in packet-optical networks are described. For example, an integrated, centralized controller provides tightly-integrated, closed-loop control over switching and routing services and the underling optical transport system of a communication network. In one implementation, the controller includes an analytics engine that applies predictable analytics to real-time status information received from a monitoring subsystem distributed throughout the underlying optical transport system. Responsive to the status information, the analytics engine applies rules to adaptively and proactively identify current or predicted topology-changing events and, responsive to those events, maps reroutes packet flows through a routing/switching network and control and, based on any updated bandwidth requirements due to topology changes, dynamically adjusts allocation and utilization of the optical spectrum and wavelengths within the underlying optical transport system.

A network element (NE) comprising a receiver configured to receive a flow configuration message from a network controller via an information centric network (ICN), wherein the flow configuration message comprises a flow entry that identifies a flow in the ICN, wherein the flow is associated with a name of an application data object, and wherein the flow entry comprises a forwarding path associated with an application corresponding to the application data object name, and receive a packet, via the ICN, comprising the application data object name, a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to select the flow entry from a flow table based on the packet's application data object name, and a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to forward the packet along the forwarding path in the selected flow entry.