Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a related device. In the method, a control plane (CP) sends a first message to a user plane steering function (USF). The first message includes end user information, and indicates the USF to schedule an end user based on the end user information. Then, the CP determines, based on an identifier of a target UP carried in a first request message sent by the USF, to schedule the end user to the target UP. Thus, a scheduling policy of the end user is determined via the USF. The CP further processes a connection between the end user and the target UP based on the identifier of the target UP.

Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a related device. In the method, a control plane (CP) sends a first message to a user plane steering function (USF). The first message includes end user information, and indicates the USF to schedule an end user based on the end user information. Then, the CP determines, based on an identifier of a target UP carried in a first request message sent by the USF, to schedule the end user to the target UP. Thus, a scheduling policy of the end user is determined via the USF. The CP further processes a connection between the end user and the target UP based on the identifier of the target UP.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a method of facilitating routing through a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) defined for an entity. A first edge forwarding node located at a first multi-machine site of the entity, the first multi-machine site at a first physical location and including a first set of machines, serves as an edge forwarding node for the first set of machines by forwarding packets between the first set of machines and other machines associated with the entity via other forwarding nodes in the SD-WAN. The first edge forwarding node receives configuration data specifying for the first edge forwarding node to serve as a hub forwarding node for forwarding a set of packets from a second set of machines associated with the entity and operating at a second multi-machine site at a second physical location to a third set of machines associated with the entity and operating at a third multi-machine site at a third physical location. The first edge forwarding node serves as a hub forwarding node to forward the set of packets from the second set of machines to the third set of machines.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a method of facilitating routing through a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) defined for an entity. A first edge forwarding node located at a first multi-machine site of the entity, the first multi-machine site at a first physical location and including a first set of machines, serves as an edge forwarding node for the first set of machines by forwarding packets between the first set of machines and other machines associated with the entity via other forwarding nodes in the SD-WAN. The first edge forwarding node receives configuration data specifying for the first edge forwarding node to serve as a hub forwarding node for forwarding a set of packets from a second set of machines associated with the entity and operating at a second multi-machine site at a second physical location to a third set of machines associated with the entity and operating at a third multi-machine site at a third physical location. The first edge forwarding node serves as a hub forwarding node to forward the set of packets from the second set of machines to the third set of machines.

Geographic proximity and network congestion are used to determine efficient routing of data in networks. If two devices are geographically close, then device-to-device communication may be possible. Data may thus be routed using device-to-device communication, which avoids consuming bandwidth in wide area networks and in cellular networks.

Geographic proximity and network congestion are used to determine efficient routing of data in networks. If two devices are geographically close, then device-to-device communication may be possible. Data may thus be routed using device-to-device communication, which avoids consuming bandwidth in wide area networks and in cellular networks.

According to an embodiment a packet forwarding device is disclosed for forwarding data packets on a link within a communication network. The packet forwarding device is further configured to perform the following steps: measuring a load of the link; detecting if the load exceeds one of a plurality of threshold indicative for a level of congestion on the link; and sending a signal to another device in the communication network signalling the level of congestion.

A system is disclosed, comprising: a centralized routing node configured to: identify a set of congested links based on the link utilization statistics, each congested link having at least one traffic flow that may be active, each traffic flow having at least one traffic source and a path set comprising a set of nodes and links that may be used by the traffic flow as packets travel from the at least one traffic source to one or more destinations; identify a set of non-congested links based on the link utilization statistics, each non-congested link sharing at least one traffic source with a traffic flow of a congested link in the set of congested links; identify a path fork in a path set between a source and a destination of a particular traffic flow associated with a particular congested link in the set of congested links; and compute a new utilization level for the particular congested link that would result from moving the particular traffic flow from the particular congested link to a particular non-congested link in the set of non-congested links.

A system is disclosed, comprising: a centralized routing node configured to: identify a set of congested links based on the link utilization statistics, each congested link having at least one traffic flow that may be active, each traffic flow having at least one traffic source and a path set comprising a set of nodes and links that may be used by the traffic flow as packets travel from the at least one traffic source to one or more destinations; identify a set of non-congested links based on the link utilization statistics, each non-congested link sharing at least one traffic source with a traffic flow of a congested link in the set of congested links; identify a path fork in a path set between a source and a destination of a particular traffic flow associated with a particular congested link in the set of congested links; and compute a new utilization level for the particular congested link that would result from moving the particular traffic flow from the particular congested link to a particular non-congested link in the set of non-congested links.

The field of the disclosure is the transfer of digital data, particularly multimedia data, from a source to a user of that data using multiple data carrying paths/links/channels.