Prioritizing network traffic

Abstract

Methods and systems for operation upon one or more data processors for prioritizing transmission among a plurality of data streams based upon a classification associated with the data packets associated with each of the plurality of data streams, respectively. Systems and methods can operate to allocate bandwidth to priority data streams first and recursively allocate remaining bandwidth to lesser priority data streams based upon the priority associated with those respective lesser priority data streams.

1 . A computer implemented network traffic prioritization method comprising:
 receiving data in each of a plurality of classes;   for each of the plurality of classes, identifying class features for the class based on features of the data in the class;   receiving a plurality of network traffic streams, the network traffic streams comprising data packets communicated between sender devices and recipient devices;   identifying characteristics of the data packets;   for each of the data packets, comparing the characteristics of the data packet to the class features of the plurality of classes;   classifying, by one or more processors, each of the data packets into one or more classifications based on the comparison;   identifying reputations of originating or destination entities associated with the network traffic streams; and   determining one or more priorities of the network traffic streams based on a prioritization scheme that is based on one or more of the reputations of the originating or destination entities and the one or more classifications of the data packets.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting the data packets based on the one more priorities of the network traffic streams.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining whether a network threshold usage has been exceeded by the transmission of data packets from the network traffic streams; and   wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:   in response to determining that the network threshold usage has been exceeded, disrupting the transmission of data packets from a first one of the network traffic streams having a priority that is lower than a priority of a second one of the network traffic streams.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 dropping data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 delaying data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 allocating network bandwidth to a first one of the network traffic streams having a priority that is higher than a priority of a second one of the network traffic streams prior to allocation of network bandwidth to the second one of the network traffic streams independent of an order in which the data packets from the first and second network traffic streams are received.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining one or more priorities of the network traffic streams comprises:
 identifying the prioritization scheme, the prioritization scheme specifying a prioritization of each of the one or more classifications and the reputations.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 allocating network bandwidth to each of the network traffic streams based on a first allocation scheme;   determining whether a network threshold usage has been exceeded by transmission of data packets from the network traffic streams; and   in response to determining that the network threshold usage has been exceeded, allocating the network bandwidth based the prioritization scheme, wherein the prioritization scheme is different from the first allocation scheme.   
     
     
         9 . A system comprising:
 a data processing apparatus; and   software stored on a computer storage apparatus and comprising instructions executable by the data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:   receiving data in each of a plurality of classes;   for each of the plurality of classes, identifying class features for the class based on features of the data in the class;   receiving a plurality of network traffic streams, the network traffic streams comprising data packets communicated between sender devices and recipient devices;   identifying characteristics of the data packets;   for each of the data packets, comparing the characteristics of the data packet to the class features of the plurality of classes;   classifying, by one or more processors, each of the data packets into one or more classifications based on the comparison;   identifying reputations of originating or destination entities associated with the network traffic streams; and   prioritizing the network traffic streams based on a prioritization scheme that is based on one or more of the reputations of the originating or destination entities and the one or more classifications of the data packets.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein upon execution of the instructions the data processing apparatus further performs operations comprising:
 transmitting the data packets based on the prioritization scheme.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein upon execution of the instructions the data processing apparatus further performs operations comprising:
 determining whether a network threshold usage has been exceeded by the transmission of data packets from the network traffic streams; and   wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:   in response to determining that the network threshold usage has been exceeded, disrupting the transmission of data packets from a first one of the network traffic streams having a priority that is lower than a priority of a second one of the network traffic streams.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 dropping data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 delaying data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 allocating network bandwidth to a first one of the network traffic streams having a priority that is higher than a priority of a second one of the network traffic streams prior to allocation of network bandwidth to the second one of the network traffic streams independent of an order in which the data packets from the first and second network traffic streams are received.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein determining one or more priorities of the network traffic streams comprises:
 identifying the prioritization scheme, the prioritization scheme specifying a prioritization of each of the one or more classifications and the reputations.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein upon execution of the instructions the data processing apparatus further performs operations comprising:
 allocating network bandwidth to each of the network traffic streams based on a first allocation scheme;   determining whether a network threshold usage has been exceeded by transmission of data packets from the network traffic streams; and   in response to determining that the network threshold usage has been exceeded, allocating the network bandwidth based the prioritization scheme, wherein the prioritization scheme is different from the first allocation scheme.   
     
     
         17 . A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by a data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations, comprising:
 receiving data in each of a plurality of classes;   for each of the plurality of classes, identifying class features for the class based on features of the data in the class;   receiving a plurality of network traffic streams, the network traffic streams comprising data packets communicated between sender devices and recipient devices;   identifying characteristics of the data packets;   for each of the data packets, comparing the characteristics of the data packet to the class features of the plurality of classes;   classifying, by one or more processors, each of the data packets into one or more classifications based on the comparison;   identifying reputations of originating or destination entities associated with the network traffic streams;   determining one or more priorities of the network traffic streams based on a prioritization scheme that is based on one or more of the reputations of the originating or destination entities and the one or more classifications of the data packets; and   transmitting the data packets based on the one more priorities of the network traffic streams.   
     
     
         18 . The computer storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 dropping data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         19 . The computer storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein transmitting the data packets comprises:
 delaying data packets from a network traffic stream from an originating entity having an identified reputation for originating spam.   
     
     
         20 . The computer storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein delaying data packets from a network traffic stream comprises:
 delaying the data packets having a specified characteristic based on the prioritization scheme.