JP4029708B2 - Router device and transfer control method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a router device that realizes efficient distributed processing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A configuration of a conventional router is shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, the router is configured by connecting a CPU 101 and interface cards 103 to 105 to a bus 102. Although a router configuration having three interface cards will be described here for ease of explanation, the number of interface cards may be arbitrary. When the interface cards 103 to 105 receive a packet from the external network, the interface card 103 to 105 transmits the packet to the CPU 101 using the bus 102. Receiving the packet, the CPU 101 activates a packet processing process, and searches for information necessary to transfer the packet, such as NextHop or an output interface card, using routing information created by a routing protocol or the like. Based on the search result of the routing information and the layer 2 information, the CPU 101 performs packet rewriting processing such as encapsulation, and transfers the packet to the interface cards 103 to 105 using the bus 102. The interface cards 103 to 105 that have received the packet from the CPU 101 perform queuing processing or the like if necessary, and output the packet to the network.
[0003]
Further, as patent documents disclosing techniques related to a router configured by a plurality of network interfaces, those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 shown below are known.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 7-202930 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-6-97965
[0005]
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-202930 as Patent Document 1, in a MAC bridge composed of a plurality of network interfaces, there is little degradation in performance due to access to the bus, memory contention, and information exchange between CPUs when referring to a table. A MAC bridge table management method for performing simple and efficient table management is disclosed.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the MAC bridge (1) includes a management CPU (202) and one or more network interfaces (203) having one or more ports (204). 201), each network interface individually registers the source MAC address of the received frame in the local MAC address table and also registers the source MAC address of the frame transferred from the other network interface. The local MAC address table is managed. In addition, by transferring each learning information to the master MAC address table (205) of the management CPU, the MAC address table information of the entire bridge is unified.
[0006]
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-97965 as Patent Document 2, a router having a plurality of network interfaces can increase the speed of routing processing regardless of the number of interfaces or communication traffic between networks. A relay control method has been proposed.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19, a plurality of network interfaces 320 in the router each have a filtering control unit 340 and a routing control unit 330, and the filtering control unit 340 is a terminal connected to its own network. The routing control unit 330 stores the address of the terminal and the interface number of the connected network interface as one set. By routing the communication between the networks using the table 331, the filtering processing capability and the routing process are not dependent on the number of network interfaces and the communication traffic between the networks. It is going to be able to improve the ability.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, in order to cope with the ever-increasing IP traffic, there is a very high need for routers with higher speed and higher capacity. However, in order to realize high speed and large capacity with the conventional router configuration, it is basically necessary to enhance hardware such as high speed and large capacity of CPU, bus and interface card. However, realization of high speed and large capacity by strengthening hardware has the problem that the cost is very high, and when using general-purpose products, only high speed and large capacity of the same level as other companies can be realized. is there. Therefore, there are cases where it is considered to change the router configuration and realize distributed processing by multiple CPUs, but design a router configuration that can be viewed as one router from the outside while realizing distributed processing by multiple CPUs. That is extremely difficult.
[0008]
In addition, how to share the functions installed on multiple interface cards and the functions installed on the management device that manages them can be used to manage the router itself while achieving efficient distributed processing. There is no invention disclosed as to whether such labor can be reduced.
That is, the invention described in the technical document 1 refers only to the table management method, and how to perform efficient packet transfer without causing access to the management CPU at the time of actual packet transfer. It is not described whether it will be realized.
The invention described in the technical document 2 does not disclose how to efficiently update the routing table provided in each network interface when the routing information is updated.
[0009]
In addition, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above include a plurality of network interfaces, and each performs distributed processing. Therefore, feedback occurs during packet transfer, causing delay in packet transfer. Have the problem.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and realizes a scalable router configuration that can be handled as one router from the outside while performing efficient distributed processing, and realizes high speed and large capacity router An object is to provide an apparatus and a transfer control method.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve such an object, the invention according to claim 1 is a router device having a plurality of interface cards and a management control means for managing the plurality of interface cards, wherein the plurality of interface cards are received. The data is recorded, the interface control means for determining whether the data is addressed to itself or the data to be transferred to another interface card, and the interface control means transfers the data to the other interface card. When data transfer determined to be data is received, the interface card of the data transfer destination is determined with reference to the first management table for managing the data transmission destination, and the interface card of the determined transfer destination Transfer control means for transferring data to When the data received from the outside of the apparatus is other than the protocol packet, the received transfer control means determines the interface control means of the data transfer destination based on the first management table and receives the transfer The interface control means on the transmission side receives the above data. On the network It is characterized by outputting.
[0012]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the management control means that has received the data determined to be addressed to itself from the interface control means is provided when the data is a routing protocol. The content of the second management table for managing the transmission destination of data is updated, and the routing information is updated by transferring to the transfer control means in the plurality of interface cards.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the interface control means, when the layer 2 source address of the received data is an unlearned layer 2 source address, In addition to registering in the held layer 2 address management table, update information is notified to the transfer control means in the interface card and the interface control means in the other interface card, and the layer 2 address management table in the router apparatus is updated. It is characterized by performing.
[0015]
Claim 4 The described invention is claimed. 1 to 3 In the invention described in any one of the above, data transfer between the plurality of interface cards and the management control means is performed by a crossbar switch arranged on the bus.
[0016]
Claim 5 The invention described is a transfer control method in a router apparatus having a plurality of interface cards and management control means for managing the plurality of interface cards, and records received data in the interface card on the receiving side. And a first determination step for determining whether the data is addressed to itself or data to be transferred to another interface card, and a first management table for managing the transmission destination of the data. Referring to the first transfer for determining the transfer destination of the data determined to be the data to be transferred to another interface card in the first determination step, and transferring the data to the determined interface card of the transfer destination And having a process When the data received from the outside of the apparatus is other than the protocol packet, the received interface card determines the interface card of the data transfer destination based on the first management table, and the interface card on the transmission side that has received the transfer is , The above data It outputs on the network.
[0017]
Claim 6 The described invention is claimed. 5 In the described invention, the data determined to be the data addressed to itself by the first determination step is transferred to the management control means to determine whether the data is a routing protocol, and the data is a routing protocol. If it is, the routing information that updates the recorded information of the second management table managed by the management control means, in which the data transmission destination is registered, and updates the routing information by transferring to the plurality of interface cards It has the update process, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
[0018]
Claim 7 The described invention is claimed. 5 or 6 In the described invention, in the interface card, a second determination step of determining whether or not the layer 2 transmission source address of the received data is an unlearned layer 2 transmission source address, and an unlearned layer 2 transmission source A notification step of registering in the layer 2 address management table managed by the interface card if it is an address, notifying update information to other interface cards, and updating the layer 2 address management table in the router device; It is characterized by having.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments according to the router device and the transfer control method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 16 show an embodiment according to a router device and a transfer control method of the present invention.
[0021]
[First Embodiment]
First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 1 and a plurality of interface cards 3 (in FIG. 1, three interface cards 3-1, 3-2, 3- 3 is connected to the bus 2, but the number of interface cards may be arbitrary as shown in FIG. The interface cards 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3 are interface controllers 5-1 and 5-2 for realizing packet input / output with CPUs 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 for realizing distributed processing. , 5-3. Here, for ease of explanation, a configuration in which one CPU 4 and one interface controller 5 are mounted on the interface card 3 will be described, but the number of CPUs 4 and interface controllers 5 may be arbitrary. It is also possible to share the CPU 4 with a plurality of interface cards 3 as shown in FIG.
[0022]
The CPU 1 managing the entire router can communicate with the CPUs 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and the interface controllers 5-1, 5-2, 5-3 via the bus 2. Further, the CPU 1 has a database in which routing information is registered.
[0023]
The bus 2 connects each part of the router so that the CPUs 1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and the interface controllers 5-1, 5-2, 5-3 can communicate with each other. In addition, dedicated hardware such as a crossbar switch is arranged on the bus 2, thereby realizing packet transfer. By using dedicated hardware such as a crossbar switch, low-speed and high-speed in-device connection can be realized. Here, the bus is expressed as a single bus that represents the function of connecting the inside of the apparatus. However, in practice, the bus may be configured for different purposes such as packet transfer and inter-CPU communication.
[0024]
The CPU 4 that performs packet transfer is connected to the bus 2 and the interface controller 5 (CPU 4-1 and interface controller 5-1, CPU 4-2 and interface controller 5-2, CPU 4-3 and interface controller 5-3). It is possible to communicate with the CPU 1, the other CPU 4, and the interface controllers 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3. Each of the CPUs 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 in the plurality of interface cards has routing information, an address used in layer 2 (hereinafter referred to as layer 2 information), a correspondence relationship between the IP address and layer 2 information. And a management table for managing information indicating.
[0025]
The interface controller 5 is connected to the bus 2 and the CPU 4 (interface controller 5-1 and CPU 4-1, interface controller 5-2 and CPU 4-2, interface controller 5-3 and CPU 4-3), and receives from the outside. The transferred packet is transferred to the CPUs 1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and other interface controllers 5. Further, it has a function of performing processing such as queuing on the packets received from the CPUs 1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and other interface controllers 5 and outputting them to the outside. Each interface controller 5-1, 5-2, 5-3 has a layer 2 table for managing layer 2 information. The layer 2 table is a table in which data used when transferring (forwarding) a layer 2 frame is recorded. In order to determine an output destination port and a frame format from a MAC address and VLAN (Virtual LAN) information. used.
[0026]
This embodiment having the above configuration realizes efficient distributed processing by optimally sharing the functions between the functions installed on the plurality of interface cards and the functions installed on the management device managing these. However, an object is to realize a router device that reduces the time and effort required to manage the router itself.
[0027]
For this reason, the present embodiment records the received data on the plurality of interface cards 3 and determines whether the data is addressed to itself or data to be transferred to another interface card. When the interface controller 5 receives the transfer of the data determined to be transferred to another interface card by the interface controller 5, the transfer is performed with reference to the routing information in the management table for managing the transmission destination of the data. A CPU 4 that determines the previous interface card 3 and transfers data to the determined transfer destination interface card 3 is provided.
[0028]
Further, the CPU 1 that manages the entire router apparatus determines whether or not the packet that is determined to be a protocol packet by the interface controller 5 is a routing protocol. In addition to updating, the routing information is transferred to the CPUs 4 in the plurality of interface cards 3 to update the routing information in the management table. The protocol packet refers to a packet such as an application protocol such as TELNET or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) addressed to its own router, or a routing protocol such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path Routing) or RIP (Routing Information Protocol). A packet whose destination address and IP address are addressed to its own router.
[0029]
By using the router device having such a configuration, when transferring a packet, the CPU 4 on the input side selects the interface controller 5 that is the data output destination, and transfers the data to the selected interface controller 5 for layer 2 By performing processing such as processing and outputting to the outside, packet transfer is realized only by the interface controller 5 and the CPU 4 provided in the interface card 3, and the entire router device that has been a problem in the conventional router device is managed. The load on the CPU 1 can be reduced.
[0030]
Further, only when the received data is a protocol packet, the data is transmitted to the CPU 1 that manages the entire data. When the data is a routing protocol, the recorded contents of the database are updated, and a plurality of interface cards 3 are stored. By transferring the routing information to the CPU 4 and updating the routing information in the management table, a router device having a plurality of CPUs can be handled in the same manner as a router device having a single conventional CPU. It is possible to reduce the trouble of managing the router device when setting up the network.
[0031]
Next, a more detailed operation of the components of the router device will be described.
First, the operation procedure of the interface controller 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
Router device The interface card 3 that has received the data transferred from the outside (step S401 / YES) stores the received data in the interface controller 5 (step S402). Next, the layer 2 destination address and transmission source address of the received data are confirmed (step S403).
[0032]
When the transmission source address is an unlearned address (there is a transmission source address that requires changing the layer 2 information) (step S404 / YES), the transmission source address is registered in the layer 2 table held by the interface controller 5. (Step S405). Further, the interface controller 5 notifies the learned layer 2 information to the CPU 4 and other interface controllers 5 in the own card via the bus 2 (step S406). Further, the layer 2 information notified in this case is only the layer 2 information that has been changed.
[0033]
If the layer 2 destination address of the received data is the address of the router itself (step S407 / YES), the interface controller 5 determines whether the packet is a protocol packet (step S409). For example, a filter can be used as the determination method.
[0034]
If the packet is a protocol packet (step S409 / YES), the packet is transferred to the CPU 1 (step S410). The CPU 1 that has received the protocol packet processes the packet in accordance with the procedure determined by the protocol in the same manner as a CPU mounted on a conventional router. In particular, when the protocol packet is a routing protocol, a change is made to a database storing routing information as necessary, and the changed routing information is distributed to other interface cards.
[0035]
If the packet is not a protocol packet (step S409 / NO), the packet is transferred to the CPU 4 in the own card (step S411). The CPU 4 receiving the packet determines the output destination interface controller using the routing information and the layer 2 information held in the management table, and transfers the packet subjected to the processing such as encapsulation to the corresponding interface controller.
[0036]
Next, processing when data is transferred from another interface card 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
When the interface controller 5 receives data transfer from another interface card 3 (step S501), the interface controller 5 determines whether the data is a transfer packet (step S502). If the data is a transfer packet (step S502 / YES), the packet is subjected to processing such as layer 2 processing and queuing (step S503) and output to the outside (step S504). If the data is layer 2 information (step S505 / YES), the notified address information is registered in the layer 2 information held in the layer 2 table (step S506), and the layer 2 information is stored in the CPU 4. Information is notified (step S507).
[0037]
Next, the overall operation of the present embodiment will be described by dividing it into three processes, ie, layer 3 or higher protocol processing, layer 2 address learning processing, and packet transfer processing. First, the protocol processing of layer 3 and higher will be described with reference to FIG. Here, for ease of explanation, the interface card 3-1 is described as having received a protocol packet, but the interface card that receives the protocol packet is not limited to 3-1.
[0038]
The interface card 3-1 ((1) shown in FIG. 6) that has received a protocol packet such as a routing protocol from the outside stores the packet in the interface controller 5-1. Next, the interface controller 5-1 confirms the layer 2 destination address of the received packet ((2) shown in FIG. 6). When the layer 2 destination address is its own address (router address), it is determined whether the packet is a protocol packet ((3) shown in FIG. 6). The packet determination method can be performed using a filter, for example. The interface controller 5-1, which has determined that the stored packet is a protocol packet, transfers the packet to the CPU 1 using the bus 2 ((4) shown in FIG. 6). The CPU 1 that has received the protocol packet processes the packet in accordance with the procedure determined by the protocol in the same manner as the CPU mounted on the conventional router. In particular, when the protocol packet is a routing protocol, a database storing routing information is updated as necessary.
[0039]
Here, processing when routing information is updated will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 1 that has updated the routing information distributes the routing information to the CPUs 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3 using the update as a trigger. In a large-scale network, routing information to be distributed may be large-scale. Depending on the configuration of the bus 2, the bus may be occupied during the distribution of large-scale routing information. In such a case, a method of dividing the routing information and distributing it is taken. Shall.
[0040]
Returning to FIG. 6, the protocol processing will be described. When a response is required for the received protocol packet, the CPU 1 creates a response packet on the CPU 1 (<5> shown in FIG. 6), and then transmits the packet to the interface controller 5-1 using the bus 2. ((6) shown in FIG. 6). The interface controller 5-1 that has received the packet performs necessary processing such as queuing, and then outputs the packet to the outside ((7) shown in FIG. 6).
[0041]
Next, the learning process of the layer 2 address will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, for ease of explanation, the interface card 3-1 is described as having received a frame. However, the interface card that receives the frame is not limited to 3-1 here.
[0042]
The interface card 3-1 that has received the layer 2 frame stores the frame in the interface controller 5-1 ((1) shown in FIG. 8). At that time, the interface controller 5-1 checks the transmission source address of the frame ((2) shown in FIG. 8), and if it is an unlearned transmission source address, the layer 2 held by the interface controller 5-1 It is registered in the table ((3) shown in FIG. 8). Further, the interface controller 5-1 notifies the learned layer 2 information to the CPU 4-1 and the other interface controllers 5-2 and 5-3 in the own card 3 using the bus 2 (shown in FIG. 8). (4)). The interface controllers 5-2 and 5-3 that have received the layer 2 information register the notified layer 2 information in the layer 2 table ((5) shown in FIG. 8), and then the CPUs 4-2 and 4-3. Layer 2 information is notified to (6) shown in FIG.
[0043]
Next, packet transfer processing will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, for ease of explanation, the interface card 3-1 is described as having received a protocol packet. However, the interface card that receives the packet is not limited to 3-1 here.
[0044]
The interface card 3-1 that has received the packet stores the packet in the interface controller 5-1 ((1) shown in FIG. 9). The interface controller 5-1, which has confirmed that the layer 2 destination address is a router address, determines whether it is a packet to be transferred to another interface controller 5-2 or 5-3 or a protocol packet to be transferred to the CPU 1. ((2) shown in FIG. 9). This determination method can be performed using a filter, for example. The interface controller 5-1, which has determined that the stored packet is to be transferred to another interface controller 5, transfers the packet to the CPU 4-1 ((3) shown in FIG. 9). The CPU 4-1 that has received the packet from the interface controller 5-1 determines an output destination interface controller using the routing information and the layer 2 information held in the management table. In this operation example, it is assumed that the output destination interface card is 3-2 for convenience of explanation. The CPU 4-1 performs processing such as encapsulation (<4> shown in FIG. 9) and then transfers the packet to the interface controller 5-2 (<5> shown in FIG. 9). Upon receiving the packet, the interface controller 5-2 performs processing such as layer 2 processing and queuing necessary for output ((6) shown in FIG. 9), and then outputs the packet (shown in FIG. 9). (7)). In the above, the transfer process is performed by the CPU. However, by notifying the interface controller of information held by the CPU, the transfer process can be performed only by hardware without using the CPU.
[0045]
As described above, this embodiment can realize a scalable router configuration that can be handled as a single router from the user while performing efficient distributed processing, and can realize high-speed and large-capacity routers.
[0046]
[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the present embodiment, the configuration range of a VLAN (Virtual LAN) is limited to each interface card. The configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 1 as in the first embodiment, but the operation is different. The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0047]
As in the first embodiment, the protocol processing, the layer 2 address learning processing, and the packet transfer processing will be described separately. However, the protocol processing is the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0048]
Regarding the learning process of the layer 2 address, the VLAN configuration range is limited to the interface card unit, so the layer 2 information is not notified to other interface cards. Therefore, an apparatus configuration that does not exchange layer 2 information can be realized.
[0049]
An operation procedure related to packet transfer will be described with reference to FIG. Here, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that the interface card 3-1 has received a protocol packet. However, the interface card that receives the packet is not limited to 3-1.
[0050]
The interface card 3-1 that has received the packet stores the packet in the interface controller 5-1 ((1) shown in FIG. 10). The interface controller 5-1, which has confirmed that the layer 2 destination address is a router address, determines whether it is a packet to be transferred to another interface controller 5-2 or 5-3 or a protocol packet to be transferred to the CPU 1. ((2) shown in FIG. 10). This determination method can be performed using a filter, for example. The interface controller 5-1, which has determined that the stored packet is to be transferred to another interface controller, transfers the packet to the CPU 4-1 ((3) shown in FIG. 10). The CPU 4-1 receiving the packet from the interface controller 5-1 determines the output destination interface controller using the routing information held in the management table (<4> shown in FIG. 10). In this operation example, it is assumed that the output destination interface card is 3-2 for convenience of explanation. The CPU 4-2 that has received the packet ((5) shown in FIG. 10) from the CPU 4-1 performs processing such as packet encapsulation ((6) shown in FIG. 10) using the layer 2 information. After the execution, the packet is transferred to the interface controller 5-2 ((7) shown in FIG. 10). The interface controller 5-2 performs processing such as layer 2 processing and queuing necessary for output ((8) shown in FIG. 10), and then outputs a packet ((9) shown in FIG. 10). .
[0051]
As described above, a packet structure based on distributed processing can be realized without sharing layer 2 information between interface cards, and a router structure that operates as one router from the outside can be realized. As in the above-described embodiment, the information held by the CPU is notified to the interface controller so that the transfer process can be performed only by hardware without using the CPU.
[0052]
Here, the packet transfer when the correspondence between the IP address and the layer 2 address is not cached is compared between the case where the VLAN configuration range is not limited to the interface card unit and the case where it is limited. 11 to 15 show the packet transfer procedure. In FIG. 11 to FIG. 15, the input / output ports of each interface card are described in the interface card in order to facilitate the explanation of packet transfer. First, a case where the VLAN configuration range is not limited to interface cards will be described.
The router receives a packet to be transferred to another interface controller (hereinafter referred to as a transfer packet) from the port 1 of the interface card 3-1 ((1) shown in FIG. 11) and transfers it to the CPU 4-1. ((2) shown in FIG. 11).
[0053]
Upon receiving the packet transfer, the CPU 4-1 searches the management table and detects the output destination of the packet from the layer 2 information and the routing information. Here, the output destination is, for example, the VLAN set as the third, and the third VLAN is accommodated in both the interface cards 3-2 and 3-3. That is, the CPU 4-1 can detect the IP address of the NextHop router from the layer 2 information and the routing information, but it is determined which port of the interface card 3-2 or 3-3 is the router connected to. I don't know.
[0054]
The CPU 4-1 requests the CPU 4-2 and 4-3 for ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) in order to detect which interface card the NextHop router is connected to and the layer 2 address (see FIG. 11). (3) shown). Upon receiving the request, the CPUs 4-2 and 4-3 output the ARP request packet to each port connected to the interface card and wait for the ARP response packet to return from the Next Hop router (▲ shown in FIG. 11). 4 ▼). Here, it is assumed that a response packet is returned from the port 3 of the interface card 3-3. The interface controller 5-3 returns the received ARP response packet to the CPU 4-3 ((5) shown in FIG. 12). Further, the CPU 4-3 notifies the CPU 4-1 that the ARP response packet has been received ((6) shown in FIG. 12). The CPU 4-1 receiving the notification of receiving the ARP response packet transfers the packet to the CPU 4-3 (<7> shown in FIG. 13) and outputs it to the port 3 of the interface card by the interface controller 5-3 ( (8) shown in FIG.
[0055]
In this way, when a packet is transmitted to an unlearned partner, feedback is generated from the output side interface card to the input side interface card. That is, the CPU 4-1 on the input side has to keep holding the packet until receiving the notification of receiving the ARP response packet after receiving the packet, and has a disadvantage that it takes time to transfer the packet. The CPU 4-3 that has received the ARP response packet determines that the learned content (the corresponding IP address is connected to the interface card 3-3 and has the layer 2 address described in the ARP response). Notify the CPU, that is, all the CPUs have the same ARP table.
[0056]
Next, packet transfer when the VLAN configuration range is limited to interface cards will be described.
The operation is the same as that described above until the CPU 4-1 receiving the packet transfer searches the management table and detects the packet output destination from the routing information and the layer 2 information. Here, since a restriction is imposed on the apparatus that one VLAN can be stored only in one interface card, a VLAN that is a packet output destination is not stored in a plurality of interface cards. In addition, the routing information registered in the management table describes which VLAN is stored in which interface card.
[0057]
The CPU 4-1 uses ARP to detect which interface card port the NextHop router is connected to, and its layer 2 address, but limits the VLAN configuration range to interface card units. Therefore, the packet can be transferred to the VLAN as the output destination before receiving the notification of the reception of the ARP response packet ((3) shown in FIG. 14). In this case, it is assumed that the interface card 3-3 stores a VLAN as an output destination. The CPU 4-3 that has received the packet searches the management table to determine whether or not the correspondence between the IP address and the layer 2 address is cached. If it is determined that there is no entry, the packet is transferred to the NextHop router. The ARP request packet is output to each port at (4) shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that an ARP response packet is received from the port 3 connected to the interface card 3-3. The interface controller 5-3 that has received the ARP response packet returns the received packet to the CPU 4-3 ((5) shown in FIG. 15). Upon receiving the ARP response packet, the CPU 4-3 outputs the packet to the detected port via the interface controller 5-3, so that the packet is transferred to the NextHop router ((6) shown in FIG. 16). ).
[0058]
Thus, by limiting the VLAN configuration range to the interface card unit, no feedback is generated from the output CPU to the input CPU, and packets can be transferred at higher speed.
[0059]
The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0060]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, the present invention records received data on a plurality of interface cards, and whether the data is addressed to itself or data to be transferred to another interface card. When receiving the interface control means for determining whether there is data and the transfer of the data determined to be transferred to another interface card by the interface control means, a first management table for managing the transmission destination of the data is displayed. A transfer control means for determining a data transfer destination interface card and transferring the data to the determined transfer destination interface card.
[0061]
Further, the management control means for managing the entire router device determines whether the packet determined to be a protocol packet by the interface control means is a routing protocol. In addition to updating the contents, a function of transferring routing information to transfer control means in a plurality of interface cards to update the routing information is provided.
[0062]
With the router device having such a configuration, when transferring a packet, the transfer control unit on the input side selects the interface control unit as the data output destination, and the data is transferred to the selected interface control unit. By outputting to the outside, packet transfer is realized only by the interface control means and the transfer control means provided in the interface card, and the load on the CPU for managing the entire router device which has been a problem in the router device of the conventional configuration is reduced. It can be reduced.
[0063]
In addition, when the received data is a protocol packet, the data is transmitted to a management control means that manages the whole. When the data is a routing protocol, the data recorded in the database is updated and the data is stored in a plurality of interface cards. By transferring routing information and updating the routing table, it becomes possible to handle a router device having a plurality of CPUs in the same manner as a router device having a single conventional CPU. It is possible to reduce the trouble of managing the router device.
[0064]
Further, when a transfer of data whose correspondence between the IP address and the layer 2 destination address is not recorded in the first management table is received, the interface card including the VLAN set as the transfer destination of the data is set to the first By detecting the data by referring to the management table and transferring the data to the interface card, the transfer control means on the input side does not know the interface card that is the data output destination, and inquires the other interface card for the data output destination. Such a feedback operation can be prevented, and data transfer can be realized with a minimum delay.
[0065]
Also, data transfer between the plurality of interface cards and the management control means is performed by a crossbar switch arranged on the bus, so that a plurality of CPUs can be connected by inexpensive and high-speed in-device connection.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the router device.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the router device.
4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the interface controller 5. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the interface controller 5;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the router device.
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional router device.
FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional router device.
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional router device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 CPU
2 buses
3-1, 3-2, 3-3 Interface card
4-1, 4-2, 4-3 CPU
5-1, 5-2, 5-3 Interface controller

Claims (7)

A router device having a plurality of interface cards and a management control means for managing the plurality of interface cards,
The plurality of interface cards are:
Interface control means for recording the received data and determining whether the data is addressed to itself or data to be transferred to another interface card;
When receiving the transfer of the data determined to be transferred to another interface card by the interface control means, the interface of the transfer destination of the data with reference to the first management table for managing the transmission destination of the data Transfer control means for determining a card and transferring the data to the determined transfer destination interface card;
Have
When the data received from the outside of the apparatus is other than the protocol packet, the received transfer control means determines the data transfer destination interface control means based on the first management table, and the interface on the transmitting side that has received the transfer The control device outputs the data on a network .   The management control means that has received the data determined to be addressed to itself from the interface control means, the management control means, when the data is a routing protocol, the second management for managing the data transmission destination 2. The router device according to claim 1, wherein the contents recorded in the table are updated, and the routing information is updated by transferring to the transfer control means in the plurality of interface cards.   When the layer 2 source address of the received data is an unlearned layer 2 source address, the interface control means registers it in the layer 2 address management table held by itself and transfers it in the interface card. 3. The router apparatus according to claim 1, wherein update information is notified to the control means and the interface control means in another interface card, and the layer 2 address management table in the router apparatus is updated. Wherein a plurality of interface cards, data transfer between the management control unit, the router apparatus according to any one of claims 1 3, characterized in that is carried out by the cross bar switch placed on the bus. A transfer control method in a router device having a plurality of interface cards, and a management control means for managing the plurality of interface cards,
In the interface card on the receiving side,
A first determination step of recording the received data and determining whether the data is addressed to itself or to be transferred to another interface card;
Referring to the first management table for managing the data transmission destination, the transfer destination of the data determined as the data to be transferred to the other interface card in the first determination step is determined, and the determined A first transfer step of transferring the data to a transfer destination interface card,
When the data received from the outside of the apparatus is other than the protocol packet, the received interface card determines the interface card of the data transfer destination based on the first management table, and the interface card on the transmitting side that has received the transfer is A transfer control method comprising outputting the data on a network. The data determined to be addressed to itself by the first determination step is transferred to the management control means to determine whether the data is a routing protocol, and the data is a routing protocol If there is a routing, the data transmission destination is registered, the recorded contents of the second management table managed by the management control means are updated, and the routing information is transferred to the plurality of interface cards to update the routing information. 6. The transfer control method according to claim 5 , further comprising an information update step. In the interface card,
A second determination step of determining whether the layer 2 source address of the received data is an unlearned layer 2 source address;
When it is an unlearned layer 2 source address, it is registered in the layer 2 address management table managed by the interface card, and update information is notified to other interface cards, and the layer 2 address management table in the router device A notification process for updating
7. The transfer control method according to claim 5 or 6 , characterized by comprising:

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