WO2017012471A1

WO2017012471A1 - Load balance processing method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2017012471A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/088798
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王翠; 孟伟; 陈然; 黄孙亮
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2015-07-20
Filing date: 2016-07-06
Publication date: 2017-01-26
Also published as: CN106375355B; CN106375355A

Abstract

Disclosed are a load balance processing method and apparatus. The method comprises: a node receiving a load balance parameter sent by a controller; and upon receiving service traffic to be processed, the node conducting load balance processing on the service traffic according to the load balance parameter. The problem of how to perform load balance processing on a service in the relevant art is solved, and the load balance processing can be performed via a load balance parameter.

Description

Load balancing processing method and device

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a load balancing processing method and apparatus.

Background technique

At present, a service function chain (SFC) is proposed, which integrates all services and virtualizes the Service overlay layer to form its own service topology, which is decoupled from the underlying network and is no longer restricted by the underlying network structure. FIG. 1 is an architectural diagram of a service function chain according to the related art, as shown in FIG. 1. Then, the business path through which the traffic passes is determined by the SFC. The service function chain adds different SFCs to different types of traffic by adding identifiers to each SFC and classifying traffic. That is, different service chains can be implemented for different traffic to achieve differentiated requirements.

For a service function group with the same service function, you need to have the device that supports the load balancing function on the front end. Perform some algorithms on the traffic to make the traffic be distributed to the service function group reasonably. For some low-demand services, it is recommended to use a simple load balancing algorithm to implement load balancing between service function groups. For some TCP/UDP services, you need to use a load balancing algorithm for TCP/UDP to implement service function groups. Load balancing; for high-demand services, when the processing traffic is too large, you need to dynamically add corresponding service functions to offload the traffic to implement traffic sharing for these service function groups. When the processing traffic decreases, you need to dynamically reduce the corresponding traffic. The service function group saves resources; at the same time, for some traffic, it is required to keep the original connection of the traffic unchanged while dynamically adding/removing service functions;

At the same time, we find that there are many load balancing algorithms, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The algorithms can include:

Static algorithm (Static algorithm): Specify multiple IPs for a server: PORT, always return the first server of the server group, and return the available servers when the first server is unavailable;

Random algorithm (Random algorithm): According to the random algorithm Rand, randomly select a server, each server has the same hit rate;

Polling algorithm (Round-robin algorithm): typical egalitarianism, idx=(idx+1)%M, consistent with the principle of random algorithm, the hit rate is the same for each server; however, the same request will be dropped On the server;

Hash algorithm (Hash algorithm): Also called the remainder algorithm, hash_key is hashed as the key value, and then the remainder is selected to select a server to connect; the specific algorithm is idx=hash(query_key)%M; this algorithm is simple, the data The dispersion is good, but when adding or removing servers, the remainder will change, so you can't get the same server as before;

CARP algorithm (Cache Array Routing Protocol): Cache group routing protocol. Calculate the idx_key=hash(query_key+server_idx) of all servers, where the server_idx with the largest idx_key is the required idx server; the algorithm is relatively complicated, but when a server is added or deleted, it will not cause the server to be re-created. select;

Consistent hash algorithm: first calculate the hash value of the server, and configure it to a circle of 0~2^23, and then use the same method to find the hash value of the stored data, and Map to the circle. Then start the clockwise search from the location where the data is mapped, save the data to the first server found, if it still cannot find the server beyond 2^23, it will be saved to the first server. The specific algorithm idx=FirstMaxServerIdx(hash(query_key)). The consistency hash algorithm is suitable for each node to save only part of the data, unlike the previous algorithms, each server holds all the data. The advantage of this is that it can map the server to an interval, and this interval will include a certain number of object hash values. If a server is removed, the interval it maps to is hosted by the server adjacent to the removed server, and all other servers are unchanged; that is, the consistent hash algorithm minimizes the key on the list of service nodes. Redistribution

Least connection method: The load balancer records all current active links, and sends the next new request to the server that currently has the least number of connections; this algorithm is for TCP connections; however, the consumption of system resources may vary greatly due to different applications. However, the number of connections does not reflect the actual application load, so when using a heavy-duty Web server as a cluster server, the algorithm will be less effective in load balancing;

Fastest response method: The load balancer records its own network response time to each server and assigns the incoming connection request to the server with the shortest response time. This method requires active detection using ICMP packets or UDP packet-based proprietary technologies. Each server.

In the current network, different load balancing algorithms are selected when load balancing occurs on the service function chain. However, the load balancer does not know which algorithm to use as the load balancing algorithm for the corresponding service.

An effective solution has not been proposed for the problem of how to load balance the service in the related art.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present invention provide a load balancing processing method and apparatus to solve at least the problem of how to perform load balancing processing on services in the related art.

According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a load balancing processing method is provided, including: a node receiving a load balancing parameter sent by a controller; and the node performing load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Further, the node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter, where: when the node is a node that supports a load balancing function, when receiving the service traffic to be processed, the The node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter; or, in a case where the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function, the node uses the metadata to load the load balancing parameter. And the node that supports the load balancing function, when the node supporting the load balancing function receives the traffic to be processed, performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Further, after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller, the method further includes: the node configuring the load balancing parameter.

Further, the method further includes: when the node configuration is successful, the node sends a configuration success message to the controller; if the node configuration fails, the node is to the controller Send configuration failure message.

Further, in the case that the node is a node supporting a load balancing function, before the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller, the method further includes: the node receiving the controller pair a request message for querying the load balancing parameter; the node sending a response message to the controller according to the request message, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter supported by the node, the response message And determining, by the controller, the optimal load balancing parameter according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, and the received load balancing parameter that is received by the node, and sending the parameter to the node, where The optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to a service characteristic.

Further, the load balancing parameter carries one or more of a load balancing algorithm and a load balancing algorithm identifier for performing load balancing processing.

Further, the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller by using one of the following methods: OpenFlow Openflow Protocol, Network Configuration Protocol (Netconf Protocol), Simple Network Management Protocol (Simple Network Management Protocol) , referred to as the SNMP protocol, the Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS), and the Location-ID Separation Protocol (LISP).

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a load balancing processing method is provided, including: a controller determining a load balancing parameter; the controller transmitting the load balancing parameter to a node, where the load balancing parameter is used by the controller The node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Further, after the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, the method further includes: the controller receiving a configuration success message or a configuration failure message sent by the node.

Further, before the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, the method further includes: when the node is a node supporting a load balancing function, the controller sends a message to the node The load balancing parameter is used to query the request message; the controller receives the response message sent by the node, where the response message carries the load balancing parameter supported by the node.

Further, the determining, by the controller, the load balancing parameter includes: determining, by the controller, the optimal load balancing according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, in combination with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node. a parameter, and a load balancing parameter sent to the node, wherein the optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to a service characteristic.

Further, the controller sends the load balancing parameters to the node by one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, and LISP protocol.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a load balancing processing apparatus is further provided, which is applied to a node, including: a first receiving module, configured to receive a load balancing parameter sent by a controller; and a load balancing module configured to The load balancing parameter performs load balancing processing on service traffic.

Further, the load balancing module includes: a load balancing unit configured to: when the node is a node supporting a load balancing function, when receiving the traffic to be processed, according to the load balancing parameter The service traffic is load-balanced; or the delivery unit is configured to transmit the load balancing parameter to the node supporting the load balancing function by means of metadata in a case where the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function. The node that supports the load balancing function performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter when receiving the service traffic to be processed.

Further, the device further includes: a configuration module, configured to configure the load balancing parameter after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller.

Further, the device further includes: a first sending module, configured to send a configuration success message to the controller if the node configuration is successful; and the second sending module is configured to fail in the node configuration In the case, a configuration failure message is sent to the controller.

Further, the device further includes: a second receiving module, configured to receive, when the node is a node supporting a load balancing function, a request message that the controller queries the load balancing parameter; a sending module, configured to send a response message to the controller according to the request message, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter supported by the node, where the response message is used by the controller according to the service The load balancing parameter required by the service of the function chain, combined with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, determines an optimal load balancing parameter, and sends the parameter to the node, where the optimal load balancing parameter A load balancing parameter that matches the service is selected according to the service characteristics.

Further, the first receiving module is further configured to receive load balancing parameters sent by the controller by using one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, and LISP protocol.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a load balancing processing apparatus is further provided, which is applied to a controller, including: a determining module, configured to determine a load balancing parameter; and a sending parameter module, configured to send the And a load balancing parameter, where the load balancing parameter is used by the node to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter when receiving the service traffic to be processed.

Further, the apparatus further includes: a third receiving module, configured to receive a configuration success message or a configuration failure message sent by the node.

Further, the device further includes: a fourth sending module, configured to send, to the node, a request message for querying the load balancing parameter, where the node is a node supporting a load balancing function; The receiving module is configured to receive a response message sent by the node, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter that is supported by the node.

Further, the determining module includes: a selection determining unit, configured to be required according to a service of the service function chain The load balancing parameter is combined with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node to determine an optimal load balancing parameter, and is sent to the node, where the optimal load balancing parameter is selected according to service characteristics. The load balancing parameters of the service match.

Further, the sending parameter module is further configured to send the load balancing parameter to the node by one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, LISP protocol.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller; when receiving the service traffic to be processed, the node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter, and solves related technologies. In the problem of how to load balance the service, load balancing can be performed through load balancing parameters.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are intended to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are intended to be a part of the invention. In the drawing:

1 is an architectural diagram of a service function chain according to the related art;

2 is a flowchart 1 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a second flowchart of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a block diagram 1 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a second block diagram of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic diagram of implementing load balancing related parameters based on a TLV format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment 1 based on an Openflow protocol extension according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment 2 extended based on an Openflow protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment based on the Netconf protocol extension according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 4 extended according to the Netconf protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a service function chain packet header carrying load balancing related parameters according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a load balancing processing method, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart 1 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes:

Step S202, the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller;

Step S204: The node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Through the above steps, the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller; the node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter, and solves the problem of how to perform load balancing processing on the service in the related technology, which can be performed through load balancing parameters. Load balancing processing.

The load balancing processing of the service traffic by the node according to the load balancing parameter may include: when the node is a node supporting the load balancing function, when receiving the service traffic to be processed, the node is configured according to the load balancing parameter The service traffic is load-balanced; or, in the case that the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function, the node transmits the load balancing parameter to the node supporting the load balancing function by using the metadata, for the supporting load. When receiving the traffic to be processed, the node of the equalization function performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

In an optional embodiment, after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller, the node configures the load balancing parameter.

Further, in the case that the node configuration is successful, the node sends a configuration success message to the controller; if the node configuration fails, the node sends a configuration failure message to the controller.

The node receives the request message that the controller queries the load balancing parameter; the node sends a response message to the controller according to the request message, where the response message carries the load balancing parameter supported by the node, and the response message The load balancing parameter required by the controller according to the service of the service function chain, combined with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, determines an optimal load balancing parameter, and sends the optimal load balancing parameter to the node, where the most The optimal load balancing parameter is to select a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to the service characteristic.

Further, the foregoing node receives the load balancing parameters sent by the controller by using one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, and LISP protocol.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a load balancing processing method, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart 2 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes:

Step S302, the controller determines a load balancing parameter;

Step S304, the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, where the load balancing parameter is used by the node to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

In an optional embodiment, after the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, the controller receives a configuration success message or a configuration failure message sent by the node.

Before the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, in case the node is a node supporting the load balancing function, the controller sends a request message for querying the load balancing parameter to the node; the controller receives the node The response message sent, where the response message carries the load balancing parameter supported by the node.

The determining, by the controller, the load balancing parameter may include: determining, by the controller, the optimal load balancing parameter according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, and the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, and sending the The node, wherein the optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to a service characteristic.

The controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node by one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, and LISP protocol.

Further, the load balancing parameter carries the load balancing algorithm and/or the load balancing algorithm identifier for performing load balancing processing.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a load balancing processing apparatus, which is applied to a node. FIG. 4 is a block diagram 1 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the method includes:

The first receiving module 42 is configured to receive a load balancing parameter sent by the controller;

The load balancing module 44 is configured to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Further, the load balancing module includes: a load balancing unit configured to load the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter when the node is a node supporting the load balancing function, when receiving the service traffic to be processed Equalization processing; or, the delivery unit is configured to, when the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function, pass the load balancing parameter to the node supporting the load balancing function by means of metadata, for supporting load balancing When receiving the traffic to be processed, the function node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.

Further, the apparatus further includes: a configuration module, configured to configure the load balancing parameter after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller.

Further, the device further includes: a first sending module, configured to send a configuration success message to the controller if the node configuration is successful; and the second sending module is configured to, if the node configuration fails, to The controller sends a configuration failure message.

Further, the device further includes: a second receiving module, configured to receive, when the node is a node supporting a load balancing function, a request message that the controller queries the load balancing parameter; and a third sending module, And sending a response message to the controller according to the request message, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter supported by the node, where the response message is used for load balancing required by the controller according to the service of the service function chain. The parameter, in combination with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, determines an optimal load balancing parameter, and sends the parameter to the node, where the optimal load balancing parameter is selected according to the service characteristic to match the service. Load balancing parameters.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a load balancing processing device, which is applied to a controller. FIG. 5 is a block diagram 2 of a load balancing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes:

The determining module 52 is configured to determine a load balancing parameter, where the load balancing parameter carries a load balancing algorithm;

The sending parameter module 54 is configured to send the load balancing parameter to the node, where the load balancing parameter is used by the node to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing algorithm when receiving the service traffic to be processed.

Further, the device further includes: a fourth sending module, configured to send, to the node, a request message for querying the load balancing parameter, where the node is a node supporting a load balancing function; and a fourth receiving module, And configured to receive a response message sent by the node, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter supported by the node;

Further, the determining module includes: a selection determining unit configured to determine an optimal load balancing parameter according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, combined with the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, and send the And the node, wherein the optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to a service characteristic.

Further, the sending parameter module is further configured to send the load balancing parameter to the node by using one of the following methods: Openflow protocol, Netconf protocol, SNMP protocol, BGP-LS, and LISP protocol.

For the above-mentioned problems in the related art, the above-mentioned load balancing parameters are replaced by load balancing related parameters, and the node is a receiving device as an example, which is further described in conjunction with a specific alternative embodiment. The following optional embodiments combine the above-mentioned Alternative embodiments and alternative embodiments thereof.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing load balancing of a service function chain, where the method includes: the controller supports the delivery of load balancing related parameters; the receiving device supports the receiving of the load balancing related parameters, and according to the received correlation The parameter sets the load balancing related parameters, and/or notifies the device that needs to support the load balancing function to set the load balancing related parameters. When the device that supports the load balancing function receives the service traffic to be processed, the service traffic is loaded according to the configured algorithm. Balanced shunting.

Further, the controller delivers load balancing related parameters required by the service function chain according to the characteristics of the service in the service function chain.

Further, the controller supports querying load balancing related parameters of the receiving device.

Further, after receiving the query response from the supported load balancing related parameters of the receiving device, the controller needs to support the load balancing related parameter according to the service requirement of the service function chain, and the received receiving device supports the received The load balancing related parameters are selected and sent to the receiving device. For example, for load balancing of multiple NATs, the algorithm selected by the load balancer needs to support the same traffic to the same NAT. Instead of going to this NAT for a while, go to another NAT.

Further, the receiving device supports the query of the load balancing related parameter from the controller, and sends a response message to the controller according to the load balancing related parameter that is supported by the controller; further, the receiving device may be a classifier Classifier, and the service function is forwarded. Service Function Forwarder, any of the Service Function Service Functions.

Further, when the receiving device is a classifier classifier or a device that does not need to support the load balancing function, the classifier or the device that does not need to support the load balancing function may notify the load balancing related parameter to the required supporting load by using a metadata metadata manner. A device that balances functions, and the device further configures load balancing parameters according to the received parameters.

Further, when the receiving device is the device itself that needs to support the load balancing function, the configuration is performed according to the received load balancing related parameters.

Further, the controller can implement the load balancing related parameter delivery by extending the Openflow protocol, the Netconf protocol, the SNMP protocol, the BGP-LS, and the LISP protocol.

Further, the load balancing related parameters include information such as a load balancing algorithm and a load balancing algorithm identifier.

For the delivery of the load balancing related parameters, the load balancing algorithm is mainly deployed, and the embodiment of the present invention uses the TLV format to extend the message structure. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of implementing load balancing related parameters based on the TLV format according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, one byte (8-bit) is used to identify different load balancing algorithms, including but not limited to the following algorithms and identifiers:

0000 0001: identifies a static algorithm;

0000 0010: Identify a random algorithm;

0000 0011: identification polling algorithm;

0000 0100: identifies a hash algorithm;

0000 0101: Identify the CARP algorithm;

0000 0110: Identify a consistent hash algorithm;

0000 0111: Identify the least link algorithm;

0000 1000: Identify the fastest response algorithm;

and many more.

The embodiments of the present invention are further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

Embodiment 1

The embodiment of the present invention is based on the Openflow open flow protocol extension, and defines a new Openflow message for load balancing. When the controller needs to implement load balancing for a certain type of service, the load balancing related parameter may be directly delivered, or may be actively distributed. After the request message is sent to the receiving device to obtain the capability of the receiving device, the device performs the delivery according to the negotiated load balancing parameter. The Openflow load balancing message includes the following:

/*controller load sharing message*/

OFPT_LOAD_SHARING_SET controller setting parameters

OFPT_LOAD_SHARING_REQUEST controller request parameter

OFPT_LOAD_SHARING_REPLY switch reply controller

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of an OpenFlow protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, both service function 1 and service function 2 are NAT services, and a data packet arrives at a service function forwarder (Service Function Forwarder1, When it is abbreviated as SFF1), it is necessary to determine which service function NAT is processed by the data packet according to the load balancing algorithm, including:

Step 1: The Openflow controller sends a load balancing parameter configuration message to the SFF1 that needs to support load balancing. The message is used to configure the service function forwarder SFF1, such as configuring a service function chain load balancing related parameter.

Step 2: After the configuration is successful, the service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow controller with a reply message carrying the parameter configuration success.

Step 3: After the configuration fails, the service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow controller with a reply message carrying the parameter configuration failure.

Step 4: When the data packet is forwarded to the service function forwarder SFF1, the data packet is calculated according to the load balancing algorithm, and the calculation result is the service function SF2, and then the packet is forwarded to the service function SF2 for processing;

Embodiment 2

Based on the Openflow extension in the first embodiment, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the OpenFlow protocol according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, both the service function 1 and the service function 2 are NAT services, and data packets arrive. When the service function forwarder SFF1 is used, it is determined according to the load balancing algorithm, which service function NAT is processed by the data packet, including:

Step 1. The Openflow controller queries the load balancing related parameters of the SFF1 that need to support load balancing.

Step 2: The service function forwarder SFF1 sends a reply message to the Openflow controller, which carries the load balancing related parameters supported by itself.

Step 3: After receiving the reply message sent by the service function forwarder SFF1, the Openflow controller sends a suitable configuration message to the service function forwarder SFF1 according to the load balancing related parameters required by the service function chain's own service requirements. To configure load balancing related parameters.

Step 4: After the configuration is successful, the service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow controller with a reply message carrying the parameter configuration success.

Step 5: After the configuration fails, the SFF1 replies to the Openflow controller with a reply message carrying the parameter configuration failure;

Step 6: When the data packet is forwarded to the service function repeater SFF1, the data packet is calculated according to the load balancing algorithm, and the calculation result is the service function SF2, and then the packet is forwarded to the service function SF2 for processing.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the network extension according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9 , both the service function 1 and the service function 2 are NAT services, and when the data packet arrives at the service function forwarder SFF1, The load balancing algorithm determines which service function NAT is processed by the data packet, including:

Step 1. The Openflow configuration point queries the load balancing related parameters on the SFF1 that need to support load balancing.

Step 2: The service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow configuration point with a remote program call protocol reply message, which carries the load balancing related parameters supported by itself.

Step 3: After receiving the remote program call protocol reply message, the Openflow configuration point sends an edit configuration message to the service function forwarder SFF1 to configure the load balancing related parameter according to the load balancing related parameter required by the service function chain itself. .

Step 4: After the configuration is successful, the service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow configuration point with a remote program call protocol reply message carrying the parameter configuration success.

Step 5: After the configuration fails, the service function forwarder SFF1 replies to the Openflow configuration point with a remote program call protocol reply message carrying the error information.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the service function 1 and the service function 2 are NAT services, and the data packets arrive at the service function forwarder SFF1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The load balancing algorithm determines which service function NAT is processed by the data packet. However, the service function forwarder SFF1 does not support the delivery of load balancing related parameters from the controller Netconf; the classifier Classifier supports the delivery of load balancing related parameters from the controller Netconf, including:

Step 1: The Openflow configuration point sends an edit configuration message to the classifier Classifier, where the message is used to configure the classifier classifier, such as configuring a load balancing related parameter of the service function chain.

Step 2: After the configuration is successful, the classifier Classifier replies to the Openflow configuration point with a remote program call protocol reply message carrying the parameter configuration success.

Step 3: After the configuration fails, the classifier Classifier replies to the Openflow configuration point with a remote program call protocol reply message carrying the error information.

Step 4: The data packet arrives at the classifier Classifier, and the classifier classifies the packet, and finds that the data packet is The SFF1 needs to support the load balancing function in the service function path. The Classifier encapsulates the load balancing related parameters in the metadata Metadata of the service function packet header. FIG. 11 is a service function chain according to an embodiment of the present invention. The packet header carries the load balancing related parameters. The packet encapsulation format is as shown in Figure 11. As the packet is forwarded to the service function forwarder SFF1, the SFF1 extracts the load balancing related parameter information of the metadata Metadata. The load is balanced and the data packets are distributed to the corresponding service function SF2 for processing.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the various modules or steps of the present invention described above can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device that can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices. Alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by the computing device such that they may be stored in the storage device by the computing device and, in some cases, may be different from the order herein. The steps shown or described are performed, or they are separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

The foregoing embodiments of the present invention can be applied to the field of communications, and solve the problem of how to perform load balancing processing on services in the related art, and can perform load balancing processing through load balancing parameters.

Claims

A load balancing processing method includes:

The node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller;

The node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The method of claim 1, wherein the performing load balancing processing on the service traffic by the node according to the load balancing parameter comprises:

When the node is a node that supports the load balancing function, when receiving the service traffic to be processed, the node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter; or

In the case that the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function, the node transmits the load balancing parameter to a node supporting the load balancing function by means of metadata, and the node supporting the load balancing function is in the node. When receiving the service traffic to be processed, load balancing the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The method of claim 2, wherein after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller, the method further comprises:

The node configures the load balancing parameter.
The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

In the case that the node configuration is successful, the node sends a configuration success message to the controller;

In the event that the node configuration fails, the node sends a configuration failure message to the controller.
The method of claim 2, wherein, before the node is a node that supports the load balancing function, before the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller, the method further includes:

Receiving, by the node, a request message that the controller queries the load balancing parameter;

Sending, by the node, a response message to the controller according to the request message;

The response message carries the load balancing parameter supported by the node, and the response message is used by the controller according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, and the received node is already combined. The load balancing parameter is determined, and the optimal load balancing parameter is determined and sent to the node, where the optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to the service characteristic.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the load balancing parameter carries one or more of a load balancing algorithm and a load balancing algorithm identifier for performing load balancing processing.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the node receives a load balancing parameter sent by the controller by one of the following methods:

Open flow Openflow protocol, network configuration protocol Netconf protocol, simple network management protocol SNMP protocol, Border Gateway Protocol Link State BGP-LS, Location and Identity Separation Protocol LISP Protocol.
A load balancing processing method includes:

The controller determines a load balancing parameter;

The controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, where the load balancing parameter is used by the node to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The method of claim 8, wherein after the controller sends the load balancing parameter to the node, the method further comprises:

The controller receives a configuration success message or a configuration failure message sent by the node.
The method of claim 9, wherein before the controller sends the load balancing parameter to a node, the method further comprises:

In a case that the node is a node that supports a load balancing function, the controller sends a request message for querying the load balancing parameter to the node;

The controller receives a response message sent by the node, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter that is supported by the node.
The method of claim 10 wherein said controller determines said load balancing parameters comprises:

The controller determines an optimal load balancing parameter according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, and the received load balancing parameter supported by the node, and sends the parameter to the node, where the The optimal load balancing parameter is to select a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to the service characteristic.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the controller transmits the load balancing parameter to the node by one of the following methods:

Open flow Openflow protocol, network configuration protocol Netconf protocol, simple network management protocol SNMP protocol, border gateway protocol link state BGP-LS, location and identity separation protocol LISP protocol.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the load balancing parameter carries one or more of a load balancing algorithm and a load balancing algorithm identifier for performing load balancing processing.
A load balancing processing device is applied to a node, including:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a load balancing parameter sent by the controller;

The load balancing module is configured to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the load balancing module comprises:

a load balancing unit configured to load balance the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter when the node is a node that supports the load balancing function; or

a delivery unit, configured to: when the node is a node that does not support the load balancing function, pass the load balancing parameter to a node supporting the load balancing function by using metadata, for the load balancing function When receiving the service traffic to be processed, the node performs load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said apparatus further comprises:

The configuration module is configured to configure the load balancing parameter after the node receives the load balancing parameter sent by the controller.
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said apparatus further comprises:

a first sending module, configured to send a configuration success message to the controller if the node configuration is successful;

The second sending module is configured to send a configuration failure message to the controller if the node configuration fails.
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said apparatus further comprises:

a second receiving module, configured to receive, by the controller, a request message for querying the load balancing parameter, where the node is a node that supports a load balancing function;

The third sending module is configured to send a response message to the controller according to the request message, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter supported by the node, and the response message is used by the controller Determining an optimal load balancing parameter according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, and receiving the load balancing parameter supported by the node, and sending the optimal load balancing parameter to the node, where the optimal load is The equalization parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to the service characteristic.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the first receiving module is further configured to receive a load balancing parameter sent by the controller by one of the following methods: OpenFlow Openflow Protocol, Network Configuration Protocol Netconf protocol, simple network management protocol SNMP protocol, border gateway protocol link state BGP-LS, location and identity separation protocol LISP protocol.
A load balancing processing device is applied to a controller, including:

Determining a module, setting to determine a load balancing parameter;

The sending parameter module is configured to send the load balancing parameter to the node, where the load balancing parameter is used by the node to perform load balancing processing on the service traffic according to the load balancing parameter.
The device of claim 20, wherein the device further comprises:

The third receiving module is configured to receive a configuration success message or a configuration failure message sent by the node.
The device of claim 20, wherein the device further comprises:

a fourth sending module, configured to send, to the node, a request message for querying the load balancing parameter, if the node is a node that supports a load balancing function;

The fourth receiving module is configured to receive a response message sent by the node, where the response message carries a load balancing parameter that is supported by the node.
The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said determining module comprises:

The determining unit is configured to determine, according to the load balancing parameter required by the service of the service function chain, the load balancing parameter that is supported by the node, and determine the optimal load balancing parameter, and send the parameter to the node, where The optimal load balancing parameter is a load balancing parameter that matches the service according to a service characteristic.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the transmission parameter module is further configured to send the load balancing parameter to the node by one of the following methods: OpenFlow Openflow Protocol, Network Configuration Protocol Netconf Protocol Simple Network Management Protocol SNMP, Border Gateway Protocol Link State BGP-LS, Location and Identity Separation Protocol LISP Protocol.