WO2017036180A1

WO2017036180A1 - Packet processing method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2017036180A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/082357
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王其磊
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2015-09-02
Filing date: 2016-05-17
Publication date: 2017-03-09
Also published as: CN106487572A

Abstract

Disclosed are a packet processing method and device. The method comprises: in a software defined network (SDN) architecture, executing a pre-configured autonomic function (AF) instance to process and forward a packet, wherein, the AF instance comprises at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, AF type field, AF index number-of-times field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, and state field.

Description

Message processing method and device

Technical field

This application relates to, but is not limited to, the field of communications.

Background technique

As the current network exposes more and more ills and people's demand for network performance, researchers have to add a lot of complex functions to the router's architecture, such as Open Shortest Path First. , referred to as OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), multicast, differentiated services, traffic engineering, Network Address Translation (NAT), firewall, multi-protocol label switching (Multi-Protocol Label) Switching, referred to as MPLS) and so on. This makes switching devices such as routers more and more bloated and the space for performance improvement is getting smaller and smaller.

However, in contrast to the predicament in the network field, the computer field has achieved rapid development. A closer look at the development of the computer field, it is not difficult to find that the computer field has found a simple and usable hardware underlying (x86 instruction set). With such a common hardware underlying, in terms of software, both applications and operating systems have achieved rapid development. Many people who advocate redesigning the computer network architecture now believe that the network can replicate the success of the computer field to solve all the problems encountered by the current network. Under the guidance of this idea, the future network must be like this: the underlying data path (switch, router) is "dumb, simple, minimal" and defines a common open flow table for the flow table. The Application Programming Interface (API) uses a controller to control the entire network. Future researchers can freely call the underlying APIs on the controller to program, thus enabling network innovation.

Based on the above concept, a Software Defined Network (SDN) emerged, which was originally a new network innovation architecture proposed by the Stanford University clean slate research group. At present, its core technology OpenFlow protocol realizes flexible control of network traffic by separating the control plane of the network device from the data plane, and provides a good platform for innovation of core networks and applications.

Initially, the SDN framework was only used in Ethernet scenarios, but as the heat became higher and higher, the application scenario extended from the packet switched network to the optical switching network. Currently, the standardization of the SDN architecture of the optical switching network is handled by the ONF OTWG working group, which mainly includes optical transport network (OTN) optical layer control, electrical layer control, neighbor discovery, cross-layer technology, and protection switching technology. Several research topics, such as Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM). ONF released the OpenFlow protocol extension version 1.0, and completed the protocol schemes of optical layer control, electrical layer control, and neighbor discovery. It is possible to add a protocol solution for the remaining three research topics in the subsequent 1.1 version, in which the protection switching and the OAM technology are implemented using an autonomous function (AF).

An AF autonomous function is a functional object used to represent the flow table mode, and a logical switch written to the AF autonomous function can perform a series of path-related actions. When the controller is unable to control or change the behavior of the switch using existing flow entries, AF autonomous functions can be used to perform these data path behaviors; when the controller is unable to respond to specific stimuli or react in time, it will also need to These control functions are delegated to the switch for execution. The controller adds the index to the flow table to deliver the message to the AF autonomous function for functional processing. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a usage mode of an AF autonomous function in the related art, as shown in FIG. 1.

The AF autonomous function instance exists in the AF autonomous function table. The definition of AF includes the name of the type and the type-related configuration, mainly parameters and internal state data. The AF instance exists in the AF table and has a unique AF ID. One AF has the following functions:

(1) The flow entry points to an AF instance, and the AF instance receives the message and processes it, modifies the message data or the metadata, and modifies the forwarding path.

(2) using packet-in to send a message to the controller;

(3) According to the given parameter, the message is triggered by a timer or other time;

(4) operate according to the OpenFlow pipeline or external stimulus factors;

(5) Operate according to the information configured by the OF-Switch or the configuration protocol;

(6) Provide some incentives to the OpenFlow pipeline (for example, monitoring the AF through the watch, providing link activity information to the group group);

(7) Associate with other AFs, for example, support configuration and processing at different aggregation levels.

The autonomous function AF instance in the related art described above cannot meet the functional requirements of the AF in terms of protection recovery and OAM.

Summary of the invention

The following is an overview of the topics detailed in this document. This Summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

The present invention provides a method and a device for processing a message, so as to solve at least the problem that the autonomous function AF instance cannot complete the forwarding process of the OAM-related message in the related art.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for processing a packet is provided, which includes: in a software-defined network SDN architecture, forwarding a packet by performing a pre-configured autonomous function AF instance; wherein the AF instance includes at least the following One of the fields: AF identifier field, AF type field, AF index number field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the AF identifier field is used to uniquely identify an AF instance; the AF type field is used to identify the type of the AF instance; the AF index number field is used to indicate the number of times the AF instance is referenced; It is used to indicate the pipeline processing and action performed by the AF instance. The cycle time field is used to indicate the time when the AF instance periodically sends the packet or the time when the packet is periodically received. The count field is used to indicate the report received by the AF instance. The number of texts; a status field that indicates whether the AF instance is valid.

In the embodiment of the present invention, before the autonomous function AF instance forwards the packet, the method further includes: acquiring the packet by using at least one of the following methods: receiving the packet sent by the controller by executing the AF instance; and receiving the packet The AF instance receives the packets sent by the switch. The AF instance generates packets.

In the embodiment of the present invention, before the AF instance obtains the message, the method further includes: setting an action of the AF instance in advance.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the continuity verification function, the message is a Continuity Check Message (CCM) message; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the sender AF instance is used. The actions include: Output Peer Maintenance entity assembly End Point (Output Peer MEP) Action, setting-domain Set-Field action, output port Output port action; when the AF instance is the receiving-end AF instance, the action of the receiving-end AF instance includes: outputting to an external software module, wherein the external software module is used to determine whether Triggering the Receiver Maintaining the Entity Group The reverse AF instance in the endpoint MEP generates a CCM message with the remote defect indication RDI set.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the Set-Field action includes at least one of the following: setting a source media access control (MAC); setting a destination MAC; setting an Ethernet type field; setting a maintenance entity group level; setting the operation Manage and maintain the OAM protocol version; set the CCM packet type; set the identifier bit; set the offset of the Type Length Value (TLV); set the serial number; set the maintenance entity assembly end point (Maintenance entity assembly End Point) , referred to as the MEP) identifier; set the Maintenance Entity Group (MEG) logo.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the Ethernet loopback, the packet is a loopback text; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to the port; When the instance is the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate end AF instance, the action of the AF instance includes: exchanging the source address and the destination address, setting the running code of the loop report text OpCode to 2, and setting the output port.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the Ethernet path tracking function, the packet is a Link Trace Message (LTM) packet; when the AF instance is a transmitting AF instance, the transmitting end AF The action of the example includes: sending to the port; when the AF instance is the AF instance in the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance includes: Time To Line (TTL) minus 1 and setting the source address The LMS exit identifier type length value TLV value field is set to the node identifier of the current relay LTM packet, and the output port is the media access control MAC address of the intermediate node or the tail node of the maintenance entity group where the AF instance is located.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the Ethernet path tracking function, the message is a path tracking message LTM message; when the AF instance is a receiving end AF instance or an AF instance in an intermediate node, the AF instance is The action includes: setting an OpCode field in the OAM packet, copying the source MAC address field to the destination MAC address field of the Ethernet header, deleting the destination MAC address field of the source MAC address field, and adding the next exit identifier field to the identifier TLV. Output port.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the fault indication function, the packet is an alarm indication signal AIS packet; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: generating a new report. Set the Ethernet type field; set the OAM packet type to AIS packet; set the OAM protocol version field; set the identifier bit; set the source MAC; set the destination MAC; and set the maintenance entity group MEG level.

When the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: sending the AIS message that has been successfully verified by the MEP of the receiving end AF instance to the external software module; wherein the external software module is used to determine whether to trigger The reverse AF instance in the receiving end maintenance entity group endpoint MEP generates an AIS message with the remote defect indication RDI set.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a packet processing apparatus is provided, including: a forwarding module, configured to: in a software-defined network SDN architecture, forward a packet by executing a pre-configured autonomous function AF instance; The AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, an AF type field, an AF index number field, an instruction field, a cycle time field, a count field, and a status field.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the AF identifier field is used to uniquely identify an AF instance; the AF type field is used to identify the type of the AF instance; the AF index number field is used to indicate the number of times the AF instance is referenced; The action is used to indicate the action performed by the AF instance. The cycle time field is used to indicate the time when the AF instance periodically sends a message or the time when the message is periodically received. The count field is used to indicate the number of packets received by the AF instance. The status field is used to indicate whether the AF instance is valid.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the device further includes: an acquiring module, configured to: obtain a packet by using at least one of the following methods: receiving a packet sent by the controller by executing the AF instance, and receiving the packet sent by the AF instance to receive the switch The packet is generated by the AF instance.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the device further includes: a setting module, configured to: preset an action of the AF instance.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used for remote fault detection, the packet is a connection verification message CCM message; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: output peering Maintenance entity group endpoint Output Peer MEP action, setting-domain Set-Field action, output port Output port action; when the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the receiving end The actions of the AF instance include: output to an external software module.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the Set-Field action includes at least one of: setting a source media access control MAC; setting a destination MAC; setting an Ethernet type field; setting a maintenance entity group level; setting an operation management and maintenance OAM protocol version; CCM message type; set the identification bit; set the offset of the type length value TLV; set the serial number; set the identifier of the MEP at the sending end; set the MEG identifier of the maintenance entity group.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the Ethernet path tracking function, the packet is a path tracking message LTM packet; when the AF instance is the transmitting AF instance, the action of the transmitting AF instance includes: sending to If the AF instance is the AF instance of the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance includes: the time-to-live value TTL is decreased by 1, and the source address is set to the media of the intermediate node or the tail node of the maintenance entity group where the AF instance is located. The access control MAC address is set, and the LTM exit identifier type length value TLV value field is set to the node identifier of the current relay LTM packet, and the output port.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the fault indication function, the packet is an alarm indication signal AIS packet; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: generating a new report. Set the Ethernet type field; set the OAM packet type to AIS packet; set the OAM protocol version field; set the identifier bit; set the source MAC; set the destination MAC; and set the MEG level.

A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions for performing the method of any of the above.

With the embodiment of the present invention, the newly defined AF autonomous function instance is used to forward the packet, and then the OAM-related packet is forwarded, and the problem that the autonomous AF instance cannot complete the OAM-related packet forwarding process is solved. It meets its functional requirements for protection recovery and OAM.

Other aspects will be apparent upon reading and understanding the drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF abstract

1 is a schematic diagram of a usage mode of an AF autonomous function in the related art;

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

FIG. 3 is a second flowchart of a method for processing a message according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

4 is a third flowchart of a method for processing a message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram 1 of a processing apparatus for a message according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a second structural block diagram of a message processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

7 is a block diagram 3 of a processing apparatus of a message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a newly defined AF autonomous function example provided according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

9 is a schematic diagram of an OAM related message field according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a flow chart showing a connection verification function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a schematic diagram of a CCM message format according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

12 is a schematic flow chart of a loopback function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of a path tracking function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a fault indication function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the invention

Embodiments of the present 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.

It should be noted that the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present specification and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or order.

A method for processing a packet is provided in this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart 1 of a method for processing a packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the process includes the following steps:

Step S202: The software-defined network SDN architecture forwards the packet by executing the pre-configured autonomous function AF instance. The AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, an AF type field, and an AF index number field. , instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.

The AF identifier field is used to uniquely identify an AF instance; the AF type field is used to identify the type of the AF instance; and the AF index number field is used to indicate the number of times the AF instance is referenced. If the number of times referenced is 0, the switch Deleting the AF instance, if the number of references is set to the maximum value, the AF instance is permanently valid, the switch does not delete the AF instance; the instruction field is used to indicate the pipeline processing and actions performed by the AF instance; the cycle time field, The time is used to indicate the time when the AF instance periodically sends the message; the count field is used to indicate the number of the packets received by the AF instance; and the status field is used to indicate whether the AF instance is valid.

The above-mentioned packets can be OAM packets or other types of packets.

After the packet is forwarded by the newly defined AF instance, the forwarding of the OAM-related packet can be implemented, and the problem that the autonomous AF instance cannot complete the forwarding of the OAM-related packet can be solved. It meets its functional requirements for protection recovery and OAM.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for processing a message according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, before the step S202, the method further includes:

In step S302, the packet is obtained by receiving the message sent by the controller by executing the AF instance; receiving the packet sent by the switch through the AF instance; The instance generates a message.

The AF instance may be an AF instance in the first node (that is, the sender AF instance), or an AF instance in the intermediate node, or an AF instance in the tail node (that is, the receiving end AF instance), and the foregoing report is generated by the AF instance. The main focus of the text is to generate a packet through the AF instance in the first node. The other two methods do not limit the AF instance. That is, it can be either the AF instance of the sender or the AF instance of the intermediate node. Is the receiving end AF instance.

In the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a flowchart 3 of a method for processing a packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, before the step S302, the foregoing method includes:

In step S402, the action of the AF instance is set in advance.

It should be noted that the action of the foregoing AF instance may be performed to augment the instruction field in the AF instance, that is, to extend the action indicated by the instruction field in the AF instance, thereby further completing the forwarding process of the OAM-related packet, thereby further improving Meet the functional requirements of AF in terms of protection recovery and OAM.

The AF instance can implement different functions, such as remote fault detection, Ethernet loopback, path tracking, and fault indication. When different functions are completed, the AF instance extension actions are different.

In an optional embodiment, when the AF instance is used for remote fault detection, the message is a connection verification message CCM message; when the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: output Peer-to-peer maintenance entity group endpoint Output Peer MEP action, setting-domain Set-Field action, output port Output port action; when the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: outputting to an external software module, wherein The external software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the reverse AF instance in the endpoint maintenance MEE of the receiving end maintenance entity group to generate a CCM message with the remote defect indication RDI set.

If the external software module does not receive the packet sent by the transmitting end AF in the unit period, the reverse AF instance is periodically triggered to send the reverse CCM packet to the sending end, where the reverse CCM is sent. The RDI flag is set in the message.

The setting of the action of the AF instance on the sending end may be in a certain order. For example, first set the output peer peer group Peer MEP action, and then set the Set Field action, and finally set Set the Output port action. The Output Peer MEP action is used to indicate that a new packet needs to be generated and sent to the peer MEP.

The Set-Field action includes at least one of the following: setting a source media access control MAC; setting a destination MAC; setting an Ethernet type field; setting a maintenance entity group hierarchy; setting an operation management and maintenance OAM protocol version; setting a CCM message type; Identification bit; set the offset of the type length value TLV; set the serial number; set the identifier of the sender MEP; set the maintenance entity group MEG identifier. It should be noted that the CCM packet type is set, and the corresponding field value is set to 1. The foregoing identifier bit may include two, one is an RDI identifier, and one is a sending period identifier, which is used to identify whether the path is faulty.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the Ethernet loopback, the packet is a loopback text; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to the port; When the instance is the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate end AF instance, the action of the AF instance includes: exchanging the source address and the destination address, setting the running code of the loop report text OpCode to 2, and setting the output port. It should be noted that the OpCode in the ring report is set to 2, and is used to indicate that the type of the OAM message is a loopback response LBR message.

In addition, when the AF instance is the AF instance in the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance may also include: setting an OpCode field in the OAM packet, and copying the source MAC address field to the Ethernet header. In the MAC address field, delete the destination MAC address field of the source MAC address field, add the next exit identifier field to the identifier TLV, and output the port.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the AF instance is used to implement the fault indication function, the packet is an alarm indication signal AIS packet; when the AF instance is the sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: generating a new report. Text; set the Ethernet type field; set the OAM packet type to AIS Set the OAM protocol version field; set the flag bit; set the source MAC; set the destination MAC; set the MEG level.

When the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: sending an AIS message that has been successfully verified by the MEP of the receiving end AF instance to an external software module; wherein the external The software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the reverse AF instance in the MEP of the receiving end maintenance entity group to generate an AIS message with the remote defect indication RDI.

The external software module does not periodically trigger the reverberation AF instance to generate an AIS packet with the RDI set according to the information of the received AIS packet.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, by hardware, but in many cases, the former is A better implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application, which is essential or contributes to the related art, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, disk, CD-ROM). The method includes a plurality of instructions for causing a terminal device (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method described in the embodiments of the present invention.

In the embodiment, a message processing device is also provided, which is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and implementation manners, and has not been described again. As used below, the term "module" may implement a combination of software and/or hardware of a predetermined function. Although the devices described in the following embodiments may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram 1 of a processing apparatus of a message according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the apparatus includes:

The forwarding module 52 is configured to forward the packet by executing the preset autonomous function AF instance in the software-defined network SDN architecture. The AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, and an AF type field. , AF index number field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.

The AF identifier field is used to uniquely identify an AF instance; the AF type field is used to identify the type of the AF instance; and the AF index number field is used to indicate the number of times the AF instance is referenced. If the number of times of reference is 0, the switch deletes the AF instance. If the number of times of the reference is set to the maximum value, the AF instance is permanently valid, the switch does not delete the AF instance, and the command field is used to indicate the execution of the AF instance. Pipeline processing and action; the cycle time field is used to indicate the time when the AF instance periodically sends the message; the count field is used to indicate the number of packets received by the AF instance; and the status field is used to indicate whether the AF instance is valid.

The above messages can be used to transmit OAM messages or other forms of messages.

The device can forward the OAM-related packet by using the newly-defined AF instance to forward the OAM-related packet, and solve the problem that the autonomous AF instance cannot complete the OAM-related packet forwarding process in the related art. It meets its functional requirements for protection recovery and OAM.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a structural block diagram 2 of a processing apparatus for a message according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the apparatus further includes:

The obtaining module 62 is connected to the forwarding module 52, and is configured to: obtain a packet by using at least one of the following methods: receiving a packet sent by the controller by executing the AF instance, and receiving the packet sent by the switch by the AF instance; The message is generated by the AF instance.

FIG. 7 is a structural block diagram 3 of a processing apparatus of a message according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus further includes:

The setting module 72 is connected to the obtaining module 62, and is configured to set an action of the AF instance in advance.

The action of the foregoing AF instance may be performed to augment the instruction field in the AF instance, that is, to extend the action indicated by the instruction field in the AF instance, thereby further completing the forwarding process of the OAM-related packet, thereby better satisfying the AF protection. Recovery and functional requirements for OAM.

The above AF instance can implement different functions, such as remote fault detection. The network loopback function, the path tracking function, and the fault indication function also have different actions for the AF instance extension when different functions are completed.

The setting of the action of the AF instance on the sending end may be in a certain order. For example, first set the output peer Peer MEP action of the output peer group, set the Set Field action, and finally set the Output port action. The Output Peer MEP action is used to indicate that a new packet needs to be generated and sent to the peer MEP.

When the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: sending an AIS message that has been successfully verified by the MEP of the receiving end AF instance to an external processing module; wherein the external The software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the reverse AF instance in the MEP of the receiving end maintenance entity group to generate an AIS message with the remote defect indication RDI.

It should be noted that the external software module does not periodically trigger the reverberation AF instance to generate an AIS packet with the RDI set according to the information of the received AIS packet.

It should be noted that the above modules may be implemented by software or hardware. For the latter, the foregoing may be implemented by, but not limited to, the foregoing modules are all located in the same processor; or, the modules are respectively located in multiple processes. In the device.

The following is further explained in conjunction with alternative embodiments.

The embodiment of the present invention defines a mode-based autonomous function AF solution, that is, through the current standardized OpenFlow object and defining some new objects, to satisfy the AF autonomous function. Protection recovery and functional requirements for OAM.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a newly defined AF autonomous function example according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.

Among them, each field is defined as follows:

AF identifier: used to uniquely identify an AF autonomous function instance

AF type: used to identify the type of AF autonomous function.

AF index number: is a count field used to calculate the number of times the AF is referenced. If it is not referenced, the AF is deleted. If it is set to the maximum value, the instance is permanently valid, and the switch does not delete the AF autonomous function. Example.

Instruction: The Instruction field, which follows the definition in the original OpenFlow standard, that is, each stream entry contains one or more Instructions fields. When there are messages matching this stream entry, these Instructions fields will be executed, also in an AF. In the autonomous function instance, multiple Instructions fields may also be used. When the AF autonomous function instance is referenced, these Instructions are executed. The embodiment of the invention enriches the original structure, increases the data structure of the AF, uses the Instructions and adds some new actions to complete some complex OAM functions, for example, the action of generating a new data packet (this can be similar The implementation of the Instruction Port of the Controller (CONTROLLER) or the associated action of generating a message is further described in the following embodiments.

Period time: The Period time field, used to record the time when packets are periodically sent or the time when packets are received periodically.

Count: The Counter field is used to record the number of currently received packets, which can be used for subsequent packet loss statistics.

Status: Status field, used to indicate whether the current AF autonomous function instance is valid. If it is invalid, the corresponding instruction is not executed.

In the optional embodiment of the present invention, the newly defined mode-based AF autonomous function completes some complex protection recovery and some OAM behaviors that cannot be completed by the current flow table mode by combining the existing OpenFlow flow table and the group table, which may be The following three scenarios:

1) OpenFlow Logical Switch (OFLS) The matching of the matching flow table is performed, and the matched packet is forwarded to the AF instance for processing. After the AF instance is processed, the packet can be forwarded to the flow table for matching processing, or the group table can be forwarded to the group table. Go directly to the port to forward the message. In this case, the AF autonomous function processes only the received packets and then forwards them accordingly. Such an AF instance can be applied to the first node and the intermediate node.

2) The AF instance periodically generates a packet (such as a CCM packet) or generates a packet according to the OpenFlow pipeline and some external stimuli, and then forwards the packet to the corresponding flow table according to the previously configured flow table forwarding path. Do further forwarding processing. This type of AF autonomous function is mainly applied to the first node.

3), AF instance supports out-of-band configuration mode, which is mainly based on some AF behavior complexity and configuration considerations, you can configure AF to point to an out-of-band object for processing. You can use a string parameter to point to an external object and pass the message to an external object for more complex processing.

The AF described above may use a chip having a programmable capability, or a chip with a fixed arrangement rule.

The AF is mainly applied to the protection recovery and the OAM scenario. Based on this, the embodiment of the present invention describes the usage mode of the AF according to the OAM function defined in Y.1731. The AF instance described in the embodiment is mainly described in terms of the MEP AF at the transmitting end, the MEP AF at the receiving end, and the MA Intermediate Point (MIP) AF.

For the Ethernet OAM packet, the header packet is the same. In addition to the Ethernet packet header, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an OAM-related packet field according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9. As shown, each field has the following meaning:

MEL (MEG level): Use an integer number to identify the level at which the MEG is located.

Version: An integer number is used to identify the version of the OAM protocol.

OpCode: The integer number is used to identify the type of OAM message.

Flags: Corresponding to OAM messages.

TLV offset: The offset of the first TLV in the OAM message.

First, the existing flow table needs to be extended to match the OpCode field of the OAM packet, that is, the type of the OAM packet is obtained, and then the OAM packet index is indexed according to the type of the OAM packet. Go to other AFs for further processing. The behaviors in the following embodiments and in the figures are all actions performed after the OAM message type is clarified.

Embodiment 1: Ethernet connection verification function and remote fault detection

The Ethernet connection verification function is used in the active OAM scenario, and its function is to detect the connection failure between two MEPs in one MEG. FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of the connection verification function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. The MEP1 periodically sends a CCM message to the MEP2 for connection fault detection. When the MEC2 does not detect the CCM message sent by the MEP1 within the unit period, the remote defect identifier (Remote Defect Indication) is sent. The CCM message referred to as RDI is sent to MEP1 to indicate that the connection is faulty. Ethernet connection verification can be applied to fault management, performance monitoring and protection switching applications.

1), MEP1 sender MEP Source CC AF (maintaining entity group endpoint source connection verification message autonomous function): The sender MEP needs to periodically generate and send a CCM (connection verification message) message to the receiver MEP, that is, it can pass The external software module refers to the AF autonomous function instance and activates the AF autonomous function instance periodically to periodically send CCM packets. The CCM message sent by the sender is generated by the MEP Source CC AF and sent to the corresponding port and sent to the next node. In the MEP Source CC AF autonomous function instance, the duration of the lifetime is set to the time of periodic transmission. That is, every other time period, the CCM message needs to be sent. The Instruction field needs to perform the behavior of encapsulating the CCM message and forwarding it from the corresponding port. The Instruction field performs these functions through the Apply-Actions action(s) or Write-Actions action(s), but The actions defined in the existing OpenFlow protocol are not sufficient to satisfy these behaviors. You need to define the following new extended actions:

a). A new reserved port, Peer MEP (Peer-to-Peer MEP), uses the action Output MIP/Peer MEP to indicate that a new packet needs to be generated and sent to the peer MEP.

b) After the new message is generated, the field needs to be set by extending the Set-Field action. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a CCM message format according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Set-Field actions include:

Set-Field Source MAC: Set the source MAC

Set-Field Destination MAC: Set the destination MAC

Set-Field Eth-Type: Set the Ethernet type field to indicate that this is an OAM packet.

Set-Field MEL: Set MEG level;

Set-Field Version: Set the OAM protocol version;

Set-Field OpCode: Sets the CCM packet type, which is currently set to 1.

Set-Field Flags: Sets the identifier bit. Currently, there are only two identifiers, namely the RDI identifier and the period ID of the sending period. The RDI is set by the sending MEP to identify whether the path is faulty.

Set-Field TLV Offset: Sets the offset of the TLV. For CCM messages, it is fixed at 70.

Set-Field Sequence Number: The current setting is all 0;

Set-Field MEP ID: Set the ID of the sender MEP.

Set-Field MEG ID: Set the MEG ID;

The remaining fields are not set yet.

Or use another way to set the field, namely:

Set each field by way of Set-Field (field offset, field length, field value). For example, for the first two Set-Fields above, you can set it as follows:

Set-Field (0, 48, source MAC address)

Set-Field (48, 96, destination MAC address)

Set-Field (96, 112, message payload type)

Set-Field (112, 3, actual MEG level value)

Set-Field (115, 5, current OAM protocol version number)

(For more and more complex hardware programming, copying with the above offset and length can bring a unified encoding.)

The forwarding model has another way to set the OAM message field by the AF autonomous function instance. The AF autonomous function instance is used to set the same field for each message, for example, setting the Ethernet type and setting. OAM protocol version number, etc., then the group table uses the multicast attribute to set different fields of the message, such as setting the source address, destination address, etc., and forwarding to Different peer MEPs.

c) For the sender MEP, the action sequence is set as follows:

Output MIP/Peer MEP – all Set Field actions – Output port

If the above group table method is adopted, the action setting order is:

Output MIP/Peer MEP–Set Field Sets the same field for the packet – Jump Group Table – sets the different fields of the packet – Output port

If the status field is set to 1, it indicates that the function of sending packets periodically is enabled. If set to 0, the AF autonomous function instance does not work.

The count field is set to the number of currently received CCM messages.

2) Intermediate node MIP: The intermediate node does not need to care about CCM messages.

3) MEP2 receiving end MEP CC Sink AF (maintaining entity group endpoint sink connection verification message autonomous function): The receiving end MEP wants to receive periodic CCM messages, and the cycle time field of the MEP Sink CC AF autonomous function instance is set to one. The expected value, that is, the receiving MEP wants to receive the CCM message sent by the peer MEP within this time range. If it is not received, the path has failed. The receiving end MEP first matches the destination address of the packet, and then matches the OAM packet type field, that is, the OpCode field, to determine that it is a CCM message, and delivers the packet to the corresponding AF autonomic function instance for processing.

The AF autonomous function instance at the receiving end sends the message to an external software module to record the status by extending the following actions. The external software module mainly maintains a timer if there is no unit cycle time (usually three times the transmission time). After receiving the packet sent by the MEP Sink CC AF instance, the reverse MEP Source CC AF instance (equivalent to the reverse AF instance in the above embodiment), that is, the MEP Source CC AF instance of the MEP2, is triggered periodically. Trigger the sending of reverse CCM messages.

The extended action is: Output external software module

The External software module completes the positioning of external software modules through a string of XML or JSON characters.

4) MEP2 sender MEP Source CC AF (maintaining entity group endpoint source connection verification message autonomous function): This CCM message is different from the aforementioned CCM message in that the source address is exchanged with Destination address, and the RDI flag is set.

5) MEP1 receiving end MEP Sink CC AF (maintaining entity group endpoint sink connection verification message autonomous function): MEP1 receives the CCM message set by the MEP2 and sets the RDI flag bit, and delivers the message to the external software module. After the packet is analyzed, the external software module reports the fault to the controller and triggers protection switching to switch the data stream to the standby path.

Embodiment 2: Ethernet loopback function

The main function of the Ethernet loopback function is to detect the connectivity between the MEP and the MIP or the peer MEP. There are two forms of Ethernet loopback packets:

Unicast Ethernet loopback and multicast Ethernet loopback.

The Ethernet loopback function is an on-demand function and does not require a fast response speed. The packet can be encapsulated in the traditional mode, that is, sent to the sender MEP, and the MEP is completed by the sender MEP. The forwarding of the text can be triggered by the external software module on the switch, and the AF autonomous function instance can be sent to the AF autonomous function instance to complete the loop report forwarding. The CCM message can also be used to trigger the message generation. This embodiment employs the second method.

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of a loopback function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.

1) MEP Source LBM (Loop Back Message) AF (Maintenance Group Endpoint Source Loopback Message Autonomous Function): Receives the loop report sent by the controller or external software module and sends it to the corresponding egress port. The actions included are: sent to the port.

2), MIP/MEP LBR (Loop Back Request) AF (Maintenance Entity Endpoint Loopback Response Autonomous Function): Receives the loopback message sent by the remote end. If the autonomous function instance processes unicast packets, the following is performed: Extended action:

Swap source MAC address and destination MAC address: Swap source address and destination address.

Set Field OpCode: Set to 2, indicating that it is an LBR message.

Output port: Forwarded from a port.

Or use another common way, namely (field offset, field length, field value) The way is as follows:

Swap (0, 48, 48), the meaning of the three fields here is not equivalent to the above (field offset, field length, field value), the meaning is changed to (the starting bit of the exchange area 1, the start of the exchange area 2 Start bit, area length)

Set-Field(120,8,2)

Output port

3) MEP sender MEP Sink LBM AF (Maintenance entity group endpoint sink loopback message autonomy function): Receive the returned LBR message and hand it to the local external software module, there is an external software module for further processing, if a certain time The response message is not received and the external software module sends a notification message to the controller.

Embodiment 3: Path tracking function

The Ethernet path tracking function is an on-demand function, which is mainly used for adjacency query and fault location. FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of a path tracking function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.

1) MEP sender MEP Source LTM AF (Maintenance entity group endpoint source path tracking message autonomous function): Receives the LTM path trace message sent by the external software module and forwards it from the established port. The actions included are: send to the out port.

2) MIP intermediate node MIP LTM AF (maintaining entity group intermediate node path tracking message autonomous function): After receiving the LTR path tracking message, the intermediate node forwards the LTM path tracking message to the MIP LTM AF autonomous function after matching. For further processing, the main function of the MIP LTM AF autonomous function instance is to copy the TTL field and the Target MAC field to the metadata, and then pass the data packet and the metadata to the flow table for further matching; if the flow table matches the TTL to 0 If the TTL is not 0 and can match the Target MAC address, the packet is forwarded to the group table for forwarding processing, otherwise it is discarded; after receiving the sent LTM packet, the group table will To perform two different forwarding processes, one is to forward the LTM path tracking message to the next hop switch from the corresponding egress port. The action to be performed at this time includes: TTL minus one, and the source address is set to the MAC address of the current MIP. Set the LTM egress identifier TLV value field to the node ID of the current relay LTM path tracking packet. The actions included are as follows:

Set Field (176, 8, current value -1)

Set Field (0, 48, the MAC address of the current node)

Set Field (296, 48, the MAC address of the current node)

Output port

The other process is to send an LTR path tracking response message to the sending node based on the received LTM path tracking message, and the action to be performed includes setting the corresponding OpCode field and copying the original MAC address to the Ethernet header. In the destination address field, delete the original MAC address and Target MAC address fields, and add the Next egress identifier field to the identifier TLV. The actions are as follows:

Set Field (120, 8, 4), set to LTR message

Copy Field (184, 48, 48), the three fields mean (copy source area offset, copy destination area offset, copy bit length)

Delete Field (184, 96), the meaning of the two fields is (delete area offset, delete area length)

Add Field (264, 48, value) where the value is the MAC address to be added to the next egress identifier field.

Output Port

The actions in the above two processing modes are for the programmable AF autonomous function instance. If a chip with fixed programming rules is used, it is necessary to define related actions.

3), tail node MIP/MEP LT AF: tail node MIP/MEP LTM AF performs an operation similar to the intermediate node after receiving the LTM path tracking message, except that the tail node only performs the LTR path tracking response.

Embodiment 4: Fault indication function

A MEP notifies the client layer to suppress the generation of alarms when a service layer failure is detected. This avoids path switching caused by a large number of fault alarms. FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart of a fault indication function according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the middle two nodes in the figure are The service layer node, the other is the client layer node. After detecting the fault, the service layer node sends an Alarm Indication Signal (AIS) message to the relevant path of the service layer to suppress the transmission of the fault and the alarm message.

1) If the external software module does not receive the CCM message within the cycle time, it determines that the service layer path is faulty. At this time, the external software module sends the ETH-AIS AF, and the AIS message is periodically sent to the client layer. Pass the message to a specific group all type of table and then forward the message to a specific MEG level. At this time, the action of ETH-AIS AF:

Output MIP/Peer MEP: Generate new message

Set-Field OpCode: Sets the OAM packet type to AIS packets.

Set-Field Version: Set the version field

Set-Field Flags: Set the flag, mainly to set the transmission period.

The group table is sent by the ETH-AIS AF.

Set-Field Source MAC: Set the source MAC

Set-Field Destination MAC: Set the destination MAC

Set-Field MEL: Set MEG level

2) At the receiving end, the destination MAC address needs to be verified by the flow table to confirm that the node is the node that receives the AIS packet, and then matches the OpCode to confirm that it is an AIS packet. After the verification succeeds, the corresponding AIS AF is forwarded to the node. For further processing, the AIS AF sends the message to the external software module. The external software module does not periodically trigger the corresponding MEP CC Source AF (corresponding to the reverse AF instance in the above embodiment) according to the information in the AIS message. The message of the RDI flag bit.

The embodiments of the present invention can be applied not only to the Ethernet scenario in the embodiment but also to scenarios such as MPLS/MPLS-TP and optical switching networks.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a storage medium. Optionally, in the embodiment, the foregoing storage medium may be configured to store program code for performing the following steps:

S1, in the software-defined network SDN architecture, the packet is forwarded by executing the pre-configured autonomous function AF instance; wherein the AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, AF type field, AF index number field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the foregoing storage medium may include, but not limited to, a USB flash drive, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, and a magnetic memory. A variety of media that can store program code, such as a disc or a disc.

For example, the examples in this embodiment may refer to the examples described in the foregoing embodiments and the optional embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above-described modules or steps of the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, which can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed over 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 a plurality of integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of the modules or steps are fabricated as a single integrated circuit module.

The above is only an alternative 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

Claims

A method for processing a message, comprising:

The software-defined network SDN architecture processes and forwards the packet by performing a pre-configured autonomous function AF instance. The AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, an AF type field, and an AF. Index number field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.
The method of claim 1 wherein

The AF identifier field is used to uniquely identify one AF instance;

The AF type field is used to identify a type of the AF instance;

The AF index number field is used to indicate the number of times the AF instance is referenced;

The instruction field is used to indicate pipeline processing and actions performed by the AF instance;

The period time field is used to indicate the time when the AF instance periodically sends the packet or the time when the packet is periodically received.

The count field is used to indicate the number of packets received by the AF instance;

The status field is used to indicate whether the AF instance is valid.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the autonomous function AF instance forwards the packet, the method further includes: obtaining the packet by using at least one of the following methods:

Receiving, by the execution of the AF instance, the message sent by the controller;

Receiving, by the AF instance, the packet sent by the switch;

The message is generated by the AF instance.
The method of claim 3, wherein before the obtaining, by the AF instance, the method, the method further comprises:

The action of the AF instance is set in advance.
The method according to claim 4, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement a continuity verification function, the message is a connection verification message CCM message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: Output peer maintenance entity group endpoint Output Peer MEP action, set-domain Set-Field action, output port Output port action;

When the AF instance is a receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: outputting to an external software module, where the external software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the receiving end to maintain the inverse of the entity group endpoint MEP. A CCM message with a remote defect indication RDI set is generated to the AF instance.
The method of claim 5 wherein said Set-Field action comprises at least one of:

Set the source media access control MAC; set the destination MAC; set the Ethernet type field; set the maintenance entity group level; set the operation management and maintenance OAM protocol version; set the CCM message type; set the identification bit; set the type length value TLV offset Quantity; set the serial number; set the identifier of the MEP of the endpoint of the maintenance entity group; set the MEG identifier of the maintenance entity group.
The method according to claim 4, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement Ethernet loopback, the message is a ring report text;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to a port;

When the AF instance is a receiving AF instance or an intermediate AF instance, the action of the AF instance includes: exchanging a source address and a destination address, setting a running code OpCode of the loop report to 2, and setting an output port.
The method according to claim 4, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement an Ethernet path tracking function, the message is a path tracking message LTM message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to a port;

When the AF instance is the AF instance in the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance includes: the lifetime time value TTL is decreased by 1, and the source address is set to the intermediate node of the maintenance entity group where the AF instance is located or The media access control MAC address of the tail node sets the LTM exit identifier type length value TLV value field to the node identifier of the current relay LTM message, and the output port.
The method according to claim 4, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement an Ethernet path tracking function, the message is a path tracking message LTM message;

When the AF instance is an AF instance in the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance includes: setting an OpCode field in the OAM packet, and copying the source MAC address field to the Ethernet header. The destination MAC address field deletes the destination MAC address field of the source MAC address field, adds the next exit identifier field to the identifier TLV, and outputs the port.
The method according to claim 4, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement a fault indication function, the message is an alarm indication signal AIS message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: generating a new packet; setting an Ethernet type field; setting an OAM packet type to the AIS packet; setting an OAM protocol version. Field; set the identification bit; set the source MAC; set the destination MAC; set the maintenance entity group MEG level;

When the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: sending an AIS message that has been successfully verified by the MEP of the receiving end AF instance to an external processing module; wherein the external The processing module is configured to determine whether to trigger the reverse AF instance in the MEP of the receiving end maintenance entity group to generate an AIS packet with the remote defect indication RDI.
A message processing device, comprising:

The processing module is configured to process and forward the message by executing the pre-configured autonomous function AF instance in the software-defined network SDN architecture, where the AF instance includes at least one of the following fields: an AF identifier field, AF type field, AF index number field, instruction field, cycle time field, count field, status field.
The apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: an obtaining module, configured to: obtain the message by at least one of:

Receiving, by the execution of the AF instance, the message sent by the controller;

Receiving, by the AF instance, the packet sent by the switch;

The message is generated by the AF instance.
The device of claim 12, the device further comprising:

The setting module is set to: preset the action of the AF instance.
The device according to claim 13, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement remote fault detection, the message is a connection verification message CCM message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: outputting a peer-to-peer maintenance entity group endpoint Output Peer MEP action, setting-domain Set-Field action, and output port Output port action;

When the AF instance is a receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: outputting to an external software module, where the external software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the receiving end to maintain the inverse of the entity group endpoint MEP. A CCM message with a remote defect indication RDI set is generated to the AF instance.
The device according to claim 13, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement Ethernet loopback, the message is a ring report text;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to a port;

When the AF instance is a receiving AF instance or an intermediate AF instance, the action of the AF instance includes: exchanging a source address and a destination address, setting a running code OpCode of the loop report to 2, and setting an output port.
The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement an Ethernet path tracking function, the message is a path tracking message LTM message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: sending to a port;

When the AF instance is the AF instance in the receiving end AF instance or the intermediate node, the action of the AF instance includes: the lifetime time value TTL is decreased by 1, and the source address is set to the intermediate node of the maintenance entity group where the AF instance is located or The media access control MAC address of the tail node sets the LTM exit identifier type length value TLV value field to the node identifier of the current relay LTM message, and the output port.
The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement an Ethernet path tracking function, the message is a path tracking message LTM message;

When the AF instance is an AF instance in a receiving end AF instance or an intermediate node, the AF The action of the example includes: setting an OpCode field in the OAM packet, copying the source MAC address field to a destination MAC address field of the Ethernet header, deleting the destination MAC address field of the source MAC address field, and adding the next one. Export ID field to ID TLV, output port.
The device according to claim 13, wherein, when the AF instance is used to implement a fault indication function, the message is an alarm indication signal AIS message;

When the AF instance is a sender AF instance, the action of the sender AF instance includes: generating a new packet; setting an Ethernet type field; setting an OAM packet type to the AIS packet; setting an OAM protocol version. Field; set the identification bit; set the source MAC; set the destination MAC; set the maintenance entity group MEG level;

When the AF instance is the receiving end AF instance, the action of the receiving end AF instance includes: sending an AIS message that has been successfully verified by the MEP of the receiving end AF instance to an external software module; wherein the external The software module is configured to determine whether to trigger the reverse AF instance in the MEP of the receiving end maintenance entity group to generate an AIS message with the remote defect indication RDI.