WO2021227905A1 - Virtual network - Google Patents
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- WO2021227905A1 WO2021227905A1 PCT/CN2021/091693 CN2021091693W WO2021227905A1 WO 2021227905 A1 WO2021227905 A1 WO 2021227905A1 CN 2021091693 W CN2021091693 W CN 2021091693W WO 2021227905 A1 WO2021227905 A1 WO 2021227905A1
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- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 7
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 72
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 claims description 31
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 abstract description 9
- 238000009432 framing Methods 0.000 description 21
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 18
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- 235000008694 Humulus lupulus Nutrition 0.000 description 3
- 238000012937 correction Methods 0.000 description 3
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- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
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- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000004931 aggregating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005538 encapsulation Methods 0.000 description 1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
- H04L12/4633—Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
- H04L12/4641—Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN]
- H04L12/4645—Details on frame tagging
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
- H04L45/50—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
- H04L45/74—Address processing for routing
Definitions
- the present application relates to the field of computer networks and, in particular, to a virtual network.
- a wide area network is an interconnected web of network devices that typically interconnects local area networks or metropolitan area networks over a large geographical area, such as across the state or across the country. WANs allow remotely located computers to communicate with each other via the network devices.
- Conventional network devices typically include one or more physical network ports that operate at a predetermined fixed data rate, such as for example, 10/100/1000 Mbps (megabits per second) , 10 Gbps (gigabits per second) , 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps connection.
- a predetermined fixed data rate such as for example, 10/100/1000 Mbps (megabits per second) , 10 Gbps (gigabits per second) , 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps connection.
- the present invention includes a virtual network with virtual ports that effectively increase the number of available physical ports.
- the virtual network of the present invention includes a virtual entry device, a virtual exit device, which is to be coupled to a remote router/switch, and a communication channel that is coupled to the virtual entry device and the virtual exit device.
- the virtual entry device receives an input frame that has a header that identifies the remote router/switch.
- the input frame originates from one of a plurality of sources.
- the virtual entry device also determines the virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch, and encapsulates the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame.
- the first encapsulated frame has a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame.
- the virtual entry device determines a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device, and encapsulates the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame.
- the second encapsulated frame has a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame.
- the virtual entry device combines the second encapsulated frame with second encapsulated frames from other sources to form a stream of second encapsulated frames, and transmits the stream of second encapsulated frames.
- the present invention also includes a method of operating a virtual network.
- the method includes receiving an input frame that has a header that identifies a remote router/switch.
- the input frame originates from one of a plurality of sources.
- the method also includes determining a virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch, and encapsulating the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame.
- the first encapsulated frame having a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame.
- the method includes determining a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device, and encapsulating the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame.
- the second encapsulated frame has a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame. Further, the method includes combining the second encapsulated frame with other second encapsulated frames from the plurality of sources to form a sequence of second encapsulated frames, and transmitting the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- the present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embedded therein program instructions, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a method of operating a virtual network.
- the method includes receiving an input frame that has a header that identifies a remote router/switch.
- the input frame originates from one of a plurality of sources.
- the method also includes determining a virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch, and encapsulating the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame.
- the first encapsulated frame having a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame.
- the method includes determining a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device, and encapsulating the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame.
- the second encapsulated frame has a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame.
- the method includes combining the second encapsulated frame with other second encapsulated frames from the plurality of sources to form a sequence of second encapsulated frames, and transmitting the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtual network 100 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 1B is a flow chart illustrating a method 150 of operating virtual network 100 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating examples of frames in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a transmit circuit 200 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example of a transmit circuit 250 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 3A is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 300 of operating transmit circuit 200 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 3B is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 350 of operating transmit circuit 200 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a transmit circuit 400 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 5 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a transmit circuit 500 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtual exit device 600 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 700 of operating virtual exit device 600 in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a receive circuit 800 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a receive circuit 900 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 1A shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a virtual network 100 in accordance with the present invention.
- virtual network 100 includes a virtual entry device 110, a virtual exit device 112, and a communication channel 114 that couples virtual entry device 110 to virtual exit device 112.
- Virtual network 100 interconnects a local router/switch 120 with a remote router/switch 122.
- local router/switch 120 is coupled to a number of local devices, such as a set-top box (STB) , a personal computer (PC) , and a video device (VID)
- remote router/switch 122 is coupled to a corresponding number of remote devices.
- virtual entry device 110 receives streams of data frames, such as set-top box (STB) , personal computer (PC) , and video data frames, from local router/switch 120, combines the streams of data frames into a single stream of virtual data frames, and transmits the single stream of virtual data frames onto channel 114.
- streams of data frames such as set-top box (STB) , personal computer (PC) , and video data frames
- STB set-top box
- PC personal computer
- video data frames from local router/switch 120
- FIG. 1B shows a flow chart that illustrates a method 150 of operating virtual network 100 in accordance with the present invention.
- method 150 begins at 152 where virtual entry device 110 receives an input frame from local router/switch 120.
- the input frame such as a STB, PC, or VID frame, which originates from a local device, such as the STB, PC, or VID, has a header that identifies a remote router/switch which, in the present example, is remote router/switch 122.
- FIG. 1C shows a diagram that illustrates examples of frames in accordance with the present invention.
- an input frame has a header that includes a Src MAC A field that identifies the MAC address of a local router/switch, such as local router/switch 120, and a Dist MAC B field that identifies the MAC address of a remote router/switch, such as remote router/switch 122.
- the input frame also includes other fields, such as a type field, a data field, and an error correction (CRC) field.
- CRC error correction
- method 150 next moves to 154 where virtual entry device 110 determines the virtual exit device that is coupled to the remote router/switch from the identity of the remote router/switch.
- the MAC address of remote router/switch 122 taken from the Dist MAC B field, can be used to identify the MAC address of virtual exit device 112, which is coupled to remote router/switch 122, via a lookup table.
- method 150 moves to 156 where virtual entry device 110 encapsulates the input frame to form a first encapsulated (FE) frame.
- the FE frame has a field that identifies the virtual exit device, which is virtual exit device 112 in the present example, and a field that includes the input frame.
- the encapsulation can be performed with a conventional protocol, such as the provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering (PBB-TE) protocol or the transport multiprotocol label switching (T-MPLS) protocol.
- PBB-TE provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering
- T-MPLS transport multiprotocol label switching
- a FE frame has a Dst MAC X field that identifies the MAC address of a virtual exit device, such as virtual exit device 112, and a Src MAC N field that identifies the MAC address of a virtual entry device, such as virtual entry device 110.
- the FE frame also includes other fields, such as an I-tag field, a payload field an includes an input frame, and a CRC field.
- method 150 next moves to 158 where virtual entry device 110 determines a next hop for the FE frame from the identity of the virtual exit device. For example, virtual entry device 110 can input the MAC address of the virtual exit device into a lookup table to determine the MAC address of the next hop in virtual network 100. After this, method 150 moves to 160 where virtual entry device 110 encapsulates the FE frame to form a second encapsulated (SE) frame. Each SE frame, in turn, has a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes a FE frame.
- SE encapsulated
- a SE frame has a Src MAC C field that identifies the MAC address of the current device which, in the present example is virtual entry device 110, and a Dist MAC H field that identifies the MAC address of a next hop in virtual network 100 which, in the present example, is virtual exit device 112.
- the SE frame also includes a Dst vID field that identifies a virtual port of the virtual entry device, and a Src vID field that identifies a corresponding virtual port in the virtual exit device.
- method 150 next moves to 162 where virtual entry device 110 combines the SE frame with second encapsulated frames from other sources to form a single stream of SE frames.
- the single stream of SE frames can include SE STB frames, SE PC frames, and SE video frames in any order, sequential or random.
- method 150 moves to 164 where virtual entry device 110 transmits the stream of second encapsulated frames out to communication channel 114.
- channel 114 passes the single stream of SE frames at a single wavelength to virtual exit device 112.
- Method 150 next moves to 166 where virtual exit device 112 receives the sequence of second encapsulated frames, and switchably separates the second encapsulated frame from the sequence of second encapsulated frames. After this, method 150 moves to 168 where virtual exit device 112 unpacks the second encapsulated frame to extract the first encapsulated frame, and then moves to 170 where virtual exit device 112 unpacks the first encapsulated frame to extract the original input frame. Following this, method 150 moves to 172 where virtual exit device 112 transmits the original input frame to the remote router/switch that is identified in the header of the original input frame, which in the present example is remote router/switch 122.
- the virtual entry and exit devices 110 and 112 have static forwarding tables that are administratively assigned.
- each frame e.g., STB, PC, video
- the identity of the virtual exit device 112 that is coupled to the remote router/switch can be administratively assigned and provided to the virtual entry device 110 such that the hops taken by a frame through virtual network 100 are preassigned.
- FIG. 2A shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a virtual entry device 200 in accordance with the present invention.
- virtual entry device 200 includes a local physical port 210, a framing circuit 212 that is coupled to local physical port 210, and a number of transmit virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan that are coupled to framing circuit 212.
- Each transmit virtual port vPORTa includes a transmit queue and a transmit frame formatting circuit.
- virtual entry device 200 also includes a transmit virtual switch 214 that is coupled to each of the transmit virtual ports vPORTa, and a network physical port 216 that is coupled to transmit virtual switch 214.
- FIG. 3A shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of a method 300 of operating virtual entry device 200 in accordance with the present invention.
- method 300 begins at 310 with framing circuit 212 receiving a series of input frames from local physical port 210.
- Method 300 next moves to 312 to examine the series of input frames to determine a frame type (e.g., STB, PC, video) for each input frame, and then moves to 314 to determine a virtual exit device that is associated with each input frame based on the frame type.
- a frame type e.g., STB, PC, video
- method 300 moves to 316 where framing circuit 212 encapsulates the series of input frames to form a number of first encapsulated (FE) frames.
- the FE frames have headers that identify the virtual exit devices that are associated with the series of input frames.
- method 300 moves to 318 where the transmit virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan determine the next hops in a virtual network for the FE frames based on the virtual exit devices in the headers of the FE frames.
- method 300 moves to 320 where the transmit virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan encapsulate the FE frames to form second encapsulated (SE) frames.
- SE encapsulated
- Each SE frame has a header that identifies a next hop of the SE frame based on the next hop of a FE frame.
- the header also identifies the receive virtual port of the associated virtual exit device of an input frame.
- the transmit virtual ports occupy a first portion of a shared memory.
- method 300 moves to 322 where transmit virtual switch 214 cycles through the transmit virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan sequentially forwarding a SE frame from each transmit virtual port vPORTa in a fixed repeating order to output a sequence of SE frames.
- virtual switch 214 can output a sequence of SE frames where the first SE frame is from vPORT1, the second frame is from vPORT2, the third frame is from vPORT3, and a fourth frame is again from vPORT1.
- a transmit virtual port vPORTa is empty or partially full, then no frame is generated. For example, if transmit virtual port vPORT2 is empty, then network physical port 216 outputs a frame sequence that includes frame 1, no frame, frame 3. Method 300 next moves to 324 where network physical port 216 transmits the SE frames onto the virtual network.
- FIG. 3B shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of a method 350 of operating transmit circuit 200 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- Method 350 is similar to method 300 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the elements that are common to both methods.
- method 350 first diverges from method 300 at 352 where virtual switch 214 determines whether a full signal has been received from any of the transmit virtual ports vPORTa.
- the full signal indicates that the SE frame in a transmit virtual port vPORTa is ready to be transmitted.
- method 350 moves to 354 where virtual switch 214 forwards the SE frame from the transmit virtual port vPORTa that output the full signal to network physical port 216.
- virtual switch 214 could sequentially receive a full signal from transmit virtual port vPORTa1, transmit virtual port vPORTa2, and transmit virtual port vPORTa3.
- virtual switch 214 outputs a sequence of SE frames where the first SE frame is from transmit virtual port vPORT1, the second frame is from transmit virtual port vPORT2, and the third frame is from transmit virtual port vPORT3.
- one of the sources can have a data rate that is much faster than the data rates of the other sources (e.g., STB, PC, video sources) which, in turn, causes one transmit virtual port vPORTa to output a full signal much more frequently than the other transmit virtual ports vPORTa.
- transmit virtual port vPORTa2 outputs frames at a rate that is 3X faster than each of the frame rates of transmit virtual ports vPORTa1 and vPORTa3, transmit virtual port vPORTa2 signals full three times before the other ports, and transmit virtual port vPORTa1 signals before vPORTa3 signals, then virtual switch 214 forwards a sequence of frames that includes a first frame from the transmit virtual port vPORT2, a second frame from transmit virtual port vPORT2, a third frame from transmit virtual port vPORT2, a fourth frame from transmit virtual port vPORT1, and a fifth frame from transmit virtual port vPORT3.
- the transmit virtual ports vPORTa-vPORTan can alternately include a priority scheme that allows frames to be forwarded from a transmit virtual port vPORTa to a network physical port in any amount and in any order.
- method 350 moves to 356 where network physical port 216 transmits the SE frame.
- the frame to be output is predictable, whereas the frame to be output in method 350 is not predictable, although a priority scheme provides a level of predictability.
- framing circuit 212 includes a virtual switch 220 and a framer 222 that is coupled to virtual switch 220.
- Virtual switch 220 detects a type of input frame (e.g., STB, PC, video) , determines a route for a frame to a virtual port vPORTa that corresponds with the type of frame from a static forwarding table, and outputs the frame towards the virtual port vPORTa.
- a type of input frame e.g., STB, PC, video
- virtual switch 220 receives the STB frame transmitted by a local source router/switch, such as router/switch 120, and detects the received frame to be a STB frame from the source and/or destination MAC address in the STB frame. Switch 220 then outputs the STB frame on a first virtual port line P1 routed towards virtual port vPORTa1, which was pre-selected to receive STB frames.
- a local source router/switch such as router/switch 120
- virtual switch 220 receives the PC frame transmitted by the local source router/switch, and detects the received frame to be a PC frame from the source and/or destination MAC address in the PC frame. Switch 220 then outputs the PC frame on a second virtual port line P2 routed towards virtual port vPORTa2, which was pre-selected to receive PC frames.
- Virtual switch 220 also receives the video frame transmitted by the local router/switch, detects the received frame to be a video frame from the source and/or destination MAC address in the video frame, and then outputs the video frame on a third virtual port line P3 routed towards virtual port vPORTa3, which was pre-selected to receive video frames.
- Framer 222 receives the STB frame on virtual port line P1, encapsulates the STB frame to form a first encapsulated (FE) STB frame, and then forwards the FE STB frame to the transmit queue of virtual port vPORTa1.
- framer 222 receives the PC frame on virtual port line P2, encapsulates the PC frame to form a first encapsulated (FE) PC frame, and then forwards the FE PC frame to the transmit queue of virtual port vPORTa2.
- Framer 222 also receives the video frame on virtual port line P3, encapsulates the video frame to form a first encapsulated (FE) video frame, and then forwards the FE video frame to the transmit queue of virtual port vPORTa3.
- Framer 222 can utilize a conventional protocol, such as the provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering (PBB-TE) protocol or the transport multiprotocol label switching (T-MPLS) protocol, to generate the encapsulated frames.
- PBB-TE provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering
- T-MPLS transport multiprotocol label switching
- the FE STB frame, the FE PC frame, and the FE video frame each has a header which has a number of fields that include an identification of the virtual exit device.
- the header of a FE frame can include an exit address field for the MAC address of the virtual exit device, an I-Tag field, or a similar field.
- the header can also include other fields, such as the MAC address of the virtual entry device.
- the MAC address of the virtual exit device is administratively provided to the virtual entry device.
- the frame formatting circuit in virtual port vPORTa1 of transmit circuit 200 receives the FE STB frame, determines a next hop in the virtual network for the FE STB frame from a static forwarding table based on the identification of the virtual exit device, such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device, in the header of the FE STB frame, and encapsulates the FE STB frame to form a second encapsulated (SE) STB frame.
- a static forwarding table based on the identification of the virtual exit device, such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device
- the frame formatting circuit in virtual port vPORTa2 of transmit circuit 200 receives the FE PC frame, determines a next hop in the virtual network for the FE PC frame from the static forwarding table based on the identification of the virtual exit device, such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device, in the header of the FE PC frame, and encapsulates the FE PC frame to form a second encapsulated (SE) PC frame.
- the virtual exit device such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device
- the frame formatting circuit in virtual port vPORTa3 of transmit circuit 200 receives the FE video frame, determines a next hop in the virtual network for the FE video frame from the static forwarding table based on the identification of the virtual exit device, such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device, in the header of the FE video frame, and encapsulates the FE video frame to form a second encapsulated (SE) video frame.
- the virtual exit device such as the MAC address of the virtual exit device
- the SE STB frame, the SE PC frame, and the SE video frame each includes a header with a next hop field that identifies the MAC address of the next hop in the virtual network, a source field Src_vID that identifies the virtual port number of the virtual entry device, and a destination field Dst_vID that identifies a virtual port number of the virtual exit device that corresponds with the virtual port number of the virtual entry device.
- the source field Src_vID for the SE STB frame is virtual port vPORTa1.
- Other fields, such as a last hop field, can also be included.
- virtual switch 214 cycles through the virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan sequentially forwarding a second encapsulated (SE) frame from each virtual port vPORTa to output a series of SE frames to physical port 216.
- switch 214 forwards a SE STB frame from virtual port vPORTa1 to physical port 216, followed by forwarding a SE PC frame from virtual port vPORTa2 to physical port 216, followed by forwarding a SE video frame from virtual port vPORTa3 to physical port 216, followed by forwarding a SE STB frame from virtual port vPORTa1 to physical port 216, and continuing in the same manner, with physical port 216 outputting the frames.
- FIG. 2 illustrates transmit circuit 200 as receiving and operating with input from a single local router/switch, transmit circuit 200 can alternately receive and operate with input from multiple router/switches.
- FIG. 2B shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a transmit circuit 250 in accordance with the present invention.
- Transmit circuit 250 is similar to transmit circuit 200 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the elements that are common to both transmit circuit 200 and transmit circuit 250.
- transmit circuit 250 differs from transmit circuit 200 in that transmit circuit 250 includes a first network physical port 216A and a second network physical port 216B, both of which are coupled to virtual switch 214.
- virtual switch 214 provides a continuous connection between transmit virtual port vPORTa1 and network physical port 216A. Further, an additional transmit virtual port vPORTa4 is shown.
- Transmit circuit 250 operates substantially the same as transmit circuit 200, except that one or more of the sources (e.g., STB, PC, or video source) outputs frames of data at a frame rate that is greater than the maximum frame rate of the network physical ports 216A and 216B.
- the sources e.g., STB, PC, or video source
- each of the network physical ports 216A and 216B can have a maximum frame rate of five frames per second.
- a set-top box outputs seven STB frames per second, while a personal computer outputs two PC frames per second and a video device outputs one video frame per second.
- the numbers cited are for illustration purposes only.
- five of the seven STB frames are transmitted from network physical port 216A, while the remaining two STB frames, two PC frames, and one video frame are transmitted from network physical port 216B in the manner illustrated by methods 300 and 350.
- transmit circuit 250 can handle incoming frame rates that are greater than the maximum frame rate of the network physical ports.
- FIG. 4 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a transmit circuit 400 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- Transmit circuit 400 is similar to transmit circuit 200 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the structures that are common to both circuits.
- transmit circuit 400 differs from transmit circuit 200 in that framing circuit 212 of transmit circuit 400 utilizes a serial-to-serial framer 410 followed by a serial-to-parallel virtual switch 412 that is coupled to the virtual ports vPORTa1-vPORTan in lieu of virtual switch 220 followed by framer 222.
- framer 410 and virtual switch 412 of transmit circuit 400 can be physically separated, with framer 410 being incorporated into a local router/switch.
- FIG. 5 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a transmit circuit 500 in accordance with the present invention.
- Transmit circuit 500 is similar to transmit circuit 400 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the structures that are common to both circuit 400 and circuit 500.
- a local framer router/switch 510 is utilized with transmit circuit 500 in lieu of a local router/switch that receives and outputs STB, PC, and video frames.
- FIG. 6 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a virtual exit device 600 in accordance with the present invention.
- virtual exit device 600 includes a network physical port 610 and a receive virtual switch 612 that is coupled to network physical port 610.
- Virtual exit device 600 also includes a number of receive virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn that are coupled to switch 612.
- Each receive virtual port vPORTb includes a receive queue and a receive frame formatting circuit.
- Virtual exit device 600 further includes a de-framing circuit 614 that is coupled to each of the receive virtual ports vPORTb, and a local physical port 616 that is coupled to de-framing circuit 614.
- FIG. 7 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of a method 700 of operating virtual exit device 600 in accordance with the present invention.
- method 700 begins at 710 with network physical port 610 receiving the second encapsulated (SE) frames from the virtual network.
- SE frames have headers that include next hop addresses and receive virtual port identifiers.
- method 700 moves to 712 where network physical port 610 examines the SE frames to determine next hop addresses, and compares the next hop addresses to a stored address. After this, method 700 moves to 714 where network physical port 610 forwards the SE frames with matching next hop addresses as matching encapsulated (ME) frames. In addition, port 610 drops the received SE frame when the identity of the next hop address does not match the stored address.
- ME encapsulated
- method 700 moves to 716 where receive virtual switch 612 switchably passes the ME frames based on the receive virtual port identifiers in the headers of the ME frames.
- Method 700 then moves to 718 where the receive virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn unpack the switchably-passed ME frames to extract the first encapsulated frames from the switchably-passed ME frames such that each receive virtual port vPORTb unpacks a ME frame to extract a first encapsulated frame.
- method 700 moves to 720 where de-framing circuit 614 unpacks the first encapsulated frames to extract the original STB, PC, and video input frames from the first encapsulated frames.
- the original STB, PC, and video input frames have a number of frame types. Further, each input frame has a header that identifies a destination router/switch.
- Method 700 then moves to 722 where de-framing circuit 614 forwards the STB, PC, and video frames to local physical port 616, which outputs the original STB, PC, and video frames to a remote router/switch, such as remote router/switch 122.
- virtual switch 612 receives a ME STB frame from network physical port 610, and determines that the destination virtual port is virtual port vPORTb1 from the destination virtual port number Dst_vID in the header of the ME STB frame. In addition, switch 612 determines a route to virtual port vPORTb1 from the static forwarding table, and then outputs the ME STB frame on a first virtual port line routed towards virtual port vPORTb1.
- virtual switch 612 receives a ME PC frame from network physical port 610, and determines that the destination virtual port is virtual port vPORTb2 from the destination virtual port number Dst_vID in the header of the ME PC frame. Further, switch 612 determines a route to virtual port vPORTb2 from the static forwarding table, and then outputs the ME PC frame on a second virtual port line routed towards virtual port vPORTb2.
- virtual switch 612 receives a ME video frame from network physical port 610, and determines that the destination virtual port is virtual port vPORTb3 from the destination virtual port number Dst_vID in the header of the ME video frame. Switch 612 determines a route to virtual port vPORTb3 from the static forwarding table, and then outputs the ME video frame on a third virtual port line routed towards virtual port vPORTb3.
- the virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn receive the ME frames, and unpack the ME frames to extract the FE frames, such as a FE STB frame, a FE PC frame, and a FE video frame, from the ME frames.
- the receive queue of a first virtual port vPORTb1 receives a ME STB frame, while the frame formatting circuit of virtual port vPORTb1 unpacks the ME STB frame to extract the FE STB frame, which has a header that includes the identity of the virtual exit device.
- the receive queue of a second virtual port vPORTb2 receives a ME PC frame, while the frame formatting circuit of virtual port vPORTb2 unpacks the ME PC frame to extract the fourth encapsulated PC frame, which has a header that includes the identity of the virtual exit device.
- the receive queue of a third virtual port vPORTb3 receives a ME video frame, while the frame formatting circuit of virtual port vPORTb3 unpacks the ME video frame to extract the fourth encapsulated video frame, which has a header that includes the identity of the virtual exit device.
- De-framing circuit 614 receives the plurality of FE frames, and extracts the original STB, PC, and video input frames from the FE frames.
- the input frames have a number of frame types, e.g., STB, PC, video.
- Each input frame has a header that includes the identity of a remote router/switch.
- de-framing circuit 614 unpacks a FE frame to extract an input frame, determines an identity of a remote router/switch from the header of the input frame, and outputs the input frame to a local physical port 616, which outputs the input frame to a remote router/switch, such as remote router/switch 122.
- de-framing circuit 614 includes a de-framer 620 and a virtual switch 622 that is coupled to de-framer 620.
- de-framer 620 receives the FE frames from the plurality of receive virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn, and unpacks the FE frames to extract the original input frames, e.g., the STB frame, the PC frame, and the video frame, and forwards the STB frame, the PC frame, and the video frame to virtual switch 622.
- de-framer 620 receives the FE STB frame from receive virtual port vPORTb1, unpacks the FE frame to extract the STB frame, and forwards the STB frame to virtual switch 622.
- de-framer 620 receives the FE PC frame from receive virtual port vPORTb2, unpacks the FE frame to extract the PC frame, and forwards the PC frame to virtual switch 622.
- de-framer 620 receives the FE video frame from receive virtual port vPORTb3, unpacks the FE frame to extract the video frame, and forwards the video frame to virtual switch 622.
- De-framer 620 can utilize the same or different protocol as framer 222.
- Virtual switch 622 cycles through the outputs of de-framer 620 sequentially receiving and forwarding output frames to local physical port 616.
- virtual switch 622 receives the STB frame from de-framer 620, detects the MAC address of a remote router/switch, and outputs the STB frame to local physical port 616.
- virtual switch 622 receives the PC frame from de-framer 620, detects the MAC address of a remote router/switch, and outputs the PC frame to local physical port 616.
- virtual switch 622 receives the video frame from de-framer 620, detects the MAC address of a remote router/switch, and outputs the video frame to local physical port 616.
- Local physical port 616 outputs the frames to a remote router/switch.
- FIG. 6 example illustrates de-framing circuit 614 with a parallel-to-parallel de-framer 620 followed by a parallel-to-serial virtual switch 622.
- De-framing circuit 614 can be alternately realized with other circuit arrangements.
- de-framing circuit 614 can be implemented with a serial-to-parallel virtual switch that is coupled to the virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn followed by a serial-to-serial framer.
- FIG. 8 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a virtual exit device 800 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
- Virtual exit device 800 is similar to virtual exit device 600 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the structures that are common to both devices.
- virtual exit device 800 differs from virtual exit device 600 in that framing circuit 614 of virtual exit device 800 includes a parallel-to- serial virtual switch 810 that is coupled to the virtual ports vPORTb1-vPORTbn, followed by a serial-to-serial de-framer 812.
- framing circuit 212 and de-framing circuit 614 can be interchanged.
- virtual entry device 110 can utilize framing circuit 212 implemented with virtual switch 220 and framer 222
- virtual exit device can utilize de-framing circuit 614 virtual switch 810 and de-framer 812.
- virtual switch 810 and de-framer 812 can be physically separated, with de-framer 812 being incorporated into a local router/switch.
- FIG. 9 shows a block diagram that illustrates an example of a receive circuit 900 in accordance with the present invention.
- Receive circuit 900 is similar to receive circuit 800 and, as a result, utilizes the same reference numerals to designate the structures that are common to both circuit 800 and circuit 900.
- a local de-framer router/switch 910 is utilized in receive circuit 900 in lieu of a local router switch.
- a transmit virtual port vPORTa determines a next hop in the virtual network to the virtual exit device that ends the link under test. Following this, the transmit virtual port vPORTa generates a test SE frame with a header that identifies the frame as a test frame, and the virtual exit device that ends the link to be tested.
- Virtual switch 214 passes the test SE frame to a network physical port in the manners described above, which transmits the test SE frame.
- the test SE frame arrives at the virtual exit device in the manner described above, where a receive virtual port vPORTb unpacks the test SE frame in the manner described above to extract the testing information.
- the receive virtual port vPORTb can then determine frame latency, frame lost rate, and live/shutdown status from the test SE frames which, in turn, can be utilized to determine a quality of service (QoS) measure.
- QoS quality of service
- a procedure, logic block, process, or the like is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or instructions leading to a desired result.
- the operations are those utilizing physical manipulations of physical quantities.
- these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computing system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as transactions, bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, samples, pixels, or the like.
- the computing system or similar electronic computing device or processor manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories, registers, other such information storage, and/or other computer readable media into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
- a portion of the embodiments of the present application that contributes to the prior art or a portion of the technical solution may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for causing a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a mobile computing device, or a network device, and so on) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present application.
- the foregoing storage medium includes: a USB drive, a portable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM) , a random-access memory (RAM) , a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and the like, which can store program code.
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Abstract
Description
Claims (20)
- A virtual network, comprising:a virtual entry device;a virtual exit device to be coupled to a remote router/switch; anda communication channel coupled to the virtual entry device and the virtual exit device,the virtual entry device to:receive an input frame having a header that identifies the remote router/switch, the input frame originating from one of a plurality of sources;determine the virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch;encapsulate the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame, the first encapsulated frame having a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame;determine a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device;encapsulate the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame, the second encapsulated frame having a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame;combine the second encapsulated frame with second encapsulated frames from other sources to form a sequence of second encapsulated frames; andtransmit the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The virtual network of claim 1, wherein the virtual exit device to:receive the sequence of second encapsulated frames; andseparate the second encapsulated frame from the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The virtual network of claim 2, wherein the virtual exit device to further:unpack the second encapsulated frame to extract the first encapsulated frame;unpack the first encapsulated frame to extract the input frame; andtransmit the input frame to the remote router/switch.
- The virtual network of claim 3, wherein:the virtual entry device generates a test frame that has a header that identifies a virtual exit device under test, and transmits the test frame to the virtual exit device under test; andthe virtual exit device receives the test frame, unpacks the test frame, and determines one or more measures of status from the unpacked test frame.
- The virtual network of claim 3, wherein the communication channel includes a fiber optic cable that passes the plurality of packed data frames as a single stream of data at a single wavelength.
- The virtual network of claim 3, wherein the virtual entry device encapsulates the input frame with a protocol from a group of protocols that includes a provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering (PBB-TE) protocol and a transfer multiprotocol listing switch (T-MPLS) protocol.
- A method of operating a virtual network, comprising:receiving an input frame having a header that identifies a remote router/switch, the input frame originating from one of a plurality of sources;determining a virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch;encapsulating the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame, the first encapsulated frame having a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame;determining a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device;encapsulating the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame, the second encapsulated frame having a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame;combining the second encapsulated frame with other second encapsulated frames from the plurality of sources to form a sequence of second encapsulated frames; andtransmitting the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The method of claim 7, further comprising:receiving the sequence of second encapsulated frames; andseparating the second encapsulated frame from the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The method of claim 8, further comprising:unpacking the second encapsulated frame to extract the first encapsulated frame;unpacking the first encapsulated frame to extract the input frame; andtransmitting the input frame to the remote router/switch identified in the headers of the input frame.
- The method of claim 8, further comprising:generating a test frame that has a header that identifies a virtual exit device under test, and transmitting the test frame to the virtual exit device under test; andreceiving the test frame, unpacking the test frame, and determining one or more measures of status from the unpacked test frame.
- The method of claim 8, further comprising passing the sequence of second encapsulated frames from the virtual entry device to the virtual exit device, the sequence of second encapsulated frames being passed in a fiber optic cable as a single stream of data at a single wavelength.
- The method of claim 8, wherein the sequence of second encapsulated frames includes a first frame that includes an input frame that originated from a first source, a second frame that includes an input frame that originated from a second source, and a third frame that includes an input frame that originated from a third source.
- The method of claim 8, wherein the input frame is encapsulated with a protocol from a group of protocols that include a provider backbone bridge-traffic engineering (PBB-TE) protocol and a transfer multiprotocol listing switch (T-MPLS) protocol.
- A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embedded therein program instructions, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a method of operating a virtual network, the method comprising:receiving an input frame having a header that identifies a remote router/switch, the input frame originating from one of a plurality of sources;determining a virtual exit device from the identity of the remote router/switch;encapsulating the input frame to form a first encapsulated frame, the first encapsulated frame having a field that identifies the virtual exit device, and a field that includes the input frame;determining a next hop for the first encapsulated frame from the identity of the virtual exit device;encapsulating the first encapsulated frame to form a second encapsulated frame, the second encapsulated frame having a field that identifies a next hop, and a field that includes the first encapsulated frame;combining the second encapsulated frame with other second encapsulated frames from the plurality of sources to form a sequence of second encapsulated frames; andtransmitting the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The medium of claim 14, further comprising:receiving the sequence of second encapsulated frames; andseparating the second encapsulated frame from the sequence of second encapsulated frames.
- The medium of claim 15, further comprising:unpacking the second encapsulated frame to extract the first encapsulated frame;unpacking the first encapsulated frame to extract the input frame; andtransmitting the input frame to the remote router/switch identified in the headers of the input frame.
- The medium of claim 16, further comprisinggenerating a test frame that has a header that identifies a virtual exit device under test, and transmitting the test frame to the virtual exit device under test; andreceiving the test frame, unpacking the test frame, and determining one or more measures of status from the unpacked test frame.
- The medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises passing the sequence of second encapsulated frames from the virtual entry device to the virtual exit device, the sequence of second encapsulated frames being passed in a fiber optic cable as a single stream of data at a single wavelength.
- The medium of claim 14, wherein the sequence of second encapsulated frames includes a first frame that includes an input frame that originated from a first source, a second frame that includes an input frame that originated from a second source, and a third frame that includes an input frame that originated from a third source.
- The medium of claim 14, wherein the input frame is encapsulated with a protocol from a group of protocols that include a provider backbone bridge- traffic engineering (PBB-TE) protocol and a transfer multiprotocol listing switch (T-MPLS) protocol.
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Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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BR112022021770A BR112022021770A2 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | VIRTUAL NETWORK, METHOD OF OPERATING A VIRTUAL NETWORK, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIA |
AU2021271897A AU2021271897A1 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | Virtual network |
EP21804968.2A EP4150865A4 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | Virtual network |
KR1020227039409A KR20230002635A (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | virtual network |
CN202180034369.2A CN115552860B (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | Virtual network |
JP2022563955A JP2023525966A (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-04-30 | virtual network |
CONC2022/0016065A CO2022016065A2 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2022-11-09 | virtual network |
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US16/872,153 US11362865B2 (en) | 2020-04-02 | 2020-05-11 | Virtual network |
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2021
- 2021-04-30 KR KR1020227039409A patent/KR20230002635A/en active Search and Examination
- 2021-04-30 WO PCT/CN2021/091693 patent/WO2021227905A1/en unknown
- 2021-04-30 AU AU2021271897A patent/AU2021271897A1/en active Pending
- 2021-04-30 JP JP2022563955A patent/JP2023525966A/en active Pending
- 2021-04-30 EP EP21804968.2A patent/EP4150865A4/en active Pending
- 2021-04-30 BR BR112022021770A patent/BR112022021770A2/en unknown
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- 2022-11-09 CO CONC2022/0016065A patent/CO2022016065A2/en unknown
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CN103209110A (en) * | 2007-01-17 | 2013-07-17 | 北方电讯网络有限公司 | Method and apparatus for interworking Ethernet and MPLS networks |
CN101286922A (en) * | 2008-05-05 | 2008-10-15 | 华为技术有限公司 | Signalling control method, system and apparatus |
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AU2021271897A1 (en) | 2022-12-08 |
KR20230002635A (en) | 2023-01-05 |
JP2023525966A (en) | 2023-06-20 |
BR112022021770A2 (en) | 2022-12-13 |
EP4150865A4 (en) | 2024-05-15 |
EP4150865A1 (en) | 2023-03-22 |
CO2022016065A2 (en) | 2022-12-09 |
CN115552860A (en) | 2022-12-30 |
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