CN107196984B

CN107196984B - Metadata sharing method, metadata source equipment and network intermediate equipment

Info

Publication number: CN107196984B
Application number: CN201610146567.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周兴旺; 李晋; 李从娟
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honor Device Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-03-15
Filing date: 2016-03-15
Publication date: 2020-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 2036-03-15
Also published as: CN107196984A

Abstract

The invention provides a metadata sharing method, metadata source equipment and network intermediate equipment. The method comprises the following steps: the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment; after the negotiation is successful, the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device. By the method, the metadata can be shared according to needs, and the metadata sharing efficiency is improved.

Description

Metadata sharing method, metadata source equipment and network intermediate equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a metadata sharing method, a metadata source device, and a network intermediary device.

Background

In a communication network, in addition to forwarding devices for performing switching and routing functions, a large number of devices for performing other specific functions are included, which devices are referred to in the industry as intermediate network devices (middlebox). The network intermediate device is for example: load balancing equipment for realizing load balance, firewall equipment for realizing a safety function, NAT equipment for realizing a Network Address Translation (NAT) function, agent equipment for realizing an agent and cache function, content filtering equipment for realizing a parent-child Control (places Control) function, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) equipment and the like.

The network intermediate devices have similar working principles, that is, header information or payload (payload) information of a message needs to be acquired to perform corresponding function processing. For example, the 4-layer load balancing device needs to perform load balancing according to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) five-tuple information of the message; the 5-layer load balancing device needs to obtain stream identity (stream identity) information in a hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) load to perform load balancing. For another example, the content filtering device implementing the parent-child account function needs to obtain information of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the HTTP request. Information used by the network middleware to accomplish a specific function, such as five-tuple information, stream identification information, and URL information, is called metadata (metadata).

However, with the development of communication technology, more and more messages on the network are encrypted and then transmitted, so that the load information in the messages is no longer in a plaintext manner, and therefore, the device in the network cannot easily check the load information, and therefore, the network intermediate device that needs to obtain metadata according to the load information to complete a specific function cannot normally operate.

In order to enable the network intermediate device to work normally, a solution is as follows: an additional layer of delivery metadata is added in addition to the message encryption information. When the method is implemented specifically, all currently known metadata are sent to the devices in the network as far as possible, so that the network intermediate device can be ensured to obtain the required metadata to the maximum extent.

However, this method cannot enumerate all metadata, so there are cases where the network intermediate device cannot work properly. In addition, there may be only a few network intermediate devices on the message transmission path, and excessive metadata may cause bloated state and waste network resources. Therefore, the metadata sharing method in the prior art is inefficient.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a metadata sharing method, metadata source equipment and network intermediate equipment, which are used for solving the technical problem that the metadata sharing method in the prior art is low in efficiency.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metadata sharing method, including:

the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment; after the negotiation is successful, the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

In the embodiment of the invention, through the scheme that the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment carry out metadata negotiation, and then the metadata source equipment sends the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment to the network intermediate equipment, the metadata source equipment can accurately share the metadata to the corresponding network intermediate equipment, so that all the currently known metadata do not need to be shared to the network intermediate equipment like in the prior art, thereby ensuring that the network intermediate equipment can normally work, reducing the transmission of unnecessary metadata, saving network resources and reducing the risk of information leakage. Therefore, the efficiency of the metadata sharing method in the embodiment of the present invention is higher than that in the prior art.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the negotiating, by the metadata source device and a network intermediary device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the metadata source equipment receives a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the negotiating, by the metadata source device and a network intermediary device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the metadata source device sends inquiry information about metadata requirements to the network intermediate device; the metadata source equipment receives the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the negotiating, by the metadata source device and a network intermediary device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the metadata source device sends notification information to the network intermediate device to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device can provide; the metadata source equipment receives the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful. By the method, the metadata source equipment can actively inform the network intermediate equipment of what type of metadata can be provided, so that the problem that the intermediate network equipment cannot know which metadata source equipment can provide the metadata required by the intermediate network equipment can be solved.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending, by the metadata source device, the required metadata to the network intermediary device includes: and the metadata source device independently sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending, by the metadata source device, the required metadata to the network intermediary device includes: and the metadata source equipment sends the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device along with the service packet, the method further includes: the metadata source device sends the index of the required metadata to the network intermediate device; correspondingly, the method further comprises the following steps: the metadata source device sends the index to the network intermediate device together with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata. The method can accelerate the speed of searching the metadata by the network intermediate equipment.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, before the metadata source device and a network intermediary device negotiate metadata required by the network intermediary device, the method further includes: the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment. By the method, the metadata can be prevented from being leaked to cause potential safety hazards.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device, the method further includes: the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the eighth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device, the method further includes: the metadata source device negotiates management information regarding the required metadata with the network intermediary device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metadata sharing method, including:

the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment; after the negotiation is successful, the network intermediate device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device; the network intermediate equipment receives a service message related to the metadata source equipment; and the network intermediate equipment processes the service message according to the required metadata.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the negotiating, by the network intermediary device and a metadata source device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the network intermediate device sends a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the negotiating, by the network intermediary device and a metadata source device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the network intermediate device receives inquiry information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediate device; the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the negotiating, by the network intermediary device and a metadata source device, metadata required by the network intermediary device includes: the network intermediate equipment receives notification information sent by the metadata source equipment, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate equipment of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source equipment; the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect to the third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, when the required metadata is sent along with the service packet, before the network intermediate device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further includes: the network intermediate device receives the index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source device; correspondingly, before the network intermediate device processes the service packet according to the required metadata, the method further includes: the network intermediate device receives the index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source device; and the network intermediate equipment acquires the required metadata according to the index.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the network intermediary device and the metadata source device negotiate metadata required by the network intermediary device, the method further includes: and the network intermediate equipment determines the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment as the metadata source equipment according to the preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and the metadata type.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the network intermediary device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further includes: the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; correspondingly, the method further comprises the following steps: and the network intermediate equipment decrypts the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the network intermediary device and a metadata source device negotiate metadata required by the network intermediary device, the method further includes: the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, after the negotiation is successful, before the network intermediary device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further includes: the network intermediary device negotiates management information regarding the required metadata with the metadata source device.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metadata source device, including:

a processor for negotiating metadata required by a network intermediary device with the network intermediary device; a transmitter for transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediary device after the negotiation is successful; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the metadata source device further includes a receiver, and the processor is configured to: receiving, by the receiver, a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediary; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

With reference to the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the metadata source device further includes a receiver, and the processor is configured to: sending, by the sender, query information regarding metadata requirements to the network intermediary device; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiver; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

With reference to the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the metadata source device further includes a receiver, and the processor is configured to: sending, by the sender, notification information to the network intermediary device to inform the network intermediary device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device is capable of providing; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiver; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that it agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transmitter is configured to: and transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediate device separately.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transmitter is configured to: and sending the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transmitter is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment together with the service message, the index of the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment; correspondingly, the transmitter is further configured to: sending the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with a network intermediate device before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate device with the network intermediate device; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processor is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the transmitter transmits the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment, negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with the network intermediate equipment; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the eighth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processor is further configured to: the processor is further configured to: negotiating with the network intermediary device management information regarding the required metadata after the negotiation is successful before the transmitter transmits the required metadata to the network intermediary device.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network intermediary device, including:

a processor for negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device; the receiver is used for receiving the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment after the negotiation is successful; receiving a service message related to the metadata source equipment; the processor is further configured to: and processing the service message according to the required metadata.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processor is configured to: transmitting, by the transmitter, a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the network intermediary device further includes a transmitter, and the processor is configured to: receiving, by the receiver, query information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediary device; and transmitting the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the network intermediary device further includes a transmitter, and the processor is configured to: receiving notification information sent by the metadata source device through the receiver, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate device of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device; and transmitting the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiver is further configured to: when the required metadata and the service message are sent along the path, before the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment is received, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment; correspondingly, the receiver is further configured to: before the processor processes the service message according to the required metadata, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment; the processor is further configured to: and acquiring the required metadata according to the index.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processor is further configured to: before negotiating about metadata required by the network intermediate device with metadata source equipment, determining the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate device as the metadata source equipment according to a preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and metadata types.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with the metadata source device before the receiver receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device; the type of metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; and decrypting the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with metadata source equipment before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate equipment with the metadata source equipment; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first possible implementation manner to the seventh possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processor is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, negotiating management information about the required metadata with the metadata source device before the receiver receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metadata source device, where the metadata source device includes a functional module for implementing the method described in the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network intermediary device, where the network intermediary device includes a functional module for implementing the method in the second aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a structural diagram of a metadata source device and a network intermediate device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for sharing metadata at a metadata source device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for sharing metadata on a network middleware according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a block diagram of another communication network provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a block diagram of yet another communication network provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of a metadata source device and a network intermediate device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The method for sharing the metadata provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to a communication network system. Referring to fig. 1, a block diagram of a possible communication network system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 1, the communication network system includes a metadata source device and a network intermediate device. The metadata source device is a provider of metadata, and the network intermediate device is a demander of the metadata. The metadata source device may be various devices, such as a mobile phone, a base station, a server, etc., according to the actual application environment. The network intermediate device may also be a plurality of different network devices, such as a load balancing device, a firewall device, and a NAT device, according to different actual application environments. In addition, in practical applications, there may be a plurality of network intermediate devices and metadata source devices, and one network intermediate device may communicate with a plurality of metadata source devices, for example, in fig. 1, the network intermediate device 1 may communicate with the metadata source device 1 and the metadata source device 2, and the network intermediate device 2 may communicate with the metadata source device 2 and the metadata source device 3. Similarly, a metadata source device may communicate with multiple network intermediary devices, such as in fig. 1, metadata source device 2 may communicate with network intermediary device 1 and network intermediary device 2.

Referring next to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a block diagram of a metadata source device and a network intermediate device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the metadata source device and the network intermediate device each include: a processor 10, a transmitter 20, a receiver 30 and a memory 40. The memory 40, the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30, and the processor 10 may be connected by a bus. Of course, in practical applications, the memory 40, the transmitter 20, the receiver 30 and the processor 10 may be not in a bus structure, but may be in other structures, such as a star structure, and the present application is not limited in particular.

Optionally, the processor 10 may be a central processing unit, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), one or more Integrated circuits for controlling program execution, a hardware Circuit developed by using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a baseband processor.

Optionally, the processor 10 may include at least one processing core.

Alternatively, the Memory 40 may include a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), and a disk Memory. The memory 40 is used to store data required by the processor 10 during operation. The number of the memory 40 is one or more.

Alternatively, the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be physically independent of each other or may be integrated together.

It should be noted that, besides the above-described components, different metadata source devices may also configure other components according to requirements, and different network intermediate devices may also configure other components according to requirements.

Referring to fig. 3, a flowchart of a method for sharing metadata at a metadata source device side according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

step 101: the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment;

step 102: after the negotiation is successful, the metadata source equipment sends the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment; the metadata is used by the network intermediate device for processing the service message related to the metadata source device.

Correspondingly, please refer to fig. 4, which is a flowchart illustrating a method for sharing metadata at a network middleware according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 4, the method includes:

step 201: the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate metadata required by the network intermediate equipment;

step 202: after the negotiation is successful, the network intermediate equipment receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

step 203: the network intermediate equipment receives a service message related to the metadata source equipment;

step 204: and the network intermediate equipment processes the service message according to the required metadata.

In practical applications, there are various specific implementation manners of step 101 and step 201, and the negotiation process may be initiated by the metadata source device or by the network intermediate device, and several possible implementation manners will be described below, of course, the present invention does not exclude other possible implementation manners.

A first possible implementation: step 101 comprises: the method comprises the steps that metadata source equipment receives a metadata sharing request sent by network intermediate equipment; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device. Correspondingly, step 201 includes: the network intermediary device sends a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device. Wherein the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

In a first possible implementation manner, the network intermediary device initiates a negotiation process first, that is, the network intermediary device sends a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device first, and the type of metadata required by the network intermediary device is carried in the sharing request, so that the metadata source device can know what type of metadata the network intermediary device requires when receiving the sharing request.

It should be noted that the network intermediary may or may not know what metadata the network intermediary needs for itself, and the network intermediary may or may not know what metadata the network intermediary provides for which metadata source device. For unknown situations, the network intermediary may send a share request to all possible metadata source devices. Generally, when the protocol used by the communication network is a non-known or non-commonly used protocol, the network intermediary device cannot identify what type of metadata is provided by each metadata source device, so at this time, the network intermediary device sends a sharing request to all possible metadata source devices.

While for the known case, the following two cases are possible. The first case: the communication network has recorded the corresponding relationship between the metadata source device and the metadata type in advance, and configures the corresponding relationship to each network intermediate device, so before step 201, the network intermediate device determines which metadata source device the metadata source device corresponding to the metadata required by itself is, according to the pre-configured corresponding relationship, and then sends the sharing request to the determined metadata source device. The second case: the protocol used by the communication network is an existing, well-known protocol, such as the HTTP protocol, then network intermediate devices in the communication network may know that the client device may provide URL information and the server may provide flow identification information.

For example, referring to fig. 5, a simplified network topology of a communication network is shown. The communication network comprises client devices, network intermediate devices 1, network intermediate devices 2 and servers.

It is assumed that the client device and the server communicate via the HTTP protocol. The network intermediate device 1 is an intermediate device for implementing a parent-child control function, and needs to know URL information in an HTTP message to complete the function. The network intermediate device 2 is an intermediate device for implementing a link load balancing function, and needs to acquire flow identification information corresponding to a request/response in an HTTP message to complete the function. In other words, the metadata required by network mediation device 1 is URL information, and the metadata required by network mediation device 2 is flow identification information.

Firstly, when a client device initiates an HTTP service request to a server, a service request message is transmitted to the server through a network intermediate device 1 and a network intermediate device 2. And then the server replies a response message, when the response message passes through the network intermediate equipment 2 and the network intermediate equipment 1, if the response message is a 200OK message, the representation service request is successful, and at this time, the network intermediate equipment 1 and the network intermediate equipment 2 can initiate a metadata sharing request to the client and the server. Specifically, the network intermediate apparatus 1 and the network intermediate apparatus 2 know what metadata they need as network apparatuses having specific functions, and also know who the corresponding metadata source apparatus is because they are HTTP protocols. In this example, the client device may provide URL information and the server may provide flow identification information. Therefore, the network mediation device 1 transmits a sharing request to the client device, and the type of the metadata in the sharing request is a URL. Network intermediate device 2 sends a sharing request to the server, and the type of the metadata in the sharing request is a stream identifier.

If a non-well-known protocol is used, network intermediary 1 and network intermediary 2 have no way of knowing what type of metadata the client device provides and what type of metadata the server can provide. Then network intermediary device 1 may send a sharing request to both the client device and the server at this time, where the type of metadata in the sharing request is a URL. The network intermediate device 2 sends a sharing request to both the client device and the server, and the type of the metadata in the sharing request is a stream identifier.

Of course, the network intermediate device 1 may also know that the client device can provide the URL information by querying the previously configured correspondence table, so that only the sharing request is sent to the client device. The processing procedure of network intermediate apparatus 2 is similar and will not be described again.

The message format and content of the sharing request are as follows:

in practical applications, the sharing request may also include other contents, and the present invention is not particularly limited.

After the metadata source device receives the sharing request, the type of metadata required by the network intermediate device is known, and if the metadata source device can provide the metadata of the type by itself and agrees, the representation negotiation is successful. For example, when the client device receives the sharing request sent by network intermediate device 1 and network intermediate device 2, since the client device can only provide the URL, the token negotiation is successful when agreeing to provide the URL to network intermediate device 1. And cannot provide the flow identification to network intermediary device 2, the negotiation between network intermediary device 2 and the client fails.

After the negotiation fails, the metadata source device may feed back a negotiation failure message to the network intermediary device. For example, the client device sends a negotiation failure message to network intermediate device 2. In practical applications, the metadata source device may not send the negotiation failure message to the network intermediate device. In this case, when the feedback message of the metadata source device is not received within a predetermined time period after the sharing request is transmitted, the negotiation fails by default.

The procedure after the negotiation is successful will be described later.

A second possible implementation: step 101 comprises: the metadata source device sends inquiry information about metadata requirements to the network intermediate device; the method comprises the steps that metadata source equipment receives metadata requirement information sent by network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device. Correspondingly, step 201 includes: the method comprises the steps that the network intermediate equipment receives inquiry information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediate equipment; and the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment. Wherein the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

In a second possible implementation, the negotiation process is initiated by the metadata source device. Specifically, at the initial stage of service establishment, the metadata source device sends query information about metadata requirements to all network intermediate devices in a service packet transmission path, and queries what type of metadata is required by each network intermediate device. The network intermediate device may reply its own requirement information when receiving the inquiry information, wherein the requirement information includes the type of metadata required by the network intermediate device. When the metadata source device receives the requirement information replied by each network intermediate device, the type of the metadata required by each network intermediate device can be obtained, so that the network intermediate device which can provide the metadata can be determined and the network intermediate devices which cannot provide the metadata can not be determined according to the type of the metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device. When the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the metadata required by a certain network intermediary device, the negotiation between the characterization and the certain network intermediary device is successful, and the negotiation with other intermediary network devices is failed.

The explanation continues with the example of the communication network shown in fig. 5. At the initial stage of service establishment, the client device sends inquiry information to network intermediate device 1 and network intermediate device 2, and the server also sends inquiry information to network intermediate device 1 and network intermediate device 2. The network intermediate device 1 and the network intermediate device 2 reply the demand information to the client device and the server, respectively. In this example, the client device may provide the metadata required by network intermediary device 1 and the server may provide the metadata required by network intermediary device 2, so eventually the client device and network intermediary device 1 negotiate successfully and the server and network intermediary device 2 negotiate successfully.

A third possible implementation: step 101 comprises: the metadata source device sends notification information to the network intermediate device to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device can provide; the method comprises the steps that metadata source equipment receives metadata requirement information sent by network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediary device requires the type of metadata. Correspondingly, step 201 includes: the method comprises the steps that a network intermediate device receives notification information sent by a metadata source device, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate device of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device; and the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment. Wherein the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device agrees to provide the type of metadata.

In a third possible implementation manner, the metadata source device may send notification information to all network intermediate devices on the service packet transmission path at an initial service establishment stage, so as to notify each network intermediate device of the type of metadata that can be provided by itself. When each network intermediate device receives the notification information, the network intermediate device that needs the type of metadata can know to which metadata source device the metadata is to be requested, and therefore the network intermediate device that needs the type of metadata sends its own requirement information to the metadata source device. And when the metadata source device receives the requirement information and agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the metadata source device represents that the negotiation between the two is successful.

Optionally, the notification information is carried in a message for establishing a service.

Continuing with the communication network shown in fig. 5 as an example, at the initial stage of service establishment, the client device may send a service establishment request, and then the type of metadata that can be provided by the client device may be added to the request, and the service establishment request may know what type of metadata can be provided by the client device via the network intermediate device 1 and the network intermediate device 2. Similarly, the server may also carry the type of metadata that the server can provide in the response message, and when the response message passes through the network intermediate apparatus 1 and the network intermediate apparatus 2, both the types of metadata or the type of metadata that the server can provide may be used.

Therefore, in this example, the network intermediary device 1 may reply the request information to the client device, informing the client device that the URL is required by itself. If the client device agrees to provide the URL information, the token negotiation is successful. Similarly, network intermediate device 2 replies the demand information to the server, informing the server itself that the flow identification is required. The token negotiation is successful if the server agrees to provide the flow identification.

After the negotiation is successful, the metadata source device performs step 102, that is, the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device. Correspondingly, the network intermediary performs step 202, i.e., receives the required metadata.

Optionally, step 102 includes: and the metadata source device independently sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device. For example, when the metadata source device can and approve the required metadata, the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate device. Subsequently, the metadata source device may send the service packet again.

This is applicable to the metadata source device being the sending end of the service message, and also to the metadata source device not being the sending end of the service message. For example, as in the communication network shown in fig. 5, the client device is both a source device of metadata and a sender of a service packet, so the metadata sent to the network intermediate device 1 may be sent separately from the service packet.

However, please refer to the communication network shown in fig. 6. The communication network comprises a mobile terminal, a base station and network intermediate equipment. Of course, in practical cases, the network may also include other network entities, such as a base station controller, etc.

The network intermediate device is a device for realizing network optimization function, such as a TCP acceleration device. In this example, the base station is a source device of metadata, and the mobile terminal is a sending end of a traffic message, so the base station separately sends wireless channel information between the base station and the mobile terminal, such as metadata of channel capacity, quality, etc., to the network TCP acceleration device. The TCP acceleration equipment can adjust the sending window of the service message according to the metadata, so that the efficient utilization of the link is achieved.

In this example, step 203: and the network intermediate equipment receives the service message sent by the equipment related to the metadata source equipment. For example, the network intermediate device receives a service packet sent by the mobile terminal.

Optionally, step 102 includes: and the metadata source equipment sends the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message. Correspondingly, step 203 comprises: and the network intermediate equipment receives the service message sent by the metadata source equipment. And step 202 and step 203 can be understood as two parts of one step.

This approach is applicable to the case where the data source device is also the service packet sender, so that the metadata can be sent together with the service packet.

After the network intermediate device receives the required metadata and the service packet, step 204 is executed, that is, the service packet is processed according to the required metadata, for example, load balancing, parent-child control, and the like are performed.

As can be seen from the above description, in the embodiment of the present invention, through a scheme in which the metadata source device performs metadata negotiation with the network intermediate device, and then the metadata source device sends metadata required by the network intermediate device to the network intermediate device, the metadata source device can accurately share the metadata to the corresponding network intermediate device, so that all currently known metadata do not need to be shared to the network intermediate device as in the prior art, and thus on one hand, the network intermediate device can be ensured to operate normally, on the other hand, transmission of unnecessary metadata is reduced, network resources are saved, and risk of information leakage is reduced. Therefore, the efficiency of the metadata sharing method in the embodiment of the present invention is higher than that in the prior art.

Optionally, in a scheme of sending the metadata together with the service packet, before step 102, the method further includes: and the metadata source device sends the index of the required metadata to the network intermediate device. Accordingly, in step 102, or before step 102, the metadata source device sends the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata. Wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

Correspondingly, before step 202, the method further comprises: the network intermediate equipment receives the index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment; accordingly, prior to step 204, the method further comprises: the network intermediate equipment receives the index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment; and the network intermediate equipment acquires the required metadata according to the index.

For example, when the negotiation is successful, the metadata source device sends a success response message to the network intermediary device, where the message carries an index to which the metadata is assigned. Continuing with the example of the communication network shown in fig. 5, the format and content of the success response message are as follows:

the index may then be sent to the network intermediary along with the metadata in step 102.

For example, the format and content of the metadata information are as follows:

the network intermediate device can find the metadata information according to the previously received index, and find the metadata with consistent index, namely the metadata required by the network intermediate device. Therefore, the speed of searching the metadata required by the network intermediate device can be accelerated. Generally, there are many kinds of metadata sent with a service packet, so that network intermediate devices need to check the content of the metadata one by one, and further determine which metadata is needed by themselves, so after having an index, only the index needs to be compared.

Optionally, before step 101 and step 201, the method further includes: and the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode. And the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

In other words, the metadata source device and the network intermediate device negotiate the encryption and decryption method first, and then perform the negotiation of the metadata, and in the whole negotiation process of the metadata, the communication data is encrypted by using the negotiated encryption and decryption method, so that the leakage of the negotiated content can be avoided, and the potential safety hazard is caused.

For example, assume that a client device provides metadata 1 for network intermediary 1 and a client device provides metadata 2 for network intermediary 2. In the process of negotiating metadata, various data are encrypted, so that network intermediate apparatus 1 cannot know the contents negotiated between network intermediate apparatus 2 and the client apparatus, and network intermediate apparatus 2 cannot know the contents negotiated between network intermediate apparatus 1 and the client apparatus, so that both network intermediate apparatuses do not know what type of metadata is required.

Further, in the process of sending metadata, the metadata is also encrypted in a negotiated encryption and decryption manner, so when the client device sends the metadata along with the service packet and passes through to the network intermediate device 1, the network intermediate device 1 can only decrypt the metadata required by itself, but cannot decrypt the metadata required by the network intermediate device 2. Similarly, when the server sends the metadata along with the service packet and passes through the network intermediate device 2, the network intermediate device 2 can only decrypt the metadata required by itself, but cannot decrypt the metadata required by the network intermediate device 1. Therefore, the effect of fixed point sharing can be achieved, and the potential safety hazard caused by sharing the metadata to irrelevant network intermediate equipment is eliminated.

Optionally, the negotiation of the encryption and decryption modes is performed after step 101 and before step 102. Then, the metadata is encrypted in a negotiated encryption and decryption mode in the sharing process, so that the technical effect of fixed-point sharing can be achieved.

It should be noted that negotiation of the encryption and decryption modes may be initiated by the metadata source device first, or may be initiated by the network intermediate device first, and a specific situation of who initiates the negotiation is similar to a situation of initiating the metadata negotiation.

Optionally, after the negotiation is successful, before step 102 and step 202, the method further includes: the metadata source device and the network intermediary device negotiate management information about the required metadata. Wherein the management information is, for example, validity period information of the required metadata. For example, the validity period of the metadata negotiated once is 30 days, and after the validity period is over, the metadata needs to be negotiated again. This makes the metadata up-to-date and efficient.

In practical applications, the management information may also be other information to implement a control function on the metadata, and may be specifically set according to actual requirements.

Referring to fig. 2 again, when the structure in fig. 2 is a structure of a metadata source device, specific functions of each component are as follows: a processor 10, configured to negotiate with a network intermediary device for metadata required by the network intermediary device; a transmitter 20, configured to transmit the required metadata to the network intermediary device after the negotiation is successful; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: receiving, by a receiver 30, a metadata sharing request transmitted by the network intermediary; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the token negotiation is successful when the processor 10 determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: sending query information about metadata requirements to the network intermediary device via a sender 20; and receiving, by the receiver 30, the requirement information of the metadata transmitted by the network intermediate apparatus; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the token negotiation is successful when the processor 10 determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: sending notification information to the network intermediary device through a sender 20 to inform the network intermediary device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device can provide; and receiving, by the receiver 30, the requirement information of the metadata transmitted by the network intermediate apparatus; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor 10 determines that it agrees to provide the type of metadata.

Optionally, the transmitter 20 is configured to: and transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediate device separately.

Optionally, the transmitter 20 is configured to: and sending the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

Optionally, the transmitter 20 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment together with the service message, the index of the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment;

accordingly, the transmitter 20 is further configured to: sending the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with a network intermediate device before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate device with the network intermediate device; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the transmitter 20 transmits the required metadata to the network intermediate device, negotiating an encryption/decryption mode with the network intermediate device; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: the processor 10 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, management information regarding the required metadata is negotiated with the network intermediary device before the transmitter 20 transmits the required metadata to the network intermediary device.

Optionally, when the structure shown in fig. 2 is a structure of an intermediate network device, the functions of each component are as follows: a processor 10, configured to negotiate metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device; a receiver 30, configured to receive the required metadata sent by the metadata source device after the negotiation is successful; receiving a service message related to the metadata source equipment; the processor 10 is further configured to: and processing the service message according to the required metadata.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: transmitting a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device through a transmitter 20; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: receiving, by the receiver 30, query information about metadata requirements transmitted by the network intermediary; and transmits the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter 20; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

Optionally, the processor 10 is configured to: receiving notification information sent by the metadata source device through a receiver 30, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate device of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device; and transmits the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter 20; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

Optionally, the receiver 30 is further configured to: when the required metadata and the service message are sent along the path, before the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment is received, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

accordingly, the receiver 30 is further configured to: before the processor 10 processes the service packet according to the required metadata, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source device;

the processor 10 is further configured to: and acquiring the required metadata according to the index.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: before negotiating about metadata required by the network intermediate device with metadata source equipment, determining the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate device as the metadata source equipment according to a preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and metadata types.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption/decryption scheme with the metadata source device before the receiver 30 receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device; the type of metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; and decrypting the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with metadata source equipment before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate equipment with the metadata source equipment; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

Optionally, the processor 10 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, management information on the required metadata is negotiated with the metadata source device before the receiver 30 receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device.

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present invention further provide a metadata source device and a network intermediary device, which are respectively used to implement the metadata sharing methods shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4. Referring to fig. 7, the metadata source device and the network intermediary device respectively include: a negotiation unit 301, a transmission unit 302 and a reception unit 303. The metadata source device or the network intermediate device may also configure other unit modules according to requirements.

Optionally, when the metadata source device is used to implement the method shown in fig. 3, the functions of the respective units are: a negotiation unit 301, configured to negotiate, with a network intermediary device, metadata required by the network intermediary device; a sending unit 302, configured to send the required metadata to the network intermediary device after the negotiation is successful; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: receiving a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediate device through a receiving unit 303; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the token negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit 301 determines that it is possible and agrees to provide said type of metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: sending query information about metadata requirements to the network intermediate device through a sending unit 302; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through a receiving unit 303; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the token negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit 301 determines that it is possible and agrees to provide said type of metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: sending notification information to the network intermediate device through a sending unit 302 to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that can be provided by the metadata source device; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through a receiving unit 303; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; the characterization negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit 301 determines that it agrees to provide said type of metadata.

Optionally, the sending unit 302 is configured to: and transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediate device separately.

Optionally, the sending unit 302 is configured to: and sending the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

Optionally, the sending unit 302 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment together with the service message, the index of the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment;

correspondingly, the sending unit 302 is further configured to: sending the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with a network intermediate device before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate device with the network intermediate device; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the sending unit 302 sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device, negotiating an encryption/decryption manner with the network intermediate device; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, management information about the required metadata is negotiated with the network intermediate device before the transmitting unit 302 transmits the required metadata to the network intermediate device.

Optionally, when the network intermediate device is used to implement the method shown in fig. 4, the functions of each unit are: a negotiation unit, configured to negotiate metadata required by the network intermediate device with a metadata source device; a receiving unit, configured to receive the required metadata sent by the metadata source device after the negotiation is successful; receiving a service message related to the metadata source equipment; the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: and processing the service message according to the required metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: transmitting a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device through a transmitting unit 302; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: receiving inquiry information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediate device through a receiving unit 303; and transmits the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through a transmitting unit 302; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is configured to: receiving notification information sent by the metadata source device through a receiving unit 303, where the notification information is used to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device can provide; and transmits the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through a transmitting unit 302; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

Optionally, the receiving unit 303 is further configured to: when the required metadata and the service message are sent along the path, before the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment is received, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

correspondingly, the receiving unit 303 is further configured to: before the negotiation unit 301 processes the service packet according to the required metadata, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source device;

the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: and acquiring the required metadata according to the index.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: before negotiating about metadata required by the network intermediate device with metadata source equipment, determining the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate device as the metadata source equipment according to a preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and metadata types.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption/decryption scheme with the metadata source device before the receiving unit 303 receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device; the type of metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; and decrypting the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with metadata source equipment before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate equipment with the metadata source equipment; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

Optionally, the negotiation unit 301 is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, management information on the required metadata is negotiated with the metadata source device before the receiving unit 303 receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device.

Various changes and specific examples in the metadata sharing method in the foregoing embodiments are also applicable to the metadata source device and the network intermediate device in this embodiment, and those skilled in the art can clearly know the implementation method of the data transmission apparatus and the electronic device in this embodiment through the foregoing detailed description of the metadata sharing method, so for the brevity of the description, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for sharing metadata, comprising:

the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment; the method comprises the steps that the metadata required by the network intermediate device is negotiated, wherein the step of negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediate device comprises the steps that the metadata source device obtains the type of the metadata required by the network intermediate device and whether the required metadata is approved to be provided or not is determined according to the type of the required metadata;

after the negotiation is successful, the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata source device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with the network intermediary device comprises:

the metadata source equipment receives a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata source device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with the network intermediary device comprises:

the metadata source device sends inquiry information about metadata requirements to the network intermediate device;

the metadata source equipment receives the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata source device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with the network intermediary device comprises:

the metadata source device sends notification information to the network intermediate device to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device can provide;

the metadata source equipment receives the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the metadata source device sending the required metadata to the network intermediary device comprises:

and the metadata source device independently sends the required metadata to the network intermediate device.

6. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the metadata source device sending the required metadata to the network intermediary device comprises:

and the metadata source equipment sends the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device along with the service packet, the method further comprises:

the metadata source device sends the index of the required metadata to the network intermediate device;

correspondingly, the method further comprises the following steps:

the metadata source device sends the index to the network intermediate device together with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

8. The method of any of claims 1-4, 7, wherein prior to the metadata source device negotiating metadata required by a network intermediary device with the network intermediary device, the method further comprises:

the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

9. The method of any of claims 1-4, 7, wherein after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device, the method further comprising:

the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

10. The method of any of claims 1-4, 7, wherein after the negotiation is successful, before the metadata source device sends the required metadata to the network intermediary device, the method further comprising:

the metadata source device negotiates management information regarding the required metadata with the network intermediary device.

11. A method for sharing metadata, comprising:

the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment; wherein negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediary device comprises sending a type of the required metadata to the metadata source device and determining whether the metadata source device agrees to provide the type of metadata;

after the negotiation is successful, the network intermediate device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device;

the network intermediate equipment receives a service message related to the metadata source equipment;

and the network intermediate equipment processes the service message according to the required metadata.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network intermediary device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device comprises:

the network intermediate device sends a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the network intermediary device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device comprises:

the network intermediate device receives inquiry information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediate device;

the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the network intermediary device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device comprises:

the network intermediate equipment receives notification information sent by the metadata source equipment, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate equipment of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source equipment;

the network intermediate equipment sends the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

15. The method according to any of claims 11-14, wherein when the required metadata is sent along with the traffic packet, before the network intermediary device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further comprises:

the network intermediate device receives the index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source device;

correspondingly, before the network intermediate device processes the service packet according to the required metadata, the method further includes:

and the network intermediate equipment acquires the required metadata according to the index.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein prior to the network intermediary device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device, the method further comprises:

and the network intermediate equipment determines the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate equipment as the metadata source equipment according to the preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and the metadata type.

17. The method of any of claims 11-14, 16, wherein prior to the network intermediary receiving the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further comprises:

the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode;

correspondingly, the method further comprises the following steps:

and the network intermediate equipment decrypts the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

18. The method of any of claims 11-14, 16, wherein prior to the network intermediary device negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device, the method further comprises:

the network intermediate equipment and the metadata source equipment negotiate an encryption and decryption mode; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

19. The method of any of claims 11-14, 16, wherein after the negotiation is successful, before the network intermediary device receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device, the method further comprises:

the network intermediary device negotiates management information regarding the required metadata with the metadata source device.

20. A metadata source device, comprising:

a processor for negotiating metadata required by a network intermediary device with the network intermediary device; the method comprises the steps that the metadata required by the network intermediate device is negotiated, wherein the step of negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediate device comprises the steps that the metadata source device obtains the type of the metadata required by the network intermediate device and whether the required metadata is approved to be provided or not is determined according to the type of the required metadata;

a transmitter for transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediary device after the negotiation is successful; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

21. The metadata source device of claim 20, wherein the metadata source device further comprises a receiver,

the processor is configured to: receiving, by the receiver, a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediary; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

22. The metadata source device of claim 20, wherein the metadata source device further comprises a receiver,

the processor is configured to: sending, by the sender, query information regarding metadata requirements to the network intermediary device; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiver; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that the type of metadata can be provided and consents.

23. The metadata source device of claim 20, wherein the metadata source device further comprises a receiver,

the processor is configured to: sending, by the sender, notification information to the network intermediary device to inform the network intermediary device of the type of metadata that the metadata source device is capable of providing; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiver; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; the characterization negotiation is successful when the processor determines that it agrees to provide the type of metadata.

24. The metadata source device of any of claims 20-23, wherein the transmitter is to: and transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediate device separately.

25. The metadata source device of any of claims 20-23, wherein the transmitter is to: and sending the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

26. The metadata source device of claim 25, wherein the transmitter is further to: after the negotiation is successful, before the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment together with the service message, the index of the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment;

correspondingly, the transmitter is further configured to: sending the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

27. The metadata source device of any of claims 20-23, 26, wherein the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with a network intermediate device before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate device with the network intermediate device; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

28. The metadata source device of any of claims 20-23, 26, wherein the processor is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the transmitter transmits the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment, negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with the network intermediate equipment; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

29. The metadata source device of any of claims 20-23, 26, wherein the processor is further configured to: the processor is further configured to: negotiating with the network intermediary device management information regarding the required metadata after the negotiation is successful before the transmitter transmits the required metadata to the network intermediary device.

30. A network intermediary device, comprising:

a processor for negotiating metadata required by the network intermediary device with a metadata source device; wherein negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediary device comprises sending a type of the required metadata to the metadata source device and determining whether the metadata source device agrees to provide the type of metadata;

the receiver is used for receiving the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment after the negotiation is successful; receiving a service message related to the metadata source equipment;

the processor is further configured to: and processing the service message according to the required metadata.

31. The network intermediary of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to: transmitting, by the transmitter, a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

32. The network intermediary of claim 30, wherein the network intermediary further comprises a transmitter,

the processor is configured to: receiving, by the receiver, query information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediary device; and transmitting the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

33. The network intermediary of claim 30, wherein the network intermediary further comprises a transmitter,

the processor is configured to: receiving notification information sent by the metadata source device through the receiver, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate device of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device; and transmitting the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source device through the transmitter; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

34. The network intermediary of any of claims 30-33, wherein the receiver is further configured to: when the required metadata and the service message are sent along the path, before the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment is received, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

correspondingly, the receiver is further configured to: before the processor processes the service message according to the required metadata, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

the processor is further configured to: and acquiring the required metadata according to the index.

35. The network intermediary of claim 31, wherein the processor is further configured to: before negotiating about metadata required by the network intermediate device with metadata source equipment, determining the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate device as the metadata source equipment according to a preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and metadata types.

36. The network intermediary of any of claims 30-33, 35, wherein the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with the metadata source device before the receiver receives the required metadata sent by the metadata source device; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; and decrypting the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

37. The network intermediary of any of claims 30-33, 35, wherein the processor is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with metadata source equipment before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate equipment with the metadata source equipment; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

38. The network intermediary of any of claims 30-33, 35, wherein the processor is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, negotiating management information about the required metadata with the metadata source device before the receiver receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device.

39. A metadata source device, comprising:

a negotiation unit, configured to negotiate, with a network intermediate device, metadata required by the network intermediate device; the method comprises the steps that the metadata required by the network intermediate device is negotiated, wherein the step of negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediate device comprises the steps that the metadata source device obtains the type of the metadata required by the network intermediate device and whether the required metadata is approved to be provided or not is determined according to the type of the required metadata;

a sending unit, configured to send the required metadata to the network intermediate device after the negotiation is successful; wherein the metadata is used by the network intermediate device to process a service packet related to the metadata source device.

40. The metadata source device of claim 39, wherein the metadata source device further includes a receiving unit,

the negotiation unit is configured to: receiving, by the receiving unit, a metadata sharing request sent by the network intermediary device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit determines that the type of metadata can be provided and agrees.

41. The metadata source device of claim 39, wherein the metadata source device further includes a receiving unit,

the negotiation unit is configured to: sending query information about metadata requirements to the network intermediate device through the sending unit; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiving unit; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit determines that the type of metadata can be provided and agrees.

42. The metadata source device of claim 39, wherein the metadata source device further includes a receiving unit,

the negotiation unit is configured to: sending notification information to the network intermediate device through the sending unit to inform the network intermediate device of the type of metadata that can be provided by the metadata source device; receiving the requirement information of the metadata sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiving unit; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; the characterization negotiation is successful when the negotiation unit determines that it agrees to provide the type of metadata.

43. The metadata source device of any one of claims 39-42, wherein the sending unit is to: and transmitting the required metadata to the network intermediate device separately.

44. The metadata source device of any one of claims 39-42, wherein the sending unit is to: and sending the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment along with the service message.

45. The metadata source device of claim 44, wherein the sending unit is further to: after the negotiation is successful, before the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment together with the service message, the index of the required metadata is sent to the network intermediate equipment;

correspondingly, the sending unit is further configured to: sending the index to the network intermediary along with the required metadata; wherein the index is used by the network intermediary to look up the metadata.

46. The metadata source device of any of claims 39-42, 45, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with a network intermediate device before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate device with the network intermediate device; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

47. The metadata source device of any of claims 39-42, 45, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, before the sending unit sends the required metadata to the network intermediate equipment, negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with the network intermediate equipment; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting a negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

48. The metadata source device of any of claims 39-42, 45, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: the negotiation unit is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, negotiating management information about the required metadata with the network intermediary device before the transmitting unit transmits the required metadata to the network intermediary device.

49. A network intermediary device, comprising:

a negotiation unit, configured to negotiate metadata required by the network intermediate device with a metadata source device; wherein negotiating the metadata required by the network intermediary device comprises sending a type of the required metadata to the metadata source device and determining whether the metadata source device agrees to provide the type of metadata;

a receiving unit, configured to receive the required metadata sent by the metadata source device after the negotiation is successful; receiving a service message related to the metadata source equipment;

the negotiation unit is further configured to: and processing the service message according to the required metadata.

50. The network intermediary of claim 49, wherein the negotiation unit is to: transmitting, by the transmitting unit, a metadata sharing request to the metadata source device; wherein the metadata sharing request includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediate device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

51. The network intermediary of claim 49, wherein the network intermediary further comprises a transmitting unit,

the negotiation unit is configured to: receiving inquiry information about metadata requirements sent by the network intermediate equipment through the receiving unit; sending the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment through the sending unit; wherein the requirement information includes a type of metadata required by the network intermediary device; the characterization negotiation is successful when the metadata source device is able and agrees to provide the type of metadata.

52. The network intermediary of claim 49, wherein the network intermediary further comprises a transmitting unit,

the negotiation unit is configured to: receiving notification information sent by the metadata source device through the receiving unit, wherein the notification information is used for informing the network intermediate device of the type of metadata which can be provided by the metadata source device; sending the requirement information of the metadata to the metadata source equipment through the sending unit; wherein the requirement information characterizes that the network intermediate device requires the type of metadata; and when the metadata source equipment agrees to provide the metadata of the type, the characterization negotiation is successful.

53. The network intermediary device of any of claims 49-52, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to: when the required metadata and the service message are sent along the path, before the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment is received, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

correspondingly, the receiving unit is further configured to: before the negotiation unit processes the service message according to the required metadata, receiving an index of the required metadata sent by the metadata source equipment;

the negotiation unit is further configured to: and acquiring the required metadata according to the index.

54. The network intermediary of claim 53, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: before negotiating about metadata required by the network intermediate device with metadata source equipment, determining the metadata source equipment corresponding to the metadata required by the network intermediate device as the metadata source equipment according to a preset corresponding relation between the metadata source equipment and metadata types.

55. The network intermediary device of any of claims 49-52, 54, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: negotiating an encryption/decryption mode with the metadata source device before the receiving unit receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device; the required metadata is metadata encrypted by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode; and decrypting the metadata by adopting the negotiated encryption and decryption mode.

56. The network intermediary device of any of claims 49-52, 54, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: negotiating an encryption and decryption mode with metadata source equipment before negotiating metadata required by the network intermediate equipment with the metadata source equipment; and the negotiated encryption and decryption mode is used for encrypting and decrypting communication data between the metadata source equipment and the network intermediate equipment.

57. The network intermediary device of any of claims 49-52, 54, wherein the negotiation unit is further configured to: after the negotiation is successful, negotiating management information on the required metadata with the metadata source device before the receiving unit receives the required metadata transmitted by the metadata source device.