CN113839870B

CN113839870B - Path creation method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN113839870B
Application number: CN202010589773.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡志波; 徐菊华; 鲍磊; 张卡; 陈新隽
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-24
Filing date: 2020-06-24
Publication date: 2023-01-13
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-24
Also published as: WO2021258823A1; CN113839870A

Abstract

The application discloses a path creating method, a device and a system, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that first network equipment obtains a destination address of a tail node used for indicating a path, and a bandwidth and a path identifier corresponding to the path reaching the destination address; the method comprises the steps that a first network device sends a first message to a second network device, wherein the first message comprises a bandwidth, a path identifier and a destination address corresponding to a path reaching the destination address, the first message is used for indicating the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, the first message comprises an IGP message or a BGP message, and the second network device comprises a network device or a tail node through which the path passes. By adopting the IGP protocol or the BGP protocol, the network equipment dynamically creates the path information and reserves resources, so that the path creating mode is more flexible and the reliability is higher.

Description

Path creation method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for path creation.

Background

As networks develop, higher demands are made on mobile bearer bandwidth, and higher demands are made on telecommunication network interfaces. Due to the fact that the flexible Ethernet (Flexe) technology is completely isolated from each other through Flexe interfaces, the isolation of flow in a physical layer can be achieved, and services are subjected to network fragmentation on the same physical network. Therefore, the FlexE in combination with the network segment can realize resource isolation and high-speed transmission, and how to create the path becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

In the prior art, path calculation is performed by a controller. And then, the controller issues the calculated path to the repeater in a configuration mode, so that the path is established.

However, since the path is calculated by the controller and issued in a static configuration manner, the path creation manner is complicated and the reliability is not high.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method, a device and a system for creating a path, which are used for solving the problems provided by the related technology, and the technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a path creation method is provided, and for example, when a first network device executes the method, the method includes: the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path reaching the destination address and a path identifier, wherein the destination address is used for indicating a tail node of the path; the method includes that a first network device sends a first message to a second network device, the first message includes a bandwidth, a path identifier and a destination address corresponding to a path to the destination address, the first message is used for indicating the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, the first message includes an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) message or a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) message, and the second network device includes a network device or a tail node through which the path passes.

By adopting the IGP protocol or the BGP protocol to dynamically create the path by the network equipment, compared with the way of creating the path by the controller and statically configuring, the way of creating the path is more flexible and has higher reliability.

In one possible implementation, the path identification includes: a flexible ethernet FlexE identification, a slice identification, or a segment routing path identification.

By supporting multiple path identifications and multiple paths, the usability of the technical scheme can be further improved.

In one possible implementation manner, the type of the first packet includes an IGP Hello (Hello) packet or a BGP Keep-alive (Keep alive) packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the type of the first packet includes an IGP Hello packet, the VARIABLE value field of the first packet includes an extended TLV, and the extended TLV is used to carry the destination address, the bandwidth, and the path identifier.

By adopting the IGP hello message or the BGP keep alive message, the scheme framework can be established to the greatest extent, and the usability of the technical scheme is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet further includes a path list, where the path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and the device identifier of at least one network device includes an identifier of the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the path list is a target path calculated by the first network device according to the destination address.

By carrying the path list in the first message, the first message can be propagated according to the path indicated by the path list, and the device in the path list can create corresponding path information for the path according to the path identifier, the bandwidth and the like, reserve corresponding bandwidth and the like.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: responding to the path fault, performing path calculation again to obtain an updated path list, wherein the updated path list comprises the identifier of at least one network device passed by the updated path, and the device identifier of at least one network device passed by the updated path comprises the identifier of a third network device; and sending a second message to the third network equipment, wherein the second message carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier and an updated path list, and the type of the second message is consistent with that of the first message.

Because when the path fails, the path can be converged in time, and the reliability of the path establishment is further improved.

In one possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving a third message sent by the second network device, wherein the third message is a response message of the first message and is used for indicating that the path information is successfully established; the third packet includes a path identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the third packet further includes a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

By receiving a third packet in response to the first packet for creating the path, the first network device may know that the path creation was successful.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and receiving a fourth message sent by the second network device, wherein the fourth message is used for indicating the path information creation failure, and the type of the fourth message is consistent with that of the first message.

By receiving the fourth packet in response to the first packet for creating the path, the first network device may know that the path creation has failed, and may further recalculate the path, thereby ensuring that a corresponding path can be created, and improving reliability and availability of the network.

In a possible implementation manner, after the first network device obtains the destination address, the bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address, and the path identifier, the method further includes: the first network equipment reserves corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the method comprises the following steps: the first network equipment determines a first output interface according to the bandwidth, and the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; the first network device reserves bandwidth resources at the first outgoing interface.

When there are multiple interfaces between the first network device and the second network device, but the bandwidth of each interface is not consistent, the first network device may determine the interface that meets the bandwidth requirement, and reserve resources for the path on the interface. The availability of the network is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier, and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct the fourth network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which a path passes.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet further includes a source address, where the source address is used to indicate a head node of the path, and the source address is used to indicate whether the second network device sends the packet indicating whether the path creation is successful to the head node.

By means of carrying the source address of the head node for indicating the path in the first message, the network device on the path can send a message to the head node whether the path creates a function.

In a second aspect, a path creating method is provided, which is performed by a second network device for example, and includes: the second network equipment receives a first message sent by the first network equipment, wherein the first message comprises a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path reaching the destination address and a path identifier, and the destination address is used for indicating a tail node of the path; and the second network equipment creates path information and reserves corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, wherein the first message comprises an IGP message or a BGP message, and the second network equipment comprises network equipment or a tail node through which the path passes.

After receiving a first message adopting an IGP protocol or a BGP protocol, creating path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier in the first message and reserving corresponding resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet further includes a path list, where the path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and the device identifier of at least one network device includes an identifier of the second network device. By carrying the path list in the first message, the first message is propagated according to the path indicated by the path list, so that the second network device can create corresponding path information for the path according to the path identifier, the bandwidth and the like, reserve the corresponding bandwidth and the like.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving a first packet sent by a first network device, the method further includes: receiving a second message sent by the first network device, wherein the second message carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier and an updated path list, the updated path list comprises an identifier of at least one network device through which an updated path passes, the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes comprises an identifier of the second network device, and the type of the second message is consistent with that of the first message; and creating path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserving corresponding resources.

In a possible implementation manner, after reserving the corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, the method further includes: sending a third message to the first network equipment, wherein the third message is a response message of the first message and is used for indicating that the path information is successfully established; the third packet includes a path identification.

The first network device knows that the path creation is successful by sending a third packet to the first network device in response to the first packet for creating the path after reserving the corresponding resources.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving a first packet sent by a first network device, the method further includes: and sending a fourth message to the first network equipment, wherein the fourth message is used for indicating the path information creation failure, and the type of the fourth message is consistent with that of the first message.

The fourth message responding to the first message for creating the path is sent to the first network equipment, so that the first network equipment can know that the path is failed to be created, the path can be further recalculated, the corresponding path can be created, and the reliability and the availability of the network are improved.

In one possible implementation, reserving the corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier includes: the second network equipment determines a first output interface according to the bandwidth, and the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; the second network device reserves bandwidth resources at the first outgoing interface.

When there are multiple interfaces between the first network device and the second network device, but the bandwidth of each interface is not consistent, the second network device may determine the interface that meets the bandwidth requirement, and reserve resources for the path on the interface, thereby improving the availability of the network.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the first packet sent by the first network device, the method further includes: and the second network equipment sends a fifth message corresponding to the first message to the destination address, wherein the fifth message comprises a bandwidth, a path identifier and the destination address, the fifth message is used for indicating the third network equipment to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, and the third network equipment comprises network equipment through which a path passes.

In a third aspect, there is provided a path creation apparatus, including:

the processing unit is used for acquiring a destination address, and a bandwidth and a path identifier corresponding to a path reaching the destination address, wherein the destination address is used for indicating a tail node of the path;

a sending unit, configured to send a first packet to a second network device, where the first packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address, the first packet is used to instruct the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, the first packet includes an IGP packet or a BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device or a tail node through which a path passes.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to perform path calculation again in response to the path failure, to obtain an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes, and the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes an identifier of the third network device;

and the sending unit is further configured to send a second packet to the third network device, where the second packet carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier, and an updated path list, and a type of the second packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes:

the first receiving unit is configured to receive a third packet sent by the second network device, where the third packet is a response packet of the first packet, and the third packet is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created, and the third packet includes a path identifier.

The third packet further includes a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive a fourth packet sent by a second network device, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that path information creation fails, and a type of the fourth packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to reserve, by the first network device, a corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and includes: determining a first output interface according to the bandwidth, wherein the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; bandwidth resources are reserved at the first egress interface.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct the fourth network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which a path passes.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a path creation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first packet sent by a first network device, where the first packet includes a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, and the destination address is used to indicate a tail node of the path;

and the processing unit is used for creating path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserving corresponding resources, the first message comprises an IGP message or a BGP message, and the second network equipment comprises network equipment through which a path passes or a tail node.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet further includes a path list, where the path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and the device identifier of the at least one network device includes an identifier of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit is further configured to receive a second message sent by the first network device, where the second message carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier, and an updated path list, the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which an updated path passes, the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes an identifier of the second network device, and a type of the second message is consistent with a type of the first message;

and the processing unit is also used for reserving corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes:

the first sending unit is used for sending a third message to the first network device, wherein the third message is a response message of the first message, the third message is used for indicating that the path information is successfully established, and the third message comprises a path identifier;

the third packet includes a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes:

and a second sending unit, configured to send a fourth packet to the first network device, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that the path information creation fails, and a type of the fourth packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is configured to determine a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, where the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; bandwidth resources are reserved at the first egress interface.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes:

and the third sending unit is used for sending a fifth message corresponding to the first message to the destination address, wherein the fifth message comprises a bandwidth, a path identifier and the destination address, the fifth message is used for indicating the third network equipment to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, and the third network equipment comprises network equipment through which a path passes.

In one possible implementation manner of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the path identification includes: flexE identification, slice identification, or segment routing path identification.

In a possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, the type of the first packet includes an IGP Hello packet or a BGP Keep alive (Keep alive) packet.

In a possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, the type of the first packet includes an IGP Hello packet, the VARIABLE value field of the first packet includes an extended Type Length Value (TLV), and the extended TLV is used to carry a destination address, a bandwidth, and a path identifier.

There is also provided a path creation apparatus, the apparatus including: the path creation method includes a memory and a processor, where at least one instruction is stored in the memory, and the at least one instruction is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the path creation method according to any of the first aspect.

There is also provided a path creation apparatus, the apparatus comprising: the path creation method comprises a memory and a processor, wherein at least one instruction is stored in the memory, and the at least one instruction is loaded and executed by the processor so as to realize the path creation method of any one of the second aspect.

There is also provided a path creation system, including a first network device and a second network device, where the first network device is configured to execute the path creation method according to any one of the above first aspects, and the second network device is configured to execute the path creation method according to any one of the above second aspects.

There is also provided a path creation system comprising a first network device comprising an apparatus as described in any of the above third aspects and a second network device comprising an apparatus as described in any of the above fourth aspects.

There is also provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein at least one instruction that is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the path creation method of any of the first or second aspects described above.

There is provided another communication apparatus including: a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. Wherein the transceiver, the memory and the processor communicate with each other via an internal connection path, the memory is configured to store instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions stored by the memory to control the transceiver to receive signals and to control the transceiver to transmit signals, and to cause the processor to perform the method of the first aspect or any of the possible embodiments of the first aspect, or to cause the processor to perform the method of the second aspect or any of the possible embodiments of the second aspect, when the instructions stored by the memory are executed by the processor.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

As an example embodiment, the memory may be integrated with the processor or provided separately from the processor.

In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transient memory, such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or may be separately disposed on different chips.

There is provided a computer program (product) comprising: computer program code which, when run by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

There is provided a chip comprising a processor for retrieving from a memory and executing instructions stored in the memory, so that a communication device in which the chip is installed performs the method of the above aspects.

Providing another chip comprising: the system comprises an input interface, an output interface, a processor and a memory, wherein the input interface, the output interface, the processor and the memory are connected through an internal connection path, the processor is used for executing codes in the memory, and when the codes are executed, the processor is used for executing the method in the aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a path created in a FlexE scene according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a path creation method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a message format schematic diagram of an IGP Hello message provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic format diagram of a TLV provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic process diagram for dynamically creating a FlexE cross tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic process diagram for dynamically creating a FlexE cross tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic process diagram for statically creating a FlexE cross tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a process for creating a path according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for creating a path according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a process for dynamically creating a FlexE non-intersecting path according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a process for statically creating a FlexE non-intersecting path according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a path creation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a path creation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a path creation device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a path creation device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The terminology used in the description of the embodiments section of the present application is for the purpose of explanation only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application.

With the construction of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), the development of the network puts higher demands on mobile bearer bandwidth, and meanwhile, operators also want to bear various services including home broadband service, private line access service, mobile bearer and the like through a unified network, and these demands also put higher demands on telecommunication network interfaces. To meet these requirements, it is often necessary to create paths in the network.

There are various scenarios for creating paths, and creating a path in the FlexE scenario is one of them. Due to the fact that service isolation can be achieved through interface bandwidth isolation by the aid of the FlexE technology, flexE interfaces can be completely isolated and do not affect each other. Therefore, the need to create paths in the FlexE scenario is increasing. Taking the application scenario shown in fig. 1 as an example, a physical interface in a flexible ethernet mode of a flexible ethernet Group (FlexE Group) of a GE (gigabit ethernet) 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) is added between network devices at two butted ends (such as a router shown by R in fig. 1) to transmit a packet, so that long-distance transmission performance can be provided. In addition, the standard ethernet physical interface can be switched to the flexible ethernet mode physical interface by a command, and when the standard ethernet physical interface is switched to the flexible ethernet mode physical interface, a corresponding FlexE interface is generated at the same time.

On the one hand, the bandwidth of the FlexE interface can be flexibly specified. The FlexE technology divides a Physical (PHY) layer of a standard ethernet physical interface into a plurality of same sub-slots, each sub-slot corresponds to the same bandwidth, and the plurality of sub-slot bandwidths can be flexibly combined into logical interface bandwidths with different sizes, that is, bandwidths of the FlexE interface.

On the other hand, the FlexE interface corresponds to a separate physical interface. In the fragment network, the flow, protocol and operation maintenance of any fragment network do not affect other fragments, such as service operation, network upgrade, security isolation, attack isolation and the like. Therefore, the Flexe technology can meet the requirement of network fragmentation, so that the flow is isolated on a physical layer, and the service is subjected to network fragmentation on the same physical network, thereby achieving the purpose that one physical network supports the customization of massive different Service Level Agreements (SLAs), realizing one network with multiple purposes and maximizing the network value.

Aiming at the scenes that the Flexe technology is combined with network fragments to realize resource isolation and high-speed transmission, two paths are created, one path is a connected Flexe cross path, and the Flexe cross path can be used as an end-to-end Flexe path. The other is a connectionless Flexe non-crossing path, and the Flexe non-crossing path only establishes a Flexe interface and can be used for single-hop resource isolation.

In addition to creating paths in the FlexE scenario described above, paths may also be created in other scenarios. For example, a path is created in a Segment Routing (SR) scenario, where SR is a protocol designed based on the original routing concept to forward packets over a network. The SR divides the network path into segments, and assigns Segment Identifiers (SIDs) to the segments and nodes in the network, the multiple SIDs may form a segment identifier list (segment list), and a forwarding path may be obtained by arranging the segments and network nodes in order.

In addition, the SR may directly use a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) forwarding plane or an internet protocol version 6 (ipv 6) forwarding plane. Using MPLS forwarding surfaces, called SR-MPLS or MPLS-SR, where a segment (segment) is a label and a segment list is a label stack. The currently active segment is located at the top of the stack, and the processed segment is popped up from the top of the stack. In the MPLS forwarding plane, a label stack is utilized as a path.

When the IPv6 forwarding plane is used, it is called as SR (SRv 6) based on IPv6, where segment can be expressed by the format of IPv6 address, and the packet forwarding path is represented by IPv6 address sequence. In order to realize SRv6 based on IPv6 forwarding plane, an IPv6 extension header is newly added. The IPv6 extension header is a Segment Routing Header (SRH) defined based on an original routing extension header of the IPv6 packet, and may also be referred to as an SRH extension header. The SRH extension header specifies an IPv6 path, and stores a plurality of segment identifications of IPv6. The head node sending the message adds one or more SRH extension heads in the message, and the intermediate node can forward the IPv6 message according to the path information contained in the SRH extension heads.

In any of the above scenarios for creating a path, when a path needs to be created, the related art adopts a way of calculating a path by a controller, and then the controller issues the calculated path information to each network device serving as a repeater in a static configuration way. Taking the example of creating a path in the FlexE scenario shown in fig. 2, the FlexE technology can be applied to an access layer (access), an aggregation layer (aggregation), and a core layer (core). The FlexE scene comprises a controller, a router for bearing a network forwarding function and an access router. The controller is a centralized control device in the network, the access router is used for carrying network traffic access and network forwarding functions, and the router is referred to as a repeater in relation to the controller. And after the controller calculates the path, the controller transmits the corresponding configuration information to the corresponding network equipment. The configuration information of each network device includes information such as a FlexE entry, a FlexE exit, and a bandwidth, thereby realizing the creation of FlexE path information. In the related art, the controller performs path calculation and issues the path calculation to each network device in a static configuration manner, so the path creation manner is complex and the reliability is not high.

In this regard, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for creating a path, where the method creates path information hop by hop on a network device through an IGP or BGP protocol, and reserves corresponding resources for the path, so as to simplify a path creation manner and improve reliability of path creation.

Next, a path creation method provided in this embodiment is described by taking an interaction process between a first network device and a second network device on a path to be created as an example. As shown in fig. 3, the method includes the following processes.

301, a first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, where the destination address is used to indicate a tail node of the path.

In an exemplary embodiment, the destination address is used to indicate the tail node of the path. The bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address may be set based on the scene requirements. Path identification includes, but is not limited to, flexE identification, slice identification, or segment routing path identification. Illustratively, the first network device is a head node of a path to the destination address or the first network device is a network device through which the path to the destination address passes. The network device through which the path to the destination address passes is also referred to as an intermediate node. In the embodiment of the present application, a manner of acquiring a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier by a first network device is not limited, and the following two cases of the first network device include, but are not limited to, several acquisition manners as described below:

the first condition is as follows: the first network device is a head node of a path to the destination address.

In this case, the destination address, the bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address, and the path identifier may be configured in advance on the first network device side. Or, the first network device configures a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, a path identifier, and other information in advance in the controller, and acquires the destination address, the bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address, the path identifier, and other information from the controller in a manner of being issued by the controller, or being requested by the first network device to the controller.

Case two: the first network device is a network device through which a path to the destination address passes.

In this case, although the first network device is not the head node of the path to the destination address, the first network device may acquire the destination address, the bandwidth and the path identifier corresponding to the path to the destination address, and the like from the received packet, and then transmit the information such as the destination address, the bandwidth and the path identifier corresponding to the path to the destination address, and the like to the next hop node, so that the first network device acquires the information such as the destination address, the bandwidth and the path identifier corresponding to the path to the destination address, and the like.

For example, the previous hop node of the first network device carries information such as a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier in a message and sends the message to the first network device. The first network device can acquire information such as a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier by analyzing the packet.

302, a first network device sends a first packet to a second network device, where the first packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address, the first packet is used to instruct the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, the first packet includes an IGP packet or a BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device or a tail node through which a path passes.

No matter whether the first network device is a head node of a path to the destination address or a network device through which the path to the destination address passes, since the first network device is not a tail node of the path to the destination address, in order to enable each network device on the path to create the path and reserve corresponding resources, the first network device transmits the acquired destination address, bandwidth and path identifier to a next hop node on the path. Exemplarily, taking a next hop node of a first network device as a second network device as an example, the first network device carries a destination address, a bandwidth, and a path identifier in a first message, and sends the first message to the second network device, so as to instruct the second network device to create corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path through the first message, and reserve corresponding resources.

In an exemplary embodiment, before the first network device sends the first packet to the second network device, the method further includes: the second network device is determined based on the destination address. For example, after acquiring a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, a first network device sends a first packet to a next hop to the destination address, which is calculated by the first network device, and a device corresponding to the next hop is a second network device.

Alternatively, the first network device may calculate a path to the destination address according to the destination address, thereby obtaining a path list. The path list includes the identifier of each network device that the path passes through, and the first network device can determine which network device the next hop of the first network device is according to the path list, thereby determining the second network device.

Optionally, when the first network device calculates a path to the destination address according to the destination address, a constraint condition may also be set. For example, if the first network device is configured with the path constraint condition, or acquires the path constraint condition from the controller, the first network device calculates a path to the destination address according to the destination address and the path constraint condition. Wherein the path constraint condition is used to indicate the network devices that need to be traversed to reach the destination address. For example, the destination address is the address of the tail node E, and if there is no path constraint condition, the first network device may satisfy the requirement when calculating the path to the tail node E according to the destination address. However, if the path constraint condition is set, taking the path constraint condition as an example of passing through the node C, when the first network device calculates a path to the end node E according to the destination address, the path not only needs to reach the end node E, but also needs to pass through the node C.

It should be noted that the path list may be obtained by the first network device through calculation according to the destination address, and may also be implemented through pre-configuration. For example, a path list is configured on the controller side in advance, and the first network device acquires the path list from the controller by issuing the path list by the controller or requesting the path list from the controller by the first network device. In addition, the path list may also be configured on the first network device side in advance. The path list may be a loose path or a strict path, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. Regardless of the manner of obtaining the path list, a second network device may be determined according to the path list, where the second network device includes, but is not limited to, a network device through which the path passes or a tail node of the path.

Illustratively, the path list includes an identification of at least one network device traversed by the path, and the device identification of the at least one network device includes an identification of the second network device. According to the embodiment of the application, the obtaining mode of the path list included in the first message is not limited, and the second network equipment receiving the first message can determine the next hop node according to the path list.

Illustratively, the first message includes, but is not limited to, an IGP message or a BGP message. For example, the first packet is an IGP packet, which includes but is not limited to an IGP Hello packet. For another example, the first message is a BGP message, which includes but is not limited to a keep alive message.

As to the manner in which the first packet carries the destination address, the bandwidth, and the path identifier, the embodiment of the present application is not limited, for example, the VARIABLE (VARIABLE) field of the first packet includes an extended TLV, and the extended TLV is used to carry the destination address, the bandwidth, and the path identifier.

Taking IGP Hello packet as an example, the message format of the IGP Hello packet is shown in fig. 4. The path establishment may be performed by extending a TLV of the IGP Hello packet, which may be carried in a VARIABLE domain of the IGP Hello packet. The extended TLV is used for path establishment, i.e. carrying destination address, bandwidth and path identity. Illustratively, the first packet further includes a source address, which is used to indicate a head node of the path, and the source address is used to indicate whether the second network device sends a packet to the head node that the path is created successfully or not. For example, the format of the extended TLV is shown in fig. 5. The meaning of the various fields of the extended TLV is shown in table 1. In table 1, a Bandwidth (Bandwidth) field is used to carry a Bandwidth, a destination address (DestAddress) field is used to carry a destination address, a path identifier (PathIdentifier) field is used to carry a path identifier, and a source address (SourceAddress) field is used to carry a source address.

TABLE 1

In an exemplary embodiment, a first network device, in addition to sending a first packet to a second network device, instructing the second network device to create corresponding path information and reserve corresponding resources, after obtaining a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, further includes: and the first network equipment creates corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and reserves corresponding resources. Creating the corresponding path information includes, but is not limited to, creating a FlexE interface, assigning a label or an IPv6SID, and the like. For example, if the path ID is a FlexE ID, then creating the corresponding path information includes creating a FlexE interface. For another example, if the path label is SR MPLS, then creating the corresponding path information includes assigning the label. For another example, if the path label is SRv6, then creating the corresponding path information includes assigning an IPv6SID.

Optionally, the first network device reserves a corresponding resource, including: the first network equipment determines a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; the first network device reserves bandwidth resources at the first outgoing interface. The first outgoing interface is determined according to the bandwidth, including but not limited to querying a next hop according to a destination address or an address in a path list, where the number of the next hop is one or more. And determining the outgoing interface meeting the bandwidth from the outgoing interfaces corresponding to one or more next hops, and taking the determined outgoing interface meeting the bandwidth as a first outgoing interface. Exemplarily, for a FlexE scenario, resources are reserved at the first outgoing interface and a FlexE interface is created.

303, the second network device receives the first packet sent by the first network device.

After the second network device receives the first message sent by the first network device, the second network device analyzes the first message to obtain the destination address, the bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address and the path identifier, because the first message comprises the destination address, the bandwidth corresponding to the path to the destination address and the path identifier. Correspondingly, the first packet further includes a source address, where the source address is used to indicate a head node of the path, and the source address is obtained after the second network device analyzes the first packet. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, a manner in which the first packet includes the source address is not limited, for example, the VARIABLE value field of the first packet includes an extended TLV for carrying the source address, and in addition, other manners may also be used to carry the source address.

Exemplarily, if the first message further includes a path list, the second network device further acquires the path list after analyzing the first message, where the path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and the device identifier of at least one network device includes the identifier of the second network device.

And 304, the second network equipment establishes path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserves corresponding resources.

And the second network equipment creates corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, wherein the path information comprises but is not limited to creating a Flexe interface, an allocation label or an IPv6SID and the like. The second network device may refer to the way in which the first network device creates the corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier. For example, if the path identifier is a FlexE ID, the second network device creates corresponding path information including creating a FlexE interface. For another example, if the path label is SR MPLS, the second network device creates corresponding path information including an assignment label. For another example, if the path label is SRv6, the second network device creates corresponding path information including assigning IPv6SID.

In an exemplary embodiment, if the second network device is a network device traversed by a path, and not a tail node of the path, the second network device reserves a corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, including: the second network equipment determines a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; the second network device reserves bandwidth resources at the first outgoing interface. Illustratively, the first outgoing interface is determined according to the bandwidth, including but not limited to querying a next hop according to a destination address or a path list, the number of the next hop being one or more. And determining the outgoing interface meeting the bandwidth from the outgoing interfaces corresponding to one or more next hops, and taking the determined outgoing interface meeting the bandwidth as a first outgoing interface. Exemplarily, for a FlexE scenario, resources are reserved at the first outgoing interface and a FlexE interface is created. In addition, since the second network device is a network device through which a path passes, in addition to determining the interface, the method further includes creating a FlexE interface at the interface receiving the first packet. If a FlexE cross path needs to be created, the second network device further includes connecting the two created FlexE interfaces (the connection may also be called cross).

In an exemplary embodiment, in a case that a path list is carried in a first message, if a first network device detects that a path fails, the first network device performs path calculation again in response to the path failure to obtain an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes, and an equipment identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes an identifier of a third network device; the first network equipment sends a second message to the third network equipment, the second message carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier and an updated path list, and the type of the second message is consistent with that of the first message.

It should be noted that the third network device is a next hop determined after the first network device re-routes, and the third network device may be the same as the second network device or different from the second network device. And if the third network equipment is the same as the second network equipment, the second network equipment receives a second message sent by the first network equipment, creates corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier in the second message and reserves corresponding resources.

In an exemplary embodiment, after the second network device receives the first packet, and the second network device creates corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and reserves a corresponding resource, the method further includes: sending a third message to the first network device, wherein the third message is a response message of the first message, the third message comprises a path identifier, and the third message is used for indicating that path information is successfully created; the third packet includes a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device. In an exemplary embodiment, the third packet further includes a path identifier. Through the segment path identifier, a corresponding interface between the first network device and the second network device may be associated. Correspondingly, the first network device receives a third message sent by the second network device.

It should be noted that, since the segment path identifier is used for associating the corresponding interface between the first network device and the second network device, if the corresponding interface between the first network device and the second network device can be associated in other ways, the third packet may not carry the segment path identifier. For example, if the first network device and the second network device both associate an interface between the first network device and the second network device with a path identifier, the third packet may also not include a segment path identifier. And after the first network equipment receives a third message sent by the second network equipment, determining that the path to the destination address is established according to the third message. In addition, after the second network device receives the second packet, creates corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and reserves corresponding resources, the method further includes: and sending a third message to the first network equipment, wherein the third message is used for responding to the second message.

Exemplarily, the manner in which the second network device sends the third packet to the first network device includes, but is not limited to, the following two cases:

the first condition is as follows: and if the second network equipment is the tail node of the path, the second network equipment creates corresponding path information and reserves corresponding resources, then generates a third message and sends the third message to the first network equipment. The third packet may carry a path identifier and a segment path identifier to associate an interface between the first network device and the second network device, and may also carry a path identifier. Optionally, if other interface association manners are adopted, the third packet may also not carry the segment path identifier, for example, the interface between the first network device and the second network device is associated through the path identifier.

Case two: the second network device is not the end node of the path but the network device through which the path passes.

In this case, after the second network device creates the corresponding path information and reserves the corresponding resource, the second network device further sends a third packet to a next hop of the second network device, where the third packet may also be referred to as a successful creation packet, and the next hop is a next hop device that sends the third packet to the first network device by the second network device. The third packet may carry address information of the head node of the path. And the next-hop equipment creates corresponding path information and reserves corresponding resources by adopting a processing mode of second network equipment, and then sequentially sends a successful creation message to the next hop of the next hop until the successful creation message is sent to the head node of the path.

The manner in which the network device generates the creation success message, i.e., the third message, may include, but is not limited to, the following two manners:

in the first mode, after the tail node on the path creates the corresponding path information and reserves the relevant resources, a third packet is generated and sent to the previous hop of the tail node, the third packet sent by the tail node includes a local identifier, namely a segment path identifier, allocated to the path by the tail node, or the third packet includes the path identifier, and the corresponding interface between the tail node and the previous hop of the tail node is associated through the segment path identifier or the path identifier. And then, the last hop of the tail node continues to send the third message to the last hop according to the processing mode of the tail node. And so on until the second network device receives a third packet sent by the next hop of the second network device to the second network device, where the third packet includes a local identifier allocated to a path by the next hop of the second network device, so as to associate the second network device with an interface between the second network device and the next hop of the second network device, or the third packet includes the path identifier, and associates a corresponding interface between the tail node and the last hop of the tail node by using the path identifier. The second network device sends a third packet to the first network device, where the third packet includes a local identifier allocated by the second network device for the path, so as to associate a corresponding interface between the second network device and the first network device.

And in the second mode, after the intermediate device or the tail node on the path respectively successfully creates the path information or reserves the related resources, respectively sending a path creation success message to the head node on the path, and determining that the path creation is successful by the head node in combination with the message sent by each device.

It should be noted that, for the case that the second network device is not a tail node, after the second network device receives the first packet sent by the first network device, the method further includes: and the second network equipment sends a fifth message corresponding to the first message to the destination address, wherein the fifth message comprises a bandwidth, a path identifier and the destination address, the fifth message is used for indicating the third network equipment to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, and the third network equipment comprises network equipment through which a path passes. For example, if the third network device is the next hop on the path of the second network device, the second network device will send the fifth packet to the next hop of the second network device. The fifth packet may not carry the path list, and if the path list is carried, the path list may not include the identifier of the second network device but include the identifier of the next hop of the second network device. And the next hop establishes corresponding path information and reserves corresponding resources by adopting a processing mode of second network equipment, and then sequentially sends messages corresponding to the first messages to the next hop of the next hop until the messages are sent to the tail node corresponding to the destination address.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second network device unsuccessfully creates the corresponding path information or unsuccessfully reserves the corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and then the second network device sends a fourth packet to the first network device, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that the path information creation is failed, and a type of the fourth packet is consistent with a type of the first packet. Correspondingly, the first network device receives a fourth message sent by the second network device. Exemplarily, the first network device deletes the created path information after receiving the fourth packet. For example, the first message is a Hello message in an IGP message, the fourth message is also a Hello message in the IGP message, and an Action type field of the Hello message is an error notification to identify a path creation failure. And the first network equipment receives the Hello message sent by the second network equipment and deletes the created path information. If the first network device also creates a FlexE interface, the created FlexE interface is deleted.

The embodiment of the present application is not limited to a reason why the second network device has not successfully created the corresponding path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier. For example, the second network device may fail to create the path information when the second network device does not have enough bandwidth to create the corresponding path information, or when the second network device does not have a route to the destination address. In response, the second network device sends a fourth packet to the first network device to indicate that the path information creation failed.

It should be noted that, in the above description, only the case where the second network device does not successfully create the corresponding path information and sends the fourth packet to the first network device is taken as an example, and in the case where the second network device is a network device through which a path passes and the second network device successfully creates the corresponding path information, but the network device after the second network device does not successfully create the corresponding path information, the second network device may also receive the fourth packet sent by the next hop of the second network device. The second network device deletes the created path information according to the fourth packet. If the second network device also creates a FlexE interface, the created FlexE interface is deleted.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IGP protocol or the BGP protocol is adopted to dynamically establish the path by the network equipment and reserve the corresponding resources, and compared with a mode of establishing the path by a controller and statically configuring, the mode of establishing the path is more flexible and has higher reliability. And when the path fails, the path can be converged in time, and the reliability of the path establishment is further improved.

In some cases, the path information may also be dynamically created by the network device according to the IGP protocol or the BGP protocol without requiring reservation of corresponding resources.

In addition, in the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the path to the destination address can be calculated by the controller or the network device, and the route calculation mode is more flexible.

In order to facilitate understanding of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, taking creating a FlexE path through an IGP protocol as an example, the method for creating a path provided by the embodiment of the present application is illustrated with reference to the following several scenarios.

Scene one: dynamically creating Flexe cross tunnels

A method for creating a path will be described by taking as an example the case where a FlexE cross tunnel is created successfully in the process of dynamically creating a FlexE cross tunnel shown in fig. 6. The first network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3 may be device a, device B, device C, or device D in fig. 6. The second network device may be device B, device C, device D, or device E in fig. 6.

The method includes, but is not limited to, the following processes. 601, configuring at the head node a or sending configuration information for creating a FlexE cross tunnel to the head node a by the controller, where the configuration information includes a specified bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address.

As shown in FIG. 6, the specified bandwidth is 2G, the path identifier is FlexE-ID which is unique in the whole network, the FlexE-ID is 1000, and the destination address is A2:1::1. The destination address is the address of node E, i.e. node E is the tail node of the path.

And 602, the head node A inquires a next hop of the route according to the destination address, reserves resources at an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a Flexe interface, and sends an IGP Hello message at the corresponding outgoing interface.

As shown in fig. 6, in the path created in this scenario, the node originating the IGP Hello packet is node a, where node a is the head node of the path, nodes B, C, and D are network devices through which the path passes, and node E is the node indicated by the destination address, that is, the node E is the tail node of the path. And the head node A queries the NHP as the node B according to the destination address. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello packet carries information such as bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address, and the like. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node B to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

603, the node B receives the Hello message, creates a Flexe interface at an input interface of a receiving end according to the content of the Hello message, inquires a next hop according to a destination address, creates a Flexe interface at an output interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves resources, crosses the input and output Flexe interfaces, and continuously sends the Hello message to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 6, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node C according to the destination address, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node C. Similarly, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello message is IPv6, the RES Type is Flexe Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node C to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

604, the node C processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and in this way, sends the Hello packet to the node D, and the node D also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop node of the node D until the tail node E of the Hello packet sending, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

605, the tail node E receives the Hello packet, and after the FlexE interface is successfully created, sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a.

For example, the third packet is sent to the node a through a User Network Interface (UNI). The third message is a successful creation message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 6, the third packet is sent from node D to node C, and then from node C to node B, until it is sent from node B to node a. In addition, when each node sends a third packet to its previous hop, the third packet may carry a segment path identifier and may also carry a path identifier. For example, the segment path identifier is a local identifier assigned to the path by the current node, and a corresponding interface between two nodes is associated through the local identifier or the path identifier.

And 606, the node A receives the third message and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, the FlexE cross-tunnel setup is complete.

It should be noted that, in the process of dynamically creating a FlexE cross tunnel shown in fig. 6, the description has been given by taking an example that after nodes B, C, and D receive Hello packets and create an ingress interface and an egress interface, the two FlexE interfaces are cross-connected. Besides, the nodes B, C, and D may also create only two input and output FlexE interfaces after receiving the Hello packet, and cross-connect the two FlexE interfaces instead of cross-connecting the two FlexE interfaces after receiving the third packet sent by the next hop.

In addition, the process of creating a path shown in fig. 6 is directed to a scenario where a FlexE cross tunnel is successfully created, and in an exemplary embodiment, if a target node to a certain link does not have enough bandwidth to create a FlexE interface or the target node does not have a route to a destination address, the target node may reply a new Hello packet to the last hop of the target node, and the Action type of the new Hello packet is filled in as an error notification to indicate that the FlexE cross tunnel creation fails. And after the last hop of the target node receives the new Hello message, deleting the created Flexe interface, and continuously sending the new Hello message to the last hop until the new Hello message is sent to the head node A. And after receiving the new Hello message, the head node A deletes the created Flexe interface.

Scene two: link failure when dynamically creating Flexe cross tunnels

Taking the process of dynamically creating a FlexE cross tunnel shown in fig. 7, as an example, a method for creating a path is described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following processes.

701, configuring at the head node a or issuing configuration information for creating a FlexE cross tunnel to the head node a by the controller, where the configuration information includes a specified bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address.

As shown in FIG. 7, the specified bandwidth is 2G, the path identifier is FlexE-ID unique to the whole network, the FlexE-ID is 1000, and the destination address is A2:1::1. The destination address is the address of node E, i.e. node E is the tail node of the path.

And 702, the head node A inquires the next hop of the route according to the destination address, reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a Flexe interface, and sends an IGP Hello message at the corresponding outgoing interface.

As shown in fig. 7, in the path created in this scenario, the node originating the IGP Hello packet is node a, where node a is the head node of the path, nodes B, C, and D are network devices through which the path passes, and node E is the node indicated by the destination address, that is, the node E is the tail node of the path. The head node A inquires the route next hop NHP as the node B according to the destination address. Thereafter, head node a reserves resources and creates a FlexE interface at the outgoing interface corresponding to node B. The Hello packet carries information such as bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address, and the like. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node B to create a FlexE cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

703, the node B receives the Hello message, creates a FlexE interface at the ingress interface of the receiving end according to the content of the Hello message, queries the next hop according to the destination address, creates a FlexE interface at the egress interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves the corresponding resource, crosses the ingress and egress FlexE interfaces, and continues to send the Hello message to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 7, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node C according to the destination address, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node C. Similarly, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello message is IPv6, the RES Type is Flexe Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node C to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

704, the node C receives the Hello message, queries the next hop as the node D according to the destination address in the Hello message, determines the outgoing interface to the node D, and converges to the next hop node F if a link failure is found. And the node C creates a Flexe interface at the new output interface and sends a Hello message to the node F.

It should be noted that, in addition to converging to the next hop node F, the node C may also send a fourth packet to the head node, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that the path information creation fails. The type of the fourth packet is consistent with the type of the first packet.

705, after receiving the Hello packet, the node F creates a FlexE interface at the ingress interface of the receiving end according to the content of the Hello packet, queries the next hop according to the destination address, creates a FlexE interface at the egress interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves the corresponding resource, crosses the ingress and egress FlexE interfaces, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 7, the next hop of node F is node E, i.e., the tail node of the path.

706, the tail node E receives the Hello packet, and after the FlexE interface is successfully created, sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 7, the third packet is sent from node F to node C, and then from node C to node B until it is sent from node B to node a. In addition, when each node sends a third message to its previous hop, the third message may carry a segment path identifier and may also carry a path identifier. For example, the segment path identifier is a local identifier assigned to the path by the current node, and a corresponding interface between two nodes is associated through the local identifier or the path identifier.

706, the node a receives the third packet and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, the FlexE cross-tunnel setup is complete.

Scene three: statically creating Flexe cross tunnels

Taking the procedure of statically creating a FlexE cross tunnel and the case of successfully creating the FlexE cross tunnel as shown in fig. 8 as an example, a method for creating a path will be described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures.

Configuration information for creating a FlexE cross tunnel is configured at the head node a or issued by the controller to the head node a, including a specified bandwidth, a path identification, a destination address, and an explicit path list 801.

As shown in FIG. 8, the specified bandwidth is 2G, the path identifier is FlexE-ID unique to the whole network, the FlexE-ID is 1000, and the destination address is A2:1::1. The destination address is the address of node E, i.e. node E is the tail node of the path. Specifying that the explicit Path list includes the identification of network devices on the Path, such as the Path shown in fig. 8: A. b, C, D and E. Wherein, A, B, C, D, E represent the label of node A, B, C, D, E separately. Node a is the first node in the explicit path list, that is, node a is the head node of the original IGP Hello packet, nodes B, C, and D are network devices through which the path passes, and node E is the node indicated by the destination address, that is, the node E is the tail node of the path.

And 802, the head node A searches an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop according to the explicit path list, reserves resources on the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a Flexe interface, and sends an IGP Hello message on the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 8, the head node a queries the next hop NHP as node B according to the explicit path list. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello packet carries bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address and display path list. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the head node a to the node B does not include the identifier of the head node a. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create.

803, the node B receives the Hello message, creates a Flexe interface at the input interface of the receiving end according to the content of the Hello message, inquires the next hop according to the display path list, creates a Flexe interface at the output interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves the corresponding resource, crosses the input and output Flexe interfaces, and continues to send the Hello message to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 8, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node C according to the display path list, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node C. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the node B to the node C does not include the identifier of the node B. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node C to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

804, the node C processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and so on, sends the Hello packet to the node D, and the node D also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop node of the node D until the tail node E of the Hello packet sending, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

805, the tail node E receives the Hello packet, and after the FlexE interface is successfully created, sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 8, the third packet is sent from node D to node C, and then from node C to node B, until it is sent from node B to node a. In addition, when each node sends a third packet to its previous hop, the third packet may carry a segment path identifier and may also carry a path identifier. For example, the segment path identifier is a local identifier allocated by the current node for the path, and a corresponding interface between two nodes is associated through the local identifier or the path identifier.

806, the node a receives the third packet and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, the FlexE cross-tunnel setup is complete.

Compared with the dynamic Flexe cross tunnel establishment process, the three static Flexe cross tunnel establishment process of the scene additionally assigns an explicit path list, a routing table is not searched when Flexe cross paths are established hop by hop, inquiry is carried out according to the path list, and a Flexe cross interface is established hop by hop according to the assigned route.

Scene four: calculating the path by the network equipment, and establishing a Flexe path meeting the constraint

In this scenario, as the FlexE path needs bandwidth, a CSPF algorithm is used to perform dynamic path computation on a network device side, e.g., a head node, according to bandwidth constraints, and a path that meets the bandwidth constraints is searched. Then, the IGP protocol builds a path hop by hop, and resource reservation and interface creation are carried out. Taking the process of creating a path shown in fig. 9 as an example, a method of creating a path will be described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following processes.

And 901, configuring at the head node a or issuing configuration information for creating a FlexE cross tunnel to the head node a by the controller, wherein the configuration information comprises specified bandwidth, path identifier and destination address.

As shown in FIG. 9, the specified bandwidth is 2G, the path identifier is FlexE-ID unique to the whole network, the FlexE-ID is 1000, and the destination address is A2:1::1. The destination address is the address of node E, i.e. node E is the tail node of the path.

The head node a computes a path that satisfies the bandwidth constraint based on the configured destination address 902.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the head node A computes the path that satisfies the bandwidth constraint according to the configured destination addresses A2:1::1, resulting in a path list. The path list includes identifiers of network devices B, C, D, E. In the path created in this scenario, the node originating the IGP Hello packet is node a, where node a is a head node of the path, nodes B, C, and D are network devices through which the path passes, and node E is a node indicated by the destination address, that is, node E is a tail node of the path.

903, the head node a searches for an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop according to the calculated path, reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a FlexE interface, and sends an IGP Hello message at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 9, the head node a queries the next hop NHP as the node B according to the calculated path. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello packet carries bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address and display path list. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the head node a to the node B does not include the identifier of the head node a. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create.

904, the node B receives the Hello message, creates a Flexe interface at an input interface of a receiving end according to the content of the Hello message, inquires a next hop according to the path list, creates a Flexe interface at an output interface corresponding to the next hop, reserves corresponding resources, crosses the input and output Flexe interfaces, and continues to send the Hello message to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 9, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node C according to the path list, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node C. The path list in the Hello message sent by the node B to the node C does not include the identifier of the node B. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node C to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

905, the node C processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and in this way, sends the Hello packet to the node D, and the node D also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop node of the node D until the tail node E of the Hello packet sending, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

906, the tail node E receives the Hello packet, and sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a after the FlexE interface is successfully created.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 9, the third packet is sent from node D to node C, and then from node C to node B, until it is sent from node B to node a. In addition, when each node sends a third message to its previous hop, the third message may carry a segment path identifier and may also carry a path identifier. For example, the segment path identifier is a local identifier assigned to the path by the current node, and a corresponding interface between two nodes is associated through the local identifier or the path identifier.

907, the node a receives the third packet and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, the FlexE cross-tunnel setup is complete.

In the four scenarios, when the intermediate node fails, the head node a may perform the constrained path calculation again after sensing the failure from the TEDB, to obtain an updated path list. And then, continuing to create the path according to the updated path list.

Scene five: the network equipment calculates the path and establishes a Flexe path meeting the path constraint condition

In some scenarios, a user may wish to specify that the FlexE path pass through certain links and nodes, with other paths not being limiting. In this case, the constraint path condition of FlexE may be configured in the head node, and a FlexE path satisfying the constraint condition of the path may be calculated by the head node. And then, establishing a constraint path by an IGP protocol. Taking the process of creating a path shown in fig. 10 as an example, a method of creating a path will be described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following processes.

1001, configuring at the head node a or issuing configuration information for creating a FlexE cross tunnel to the head node a by the controller, where the configuration information includes specified bandwidth, path identifier, destination address and path constraint condition.

As shown in FIG. 10, the specified bandwidth is 2G, the path identifier is FlexE-ID unique to the whole network, the FlexE-ID is 1000, and the destination address is A2:1::1. The path constraint indicates that the path to the destination address needs to include node F. The destination address is the address of node E, i.e. node E is the tail node of the path.

1002, the head node calculates a path satisfying the bandwidth constraint according to the configured destination address, and since the path calculation constraint requires to pass through the node F, the path list obtained by calculating the path includes the identifiers B, C, F, E. In the path created in this scenario, the node originating the IGP Hello packet is node a, where node a is a head node of the path, nodes B, C, and F are network devices through which the path passes, and node E is a node indicated by the destination address, that is, node E is a tail node of the path.

1003, the head node searches for an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop according to the calculated path, reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a FlexE interface, and sends an IGP Hello message at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 10, the head node a queries the next hop NHP as the node B according to the calculated path. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello packet carries bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address and display path list. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the head node a to the node B does not include the identifier of the head node a, but includes identifiers B, C, F and E. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create.

1004, the node B receives the Hello message, creates a Flexe interface at an input interface of a receiving end according to the content of the Hello message, inquires a next hop according to the path list, creates a Flexe interface at an output interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves corresponding resources, crosses the input and output Flexe interfaces, and continues to send the Hello message to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 10, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node C according to the path list, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node C. The path list in the Hello message sent by the node B to the node C does not include the identifier of the node B. For example, the Path Type of the extended TLV field of the Hello packet is IPv6, the RES Type is FlexE Cross, and the Action is Create. And indicating the node C to create a Flexe cross path through the Hello message, wherein the path type is IPv6.

1005, the node C processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and so on, sends the Hello packet to the node F, the node F also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop node of the node F until the tail node E sent by the Hello packet, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

1006, the tail node E receives the Hello packet, and sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a after the FlexE interface is successfully created.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 10, the third packet is sent from node F to node C, and then from node C to node B, until it is sent from node B to node a. In addition, when each node sends a third packet to its previous hop, the third packet may carry a segment path identifier and may also carry a path identifier. For example, the segment path identifier is a local identifier assigned to the path by the current node, and a corresponding interface between two nodes is associated through the local identifier or the path identifier.

1007, the node a receives the third message and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, the FlexE cross-tunnel setup is complete.

Scene six: dynamically creating Flexe non-intersecting paths

When a Flexe non-cross path is created, each node only creates a single-hop path, only creates a Flexe interface, reserves resources, does not make cross connection, and takes Res Type carried in an IGP hello message as Flexe. Other processing is similar to creating a FlexE cross path, as can be seen in the process of creating a FlexE cross path shown in fig. 6. Taking the process of dynamically creating a FlexE non-intersecting path shown in fig. 11 as an example, a method for creating a path will be described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following processes.

At the head node a, configuration information is configured to create a FlexE non-intersecting path, which includes a specified bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address.

Fig. 11 shows a process of creating two non-intersecting paths of FlexE in one fragment, taking the path where the creating head node a is located as an example, the bandwidth is specified to be 2G, the path identifier is a sliding ID, the sliding ID is 100, and the destination address is H. The destination address is the address of node H, i.e. node H is the tail node of the path.

1102, the head node a queries a next hop of the route according to the destination address, reserves resources at an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a FlexE interface, and sends an IGP Hello packet at the corresponding outgoing interface.

As shown in fig. 11, in the path created in this scenario, the node originating the IGP Hello packet is node a, where node a is the head node of the path, nodes B, E, F, and G are network devices through which the path passes, and node H is the node indicated by the destination address, that is, node H is the tail node of the path. The head node A inquires the route next hop NHP as the node B according to the destination address. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello message carries information, such as bandwidth 2G, slicing ID 100, and destination address of node H.

1103, the node B receives the Hello packet, creates a FlexE interface at the ingress interface of the receiving end according to the content of the Hello packet, queries the next hop according to the destination address, creates a FlexE interface at the egress interface corresponding to the next hop, reserves the corresponding resource, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 11, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node E according to the destination address, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node E.

1104, the node E processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and in this way, sends the Hello packet to the node F, and the node F also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next-hop node G of the node F until the tail node H sent by the Hello packet, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 11, since the node E and the node F are network devices through which both paths pass, the bandwidth of the node F is only 3G on one interface, the two paths are 2G and 3G respectively, the same fragment can share the bandwidth on one interface, and the created FlexE information includes information of the two paths. Therefore, the Hello packet sent by the node E and received by the node F in fig. 11 includes two sets of information. The Slicing ID in the two groups of information is 100, one group carries the information of the bandwidth of 2G and the destination address of the node H, and the other group carries the information of the bandwidth of 3G and the destination address of the node J.

1105, the tail node H receives the Hello packet, and after successfully creating the FlexE interface, sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 11, the third packet is sent from node G to node F, then from node F to node E, and then from node E to node B until being sent from node B to node a.

1106, node a receives the third packet and confirms that the path was successfully established. At this point, flexE does not cross path setup complete.

Scene seven: statically creating Flexe non-intersecting paths

The process of creating static FlexE non-intersecting paths differs from dynamically creating FlexE non-intersecting paths in that statically creating FlexE non-intersecting paths is a designated path, whereas dynamically creating FlexE non-intersecting paths is a path dynamically learned from routing. Taking the process of statically creating a FlexE non-intersecting path shown in fig. 12 as an example, and successfully creating a FlexE non-intersecting path, a method for creating a path will be described, which includes, but is not limited to, the following processes.

1201, a FlexE non-intersecting path configuration information is configured at the head node a, the configuration information including a specified bandwidth, a path identifier, a destination address, and an explicit path list.

Fig. 12 shows a process of creating two FlexE non-intersecting paths in one fragment, taking the path where the creating head node a is located as an example, the bandwidth is specified to be 2G, the path identifier is a sliding ID, the sliding ID is 100, and the destination address is H. The destination address is the address of node H, i.e. node H is the tail node of the path. Specifying an explicit Path list includes the identification of network devices on the Path, such as the Path shown in fig. 12: A. b, E, F, G and H. Wherein, A, B, E, F, G and H represent the identifiers of the nodes A, B, E, F, G and H respectively. In the path created in this scenario, node a is a head node from which an IGP Hello packet originates, nodes B, E, F, and G are network devices through which the path passes, and node H is a node indicated by a destination address, that is, the node H is a tail node of the path.

And 1202, the head node A searches an outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop according to the explicit path list, reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop, creates a Flexe interface, and sends an IGP Hello message at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 12, the head node a queries the next hop NHP as node B according to the explicit path list. Thereafter, the head node a reserves resources at the outgoing interface corresponding to the node B and creates a FlexE interface. The Hello packet carries bandwidth, flexE ID, destination address and display path list. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the head node a to the node B does not include the identifier of the head node a.

1203, the node B receives the Hello packet, creates a FlexE interface at the incoming interface of the receiving end according to the content of the Hello packet, queries the next hop according to the display path list, creates a FlexE interface at the outgoing interface corresponding to the next hop and reserves the corresponding resource, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next hop.

As shown in fig. 12, the next hop of the node B is queried as the node E according to the display path list, and therefore, the node B sends a Hello packet to the node E. The display path list in the Hello message sent by the node B to the node E does not include the identifier of the node B.

1204, the node E processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and so on, sends the Hello packet to the node F, and the node F also processes the Hello packet according to the processing mode of the node B, and continues to send the Hello packet to the next-hop node G of the node F until the tail node H sent by the Hello packet, that is, the node corresponding to the destination address.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 12, since the node E and the node F are network devices through which both paths pass, the bandwidth of the node F is only 3G on one interface, the two paths are 2G and 3G respectively, the same fragment can share the bandwidth on one interface, and the created FlexE information includes information of the two paths. Therefore, the Hello packet sent by the node E and received by the node F in fig. 12 includes two sets of information. The sliding ID in the two groups of information is 100, one group carries the bandwidth of 2G, the destination address is the address of a node H, and the path list comprises marks F, G and H; the other group carries the bandwidth of 3G, the destination address is the address of the node J, and the path list comprises the identifiers of F, I and J.

1205, the tail node H receives the Hello packet, and sends a third packet in response to the Hello packet to the node a after the FlexE interface is successfully created.

For example, the third message is a creation success message of the IGP protocol. As shown in fig. 12, the third packet is sent from node G to node F, then from node F to node E, and then from node E to node B, until it is sent from node B to node a.

1206, the node a receives the third packet, and confirms that the path is successfully established. At this point, flexe does not cross path setup complete.

In the above, the method example of the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily described, and the apparatus of the embodiment of the present application is described below.

The embodiment of the present application provides a path creation apparatus, which is configured to execute the method performed by the first network device in fig. 3 through each unit shown in fig. 13. Referring to fig. 13, the apparatus includes:

the processing unit 1301 is configured to obtain a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, where the destination address is used to indicate a tail node of the path. For example, the functions performed by the processing unit 1301 can refer to the related description of 301 shown in fig. 3, and are not described again here.

A sending unit 1302, configured to send a first packet to a second network device, where the first packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier, and a destination address, the first packet is used to instruct the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, the first packet includes an IGP packet or a BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device through which a path passes or a tail node. For example, the functions performed by the sending unit 1302 may refer to the related description of 302 shown in fig. 3, and are not described herein again.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 1301 is further configured to perform path calculation again in response to the path failure, to obtain an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes, and the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes an identifier of a third network device;

the sending unit 1302 is further configured to send a second packet to the third network device, where the second packet carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier, and an updated path list, and a type of the second packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: the first receiving unit is configured to receive a third packet sent by the second network device, where the third packet is a response packet of the first packet, and the third packet is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created, and the third packet includes a path identifier. The third packet may further include a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: and the second receiving unit is used for receiving a fourth message sent by the second network device, the fourth message is used for indicating that the path information is failed to be created, and the type of the fourth message is consistent with that of the first message.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 1301 is further configured to reserve, by the first network device, a corresponding resource according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, where the reserving includes: determining a first output interface according to the bandwidth, wherein the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; bandwidth resources are reserved at the first outgoing interface.

In a possible implementation manner, the first packet further includes a source address, where the source address is used to indicate a head node of the path, and the source address is used to indicate whether the second network device sends the packet that indicates whether the path creation is successful to the head node.

According to the device provided by the embodiment of the application, the IGP protocol or the BGP protocol is adopted to dynamically establish the path by the network equipment and reserve the corresponding resources, and compared with a mode of establishing the path by a controller and statically configuring, the mode of establishing the path is more flexible and has higher reliability. And when the path fails, the path can be converged in time, and the reliability of the path establishment is further improved.

In addition, in the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application, the path to the destination address may be calculated by the controller, or may be calculated by the first network device, and the route calculation manner is more flexible.

The embodiment of the present application provides a path creation apparatus, which is configured to execute the method executed by the second network device in fig. 3 through each unit shown in fig. 14. Referring to fig. 14, the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit 1401, configured to receive a first packet sent by a first network device, where the first packet includes a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, and the destination address is used to indicate a tail node of the path; for example, the functions performed by the receiving unit 1401 may refer to the related description of 303 shown in fig. 3, and are not described herein again.

A processing unit 1402, configured to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, where the first packet includes an interior gateway protocol IGP packet or a border gateway protocol BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device or a tail node through which a path passes. For example, the functions performed by the processing unit 1402 can refer to the related description of 304 shown in fig. 3, and are not described herein again.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1401 is further configured to receive a second message sent by the first network device, where the second message carries a destination address, a bandwidth, a path identifier, and an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which an updated path passes, the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes an identifier of the second network device, and a type of the second message is consistent with a type of the first message;

the processing unit 1402 is further configured to reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: the first sending unit is used for sending a third message to the first network device, wherein the third message is a response message of the first message and is used for indicating that the path information is successfully established; the third message includes a segment path identifier, where the segment path identifier includes a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: and the second sending unit is used for sending a fourth message to the first network device, the fourth message is used for indicating the path information creation failure, and the type of the fourth message is consistent with that of the first message.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 1402 is configured to determine a first output interface according to a bandwidth, where the first output interface meets a requirement of the bandwidth; bandwidth resources are reserved at the first egress interface.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a third sending unit, configured to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes a bandwidth, a path identifier, and the destination address, and the fifth packet is used to instruct a third network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, and the third network device includes a network device through which a path passes.

It should be understood that the apparatus provided in fig. 13 or fig. 14 is only illustrated by the division of the functional modules when the functions of the apparatus are implemented, and in practical applications, the functions may be distributed and performed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the apparatus is divided into different functional modules to perform all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the apparatus and method embodiments provided by the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are described in the method embodiments for details, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 15 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a path creation apparatus 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The path creation apparatus 1500 shown in fig. 15 may perform the corresponding steps in the path creation method provided by the embodiment shown in fig. 3 described above.

As shown in fig. 15, the path creation device 1500 includes a processor 1501, a memory 1502, an interface 1503, and a bus 1504. The interface 1503 may be implemented in a wireless or wired manner, and the interface 1503 may be a network card, for example. The processor 1501, the memory 1502, and the interface 1503 are connected by a bus 1504.

The interface 1503 may include a transmitter and a receiver for communicating with other communication devices. Processor 1501 is configured to perform the processing-related steps described above for 301-304 in the embodiment illustrated in fig. 3. Processor 1501, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. The memory 1502 includes an operating system 15021 and an application program 15022 for storing programs, codes, or instructions that when executed by a processor or hardware device may perform the processes involved in the path creation device 1500 in the method embodiments. Alternatively, the Memory 1502 may include a Read-only Memory (ROM) and a Random Access Memory (RAM). Wherein, the ROM includes a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) or an embedded System; the RAM includes application programs and an operating system. When the path creation device 1500 needs to be run, the boot path creation device 1500 enters a normal running state by booting through a BIOS that is solidified in a ROM or a bootloader boot system in an embedded system. After the path creation device 1500 enters the normal operation state, the application program and the operating system that run in the RAM are completed, thereby completing the processing procedures related to the path creation device 1500 in the method embodiment.

It will be appreciated that fig. 15 shows only a simplified design of the path creation device 1500. In practical applications, the path creation device 1500 may contain any number of interfaces, processors, or memories.

It should be understood that the processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. It is noted that the processor may be a processor supporting advanced reduced instruction set machine (ARM) architecture.

Further, in an alternative embodiment, the memory may include both read-only memory and random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. The memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store device type information.

The memory may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available. For example, static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct bus RAM (DR RAM).

Referring to fig. 16, fig. 16 shows a schematic structural diagram of a network device 700 provided in an exemplary embodiment of the present application, where the network device 700 may be configured as the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiments. The network device 700 includes: a main control board 710 and an interface board 730.

The main control board is also called a Main Processing Unit (MPU) or a route processor card (route processor card), and the main control board 710 is used for controlling and managing various components in the network device 700, including routing calculation, device management, device maintenance, and protocol processing functions. The main control board 710 includes: a central processor 711 and a memory 712.

The interface board 730 is also called a Line Processing Unit (LPU), a line card (line card), or a service board. The interface board 730 is used for providing various service interfaces and forwarding packets. The service interfaces include, but are not limited to, ethernet interfaces, such as Flexible Ethernet services interfaces (FlexE Ethernet Clients), POS (Packet over SONET/SDH) interfaces, and the like. The interface board 730 includes: a central processor 731, a network processor 732, a forwarding entry store 734, and a Physical Interface Card (PIC) 733.

The central processor 731 on the interface board 730 is used for controlling and managing the interface board 730 and communicating with the central processor 711 on the main control board 710.

The network processor 732 is configured to implement a message forwarding process. The network processor 732 may take the form of a forwarding chip. Specifically, the network processor 732 is configured to forward the received message based on the forwarding table stored in the forwarding table entry storage 734, and if the destination address of the message is the address of the network device 700, forward the message to a CPU (e.g., the central processing unit 711) for processing; if the destination address of the packet is not the address of the network device 700, the next hop and the egress interface corresponding to the destination address are found from the forwarding table according to the destination address, and the packet is forwarded to the egress interface corresponding to the destination address. The processing of the uplink message comprises the following steps: processing a message input interface and searching a forwarding table; and (3) downlink message processing: forwarding table lookups, etc.

The physical interface card 733 is used to implement a physical layer interface function, from which raw traffic enters the interface board 730, and from which processed messages are sent out. The physical interface card 733, also called a daughter card, may be installed on the interface board 730 and is responsible for converting the optical signal into a message, performing validity check on the message, and forwarding the message to the network processor 732 for processing. In some embodiments, a central processor may also perform the functions of network processor 732, such as implementing software forwarding based on a general purpose CPU, so that network processor 732 is not required in physical interface card 733.

Optionally, the network device 700 includes a plurality of interface boards, for example, the network device 700 further includes an interface board 740, and the interface board 740 includes: central processor 741, network processor 742, forwarding table entry store 744, and physical interface card 743.

Optionally, the network device 700 further comprises a switch screen 720. The switch board 720 may also be referred to as a Switch Fabric Unit (SFU). In the case of a network device having a plurality of interface boards 730, the switch board 720 is used to complete data exchange between the interface boards. For example, interface board 730 and interface board 740 can communicate with each other through switch board 720.

The main control board 710 and the interface board 730 are coupled. For example. The main control board 710, the interface board 730, the interface board 740, and the switch board 720 are connected to the system backplane through a system bus to achieve intercommunication. In a possible implementation manner, an inter-process communication (IPC) channel is established between the main control board 710 and the interface board 730, and the main control board 710 and the interface board 730 communicate with each other through the IPC channel.

Logically, network device 700 includes a control plane including main control board 710 and central processor 731, and a forwarding plane including various components that perform forwarding, such as forwarding entry memory 734, physical interface cards 733, and network processor 732. The control plane performs functions such as a router, generating a forwarding table, processing signaling and protocol messages, and configuring and maintaining the state of the device, and issues the generated forwarding table to the forwarding plane, and in the forwarding plane, the network processor 732 performs table lookup and forwarding on the message received by the physical interface card 733 based on the forwarding table issued by the control plane. The forwarding table issued by the control plane may be stored in a forwarding table entry storage 734. In some embodiments, the control plane and the forwarding plane may be completely separate and not on the same device.

It should be understood that the network device 700 of this embodiment may correspond to the first network device or the second network device in the foregoing various method embodiments, and the main control board 710, the interface board 730, and/or the interface board 740 in the network device 700 may implement the functions of the first network device or the second network device in the foregoing various method embodiments and/or various steps implemented, which are not described herein again for brevity.

It should be noted that there may be one or more main control boards, and when there are more main control boards, the main control boards may include a main control board and a standby main control board. The interface board may have one or more blocks, and the stronger the data processing capability of the network device, the more interface boards are provided. There may also be one or more physical interface cards on an interface board. The exchange network board may not have, or may have one or more blocks, and when there are more blocks, the load sharing redundancy backup can be realized together. Under the centralized forwarding architecture, the network device does not need a switching network board, and the interface board undertakes the processing function of the service data of the whole system. Under the distributed forwarding architecture, the network device can have at least one switching network board, and the data exchange among a plurality of interface boards is realized through the switching network board, so that the high-capacity data exchange and processing capacity is provided. Therefore, the data access and processing capabilities of network devices in a distributed architecture are greater than those of devices in a centralized architecture. Optionally, the form of the network device may also be only one board card, that is, there is no switching network board, and the functions of the interface board and the main control board are integrated on the one board card, at this time, the central processing unit on the interface board and the central processing unit on the main control board may be combined into one central processing unit on the one board card to perform the function after the two are superimposed, and the data switching and processing capability of the device in this form is low (for example, network devices such as a low-end switch or a router, etc.). Which architecture is specifically adopted depends on the specific networking deployment scenario, and is not limited herein.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a path creation system, where the system includes a first network device and a second network device, where the first network device is configured to execute a function executed by the first network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and the second network device is configured to execute a function executed by the second network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 3.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which at least one instruction is stored, and the instruction is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the path creation method as described in any one of the above.

The embodiments of the present application provide a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, can cause the processor or the computer to execute the corresponding steps and/or processes in the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor, and is configured to call and execute instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device installed with the chip executes the method in the foregoing aspects.

The embodiment of the application provides another chip, which includes: the system comprises an input interface, an output interface, a processor and a memory, wherein the input interface, the output interface, the processor and the memory are connected through an internal connection path, the processor is used for executing codes in the memory, and when the codes are executed, the processor is used for executing the method in the aspects.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions described in accordance with the present application are generated, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line) or wirelessly (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that includes one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid State Disk), among others.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only examples of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for path creation, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path reaching the destination address and a path identifier, wherein the destination address is used for indicating a tail node of the path;

the first network device sends a first packet to a second network device, where the first packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, the first packet is used to instruct the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, the first packet includes an interior gateway protocol IGP packet or a border gateway protocol BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device through which the path passes or a tail node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the path identification comprises: a flexible ethernet FlexE identification, a slice identification, or a segment routing path identification.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the type of the first packet comprises an IGP Hello packet or a BGP Keep alive packet.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the type of the first packet comprises an IGP Hello packet, and wherein the VARIABLE VARIABLE field of the first packet comprises an extended TLV, and wherein the extended TLV is configured to carry the destination address, the bandwidth, and the path identifier.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-2 and 4, wherein the first packet further comprises a path list, the path list comprising an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and the device identifier of the at least one network device comprising an identifier of the second network device.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first packet further comprises a path list, and wherein the path list comprises an identifier of at least one network device through which the path passes, and wherein the device identifier of the at least one network device comprises an identifier of the second network device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the path list is a target path calculated by the first network device according to the destination address.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the path list is a target path calculated by the first network device according to the destination address.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

responding to the path fault, performing path calculation again to obtain an updated path list, wherein the updated path list comprises an identifier of at least one network device passed by the updated path, and the device identifier of the at least one network device passed by the updated path comprises an identifier of a third network device;

and sending a second message to the third network device, wherein the second message carries the destination address, the bandwidth, the path identifier and the updated path list, and the type of the second message is consistent with that of the first message.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6-8, further comprising:

11. The method of any of claims 1-2, 4, 6-9, further comprising:

and receiving a third message sent by the second network device, where the third message is a response message of the first message, the third message includes the path identifier, and the third message is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created.

12. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the third packet further comprises a segment path identifier, and wherein the segment path identifier comprises a local identifier allocated to the path by the second network device.

16. The method according to any of claims 12-14, wherein the third packet further includes a segment path identifier, and the segment path identifier includes a local identifier assigned to the path by the second network device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, 4, 6-9, and 12-15, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

the first network device reserves corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the method comprises the following steps:

the first network equipment determines a first output interface according to the bandwidth, and the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth;

the first network device reserves the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

18. The method according to claim 3, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

the first network equipment determines a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth;

19. The method of claim 5, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

the first network device reserves the bandwidth resource at the first outgoing interface.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

21. The method of claim 11, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

22. The method of claim 16, wherein after the first network device obtains a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, the method further comprises:

23. The method according to any of claims 1-2, 4, 6-9, 12-15, and 18-22, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, and the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

24. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

25. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes the network devices through which the path passes.

26. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

27. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

28. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

29. The method according to claim 17, wherein the first packet is further configured to instruct the second network device to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier and the destination address, the fifth packet is configured to instruct a fourth network device to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the fourth network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

30. The method of any of claims 1-2, 4, 6-9, 12-15, 18-22, 24-29, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used to indicate a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used to indicate whether the second network device sends a packet to the head node that the path creation was successful.

31. The method of claim 3, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating that the second network device sends a packet to the head node whether path creation is successful or not.

32. The method of claim 5, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating that the second network device sends a packet to the head node whether path creation is successful or not.

33. The method of claim 10, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating whether the second network device sends a packet to the head node that indicates whether the path creation is successful.

34. The method of claim 11, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating that the second network device sends a packet to the head node whether path creation is successful or not.

35. The method of claim 16, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating whether the second network device sends a packet to the head node that indicates whether the path creation is successful.

36. The method of claim 17, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating that the second network device sends a packet to the head node whether path creation is successful or not.

37. The method of claim 23, wherein the first packet further comprises a source address, wherein the source address is used for indicating a head node of the path, and wherein the source address is used for indicating whether the second network device sends a packet to the head node that indicates whether the path creation is successful.

38. A method for path creation, the method comprising:

a second network device receives a first message sent by a first network device, wherein the first message comprises a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path reaching the destination address and a path identifier, and the destination address is used for indicating a tail node of the path;

and the second network equipment creates path information and reserves corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, wherein the first message comprises an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) message or a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) message, and the second network equipment comprises network equipment or a tail node through which the path passes.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the first packet further comprises a path list, wherein the path list comprises an identifier of at least one network device traversed by the path, and wherein the device identifier of the at least one network device comprises an identifier of the second network device.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein after receiving the first packet sent by the first network device, the method further comprises:

receiving a second message sent by the first network device, where the second message carries the destination address, the bandwidth, the path identifier, and an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device through which an updated path passes, the device identifier of at least one network device through which the updated path passes includes the identifier of the second network device, and the type of the second message is consistent with the type of the first message;

and creating path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserving corresponding resources.

41. The method according to any of claims 38-40, further comprising, after reserving the corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identity:

and sending a third message to the first network device, where the third message is a response message of the first message, the third message includes the path identifier, and the third message is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the third packet further comprises a segment path identifier, and wherein the segment path identifier comprises a local identifier assigned to the path by the second network device.

43. The method of any of claims 38-40, 42, wherein said reserving the corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identity comprises:

the second network equipment determines a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth;

the second network device reserves the bandwidth resource at the first outgoing interface.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein reserving the corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier comprises:

45. The method according to any of claims 38-40, 42, 44, wherein after receiving the first message sent by the first network device, further comprising:

and the second network equipment sends a fifth message corresponding to the first message to the destination address, wherein the fifth message comprises the bandwidth, the path identifier and the destination address, the fifth message is used for indicating third network equipment to create path information and reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and the third network equipment comprises network equipment through which the path passes.

46. The method of claim 41, wherein after receiving the first packet sent by the first network device, further comprising:

47. The method of claim 43, wherein after receiving the first packet sent by the first network device, further comprising:

and the second network equipment sends a fifth message corresponding to the first message to the destination address, wherein the fifth message comprises the bandwidth, the path identifier and the destination address, the fifth message is used for indicating third network equipment to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve corresponding resources, and the third network equipment comprises network equipment through which the path passes.

48. A path creation apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

a processing unit, configured to obtain a destination address, a bandwidth corresponding to a path to the destination address, and a path identifier, where the destination address is used to indicate a tail node of the path;

a sending unit, configured to send a first packet to a second network device, where the first packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, and is used to instruct the second network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, where the first packet includes an interior gateway protocol IGP packet or a border gateway protocol BGP packet, and the second network device includes a network device or a tail node through which the path passes.

49. The apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform the path computation again in response to the path failure, to obtain an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device that the updated path passes through, and the device identifier of at least one network device that the updated path passes through includes an identifier of a third network device;

the sending unit is further configured to send a second packet to the third network device, where the second packet carries the destination address, the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the updated path list, and a type of the second packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

50. The apparatus of claim 48 or 49, further comprising:

a first receiving unit, configured to receive a third packet sent by a second network device, where the third packet is a response packet of the first packet, and the third packet includes the path identifier, and the third packet is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created.

51. The apparatus of claim 48 or 49, further comprising:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive a fourth packet sent by a second network device, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that the path information creation fails, and a type of the fourth packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

52. The apparatus of claim 48 or 49, wherein the processing unit is further configured to reserve, by the first network device, corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and includes: determining a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, wherein the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the processing unit is further configured to reserve, by the first network device, corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and includes: determining a first output interface according to the bandwidth, wherein the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing unit is further configured to reserve, by the first network device, corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier, and includes: determining a first output interface according to the bandwidth, wherein the first output interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

55. A path creation apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

and the processing unit is used for creating path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserving corresponding resources, the first message comprises an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) message or a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) message, and the second network equipment comprises network equipment or a tail node through which the path passes.

56. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a second packet sent by the first network device, where the second packet carries the destination address, the bandwidth, the path identifier, and an updated path list, where the updated path list includes an identifier of at least one network device that an updated path passes through, the device identifier of at least one network device that the updated path passes through includes an identifier of the second network device, and a type of the second packet is consistent with a type of the first packet;

and the processing unit is further configured to reserve corresponding resources according to the bandwidth and the path identifier.

57. The apparatus of claim 55 or 56, further comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to send a third packet to the first network device, where the third packet is a response packet of the first packet, and the third packet is used to indicate that the path information is successfully created;

58. The apparatus as claimed in claim 55 or 56, further comprising:

a second sending unit, configured to send a fourth packet to the first network device, where the fourth packet is used to indicate that the path information creation is failed, and a type of the fourth packet is consistent with a type of the first packet.

59. The apparatus according to claim 55 or 56, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine a first egress interface according to the bandwidth, and the first egress interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

60. The apparatus according to claim 57, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

61. The apparatus according to claim 58, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine a first outgoing interface according to the bandwidth, and the first outgoing interface meets the requirement of the bandwidth; reserving the bandwidth resources at the first egress interface.

62. The apparatus of any one of claims 55-56 and 60-61, further comprising:

a third sending unit, configured to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, and the fifth packet is used to instruct a third network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, where the third network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

63. The apparatus of claim 57, further comprising:

a third sending unit, configured to send a fifth packet corresponding to the first packet to the destination address, where the fifth packet includes the bandwidth, the path identifier, and the destination address, and is used to instruct a third network device to create path information according to the bandwidth and the path identifier and reserve a corresponding resource, where the third network device includes a network device through which the path passes.

64. The apparatus of claim 58, further comprising:

65. The apparatus of claim 59, further comprising:

66. A path creation system, characterized in that the system comprises a first network device comprising the apparatus according to any of the preceding claims 48-54 and a second network device comprising the apparatus according to any of the preceding claims 55-65.