CN117978649A

CN117978649A - Communication method and related equipment

Info

Publication number: CN117978649A
Application number: CN202211312601.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄炜恒; 董林; 叶涛
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-10-25
Filing date: 2022-10-25
Publication date: 2024-05-03

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and related equipment, which are used for executing version rollback under the condition that the network equipment cannot be connected to a controller in the process of executing version update, so that the version which is returned is successfully connected to the controller, and compared with the mode of on-site maintenance by depending on management personnel, the maintenance cost of the equipment can be reduced, and the communication efficiency is improved. In the method, a network device receives a first configuration from a controller, the first configuration indicating a target version; after the network device updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, N detection messages are sent to the controller, wherein N is a positive integer; and when the network equipment determines that no response message is received, updating the running version from the target version to the initial version, wherein the response message corresponds to one of the N detection messages.

Description

Communication method and related equipment

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and related devices.

Background

With the development of communication technology, the number of communication nodes in a communication system is increasing, and in general, a data transmission process between two communication nodes needs to be implemented through forwarding of one or more network devices. Wherein the controller may issue configuration information to the network device such that the network device performs version updating based on the configuration information.

In the implementation process, the network device may have a case of upgrade failure, for example, the reason of upgrade failure may be that hardware of the network device is not supported, or the configuration information received by the network device is incomplete due to packet loss in the transmission process of the configuration information, etc. In this case, the network device will not operate normally, and it is necessary to rely on a manager to maintain the network device in a field maintenance manner, so that the network device can operate normally.

However, the above-mentioned manner of relying on the management personnel to perform maintenance on site will greatly increase the maintenance cost of the equipment.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and related equipment, which are used for executing version rollback under the condition that the network equipment cannot be connected to a controller in the process of executing version update, so that the version which is returned is successfully connected to the controller, and compared with the mode of on-site maintenance by depending on management personnel, the maintenance cost of the equipment can be reduced, and the communication efficiency is improved.

The first aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method is performed by a network device, or the method is performed by a part of a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the network device, or the method is implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. In the first aspect and its possible implementation manners, the method is described as being executed by the network device as an example. In the method, a network device receives a first configuration from a controller, the first configuration indicating a target version; after the network device updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, N detection messages are sent to the controller, wherein N is a positive integer; and when the network equipment determines that no response message is received, updating the running version from the target version to the initial version, wherein the response message corresponds to one of the N detection messages.

Based on the technical scheme, after updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration from the controller, the network equipment sends N detection messages to the controller; and when the network equipment determines that the response message is not received, the running version is updated from the target version to the initial version. In other words, the network device, after performing the version update based on the first configuration from the controller, and when sending the probe message and not receiving the response message, determines that it is not possible to connect to the controller, the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version. Therefore, in the process of executing version updating, the network equipment and the controller can interact with the response message through the detection message, so that the network equipment can determine whether to disconnect from the controller based on the interaction process, version rollback can be executed under the condition that the network equipment determines to disconnect from the controller, and the version after rollback is successfully connected to the controller.

In addition, compared with the mode of on-site maintenance depending on management personnel, the potential safety hazard generated by the fact that network equipment is disconnected for a long time to cause disconnection of pipes is likely to occur; in the technical scheme, the network equipment and the controller can avoid the situation that the equipment is out of the pipe due to long-time intermittent connection through the interaction between the detection message and the response message expected to be received, and network safety is improved.

Optionally, the response message corresponds to one of the N probe messages, and the response message is a response message corresponding to any one of the N probe messages, or the response message is a response message corresponding to at least one of the N probe messages.

Optionally, the probe packet related to the present application is used for probing (or called keep-alive probing), and may be a network quality analysis (network quality analysis, NQA) packet, a bidirectional forwarding detection (bidirectional forwarding detection, BFD) packet, an internet protocol-connection (IP-link) packet, or other packet, which is not limited herein. In a corresponding manner,

In one possible implementation, the network device determining that no response message is received includes: starting a timer when one of the N detection messages is sent to the controller, and determining that the response message is not received by the network equipment after the timer is overtime; or when the number of the N detection messages sent to the controller reaches a threshold value, the network equipment determines that the response message is not received.

Based on the technical scheme, the network equipment can determine that the response message is not received through any implementation mode so as to improve the flexibility of implementation of the scheme.

Optionally, the starting timer when one of the N probe messages is sent to the controller includes starting a timer when any one of the N probe messages is sent to the controller, or starting a timer when the first one of the N probe messages is sent to the controller, or starting a timer when the last one of the N probe messages is sent to the controller.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version upon determining that the boot failure based on the target version.

Optionally, in the case that the network device receives the response message, it is also possible to update the running version from the target version to the initial version, for example, the network device determines that the running of the target version has failed suddenly within a preset time period, or for other reasons, which are not limited herein.

Based on the technical scheme, when the network equipment determines that the start-up based on the target version fails, the running version is updated from the target version to the initial version, so that the network equipment can execute version rollback under the condition that the successful start-up based on the target version cannot be determined, and the network equipment can be expected to be successfully connected to the controller through the returned version. And moreover, the occurrence of the condition that the equipment is out of the pipe due to the failure of starting can be avoided, and the network safety is improved.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device receives address information from the controller, where the address information includes M internet protocol (internet protocol, IP) addresses of the controller, where a destination IP address of one of the N probe messages is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

Based on the above technical solution, the network device may receive address information including M IP addresses of the controller from the controller in advance, so that the network device may further send N probe packets based on the M IP addresses.

Optionally, the N probe messages may include M groups of probe messages, where the destination IP address of the M groups of probe messages is one IP address of the M IP addresses, and the number of probe messages included in each group of probe messages in the M groups of probe messages is one or more.

In one possible implementation, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version, the method further includes: the network device sends first indication information to the controller, the first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version.

Based on the above technical solution, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version, the network device may further send first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version to the controller, so that the controller determines that the current running version of the network device is the initial version based on the first indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device further based on the first indication information.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sends second indication information to the controller after determining that the response message is received, wherein the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

Based on the above technical solution, after determining that the response message is received, the network device may determine that the network device is successfully connected to the controller, for which purpose, the network device may send second indication information indicating that the running version is the target version to the controller, so that the controller determines, based on the second indication information, that the current running version of the network device is the target version, and may subsequently communicate with the network device further based on the second indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information (or the second indication information) related to the present application may be carried in a registration message sent by the network device to the controller, or may be carried in an application layer message sent by the network device to the controller, or may be carried in another message sent by the network device to the controller, which is not limited herein.

In one possible implementation, the updating, by the network device, the operational version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration includes: when the network device determines that the controller route is reachable, the operating version is updated from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration.

Based on the above technical solution, when determining that the controller route is reachable, the network device may update the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, so that the network device may perform version update when the route between controllers is reachable, so as to avoid subsequent failure to connect to the controllers due to network problems.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration includes configuration information of the target version, at least one of an identification of the target version.

Based on the above technical solution, the first configuration may be implemented by at least one of the above items, so as to improve flexibility implemented by the solution.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration further includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate an update time of the target version, and the sending, by the network device, N probe packets to the controller includes: and the network equipment sends the N detection messages to the controller in a preset time period after the updating time.

Based on the above technical solution, the first configuration indicating the target version may further include time information for indicating an update time of the target version, so that the network device sends the N detection messages to the controller in a preset time period after the update time, so as to realize detection in a time period when understanding between the network device and the controller is consistent.

In one possible implementation, the target version is an upgraded version corresponding to the initial version, or the target version is a downgraded version corresponding to the initial version.

Based on the technical scheme, relative to the initial version operated by the network equipment, the target version can be an upgrade version or a downgrade version of the initial version so as to improve the flexibility of scheme implementation.

Alternatively, where the target version has a small change relative to the original version, the target version may also be referred to as a patch, update package, or other name.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, where the method is performed by a controller of a network device, or where the method is performed by some components in the controller (e.g. a processor, a chip or a system-on-chip, etc.), or where the method is implemented by a logic module or software that is capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the controller. In the first aspect and its possible implementation manner, the method is described as an example executed by the controller. In the method, the controller determines a first configuration, the first configuration indicating a target version; the controller receives a detection message after sending the first configuration; the controller sends a response message corresponding to the probe message.

Based on the technical scheme, the controller sends a first configuration to enable the network equipment to update the running version from the initial version to the target version, and then receives a detection message from the network equipment; and the controller further transmits a response message corresponding to the detection message to the network equipment. Therefore, in the process of executing version updating, the network equipment and the controller can interact with the response message through the detection message, so that the network equipment can determine whether to disconnect from the controller based on the interaction process, version rollback can be executed under the condition that the network equipment determines to disconnect from the controller, and the version after rollback is successfully connected to the controller.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration further includes time information for indicating an update time of the target version; the controller receives a detection message comprising: the controller receives the detection message in a preset time period after the updating time.

Based on the above technical solution, the first configuration indicating the target version may further include time information for indicating an update time of the target version, so that the controller receives the probe packet from the network device in a preset time period after the update time, so as to realize the probing in a time period in which the network device and the controller understand to be consistent.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and when the controller does not receive the detection message within a preset time period after the updating time, the controller receives the first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

Based on the above technical solution, in the case that the network device fails to update or cannot successfully send the probe message, the controller cannot receive the probe message within a preset period of time after the update time, and for this reason, the controller may determine that the probe message is not received within the preset period of time after the update time. Accordingly, the controller may also receive first indication information indicating that the operational version is the initial version, so that the controller may determine that the current operational version of the network device is the initial version based on the first indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device further based on the first indication information.

In one possible implementation, after the controller sends the response message, the method further includes: the controller receives first indication information indicating that the running version is an initial version.

Based on the above technical solution, in the case that the network device can successfully send the detection message so that the controller sends the response message, the network device may also cause the network device to still determine to fall back from the target version to the initial version due to a network failure or a sudden failure of the network device running the target version. Accordingly, the controller may also receive first indication information indicating that the operational version is the initial version, so that the controller may determine that the current operational version of the network device is the initial version based on the first indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device further based on the first indication information.

In one possible implementation, after the controller sends the response message, the method further includes: the controller receives second indication information indicating that the running version is the target version.

In one possible implementation, before the controller sends the first configuration, the method further includes: the controller sends address information, wherein the address information comprises M IP addresses of the controller, the destination IP address of the detection message is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

A third aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus, the apparatus being arranged in a network device, the apparatus being capable of implementing the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or modules for performing the above-described methods. The units or modules included in the apparatus may be implemented in a software and/or hardware manner. For example, the apparatus may be a network device, or the apparatus may be a component in a network device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-a-chip, etc.), or the apparatus may also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

The device comprises a receiving and transmitting unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first configuration from the controller, the first configuration indicating a target version; the processing unit controls the receiving and transmitting unit to transmit N detection messages to the controller after updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, wherein N is a positive integer; the processing unit is further configured to update the running version from the target version to the initial version when it is determined that no response message is received, where the response message corresponds to one of the N probe messages.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to: starting a timer when one of the N detection messages is sent to the controller, and determining that the response message is not received after the timer is overtime; or when the number of the N detection messages sent to the controller reaches a threshold value, determining that the response message is not received.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to update the running version from the target version to the initial version when it is determined that the start-up based on the target version fails.

In one possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive address information from the controller, where the address information includes M IP addresses of the controller, a destination IP address of one probe packet in the N probe packets is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to send first indication information to the controller, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, after the processing unit determines that the response message is received, the transceiver unit is further configured to send second indication information to the controller, where the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to: when the controller route is determined to be reachable, the running version is updated from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration.

In a possible implementation manner, the first configuration further includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate an update time of the target version, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to send the N probe packets to the controller in a preset period of time after the update time.

In the third aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device may also be configured to execute the steps executed in each possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and achieve the corresponding technical effects, and all details may refer to the first aspect, which is not described herein.

A fourth aspect of the present application provides a communications device arranged to a controller, the device being capable of implementing the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or modules for performing the above-described methods. The units or modules included in the apparatus may be implemented in a software and/or hardware manner. For example, the apparatus may be a controller, or the apparatus may be a component in a controller (e.g., a processor, a chip or a system-on-chip, etc.), or the apparatus may also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the controller functions.

The device comprises a receiving and transmitting unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine a first configuration, the first configuration indicating a target version; the receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving the detection message after the first configuration is transmitted; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a response packet, where the response packet corresponds to the probe packet.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration further includes time information for indicating an update time of the target version; the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the probe packet within a preset period of time after the update time.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the first indication information when the detection message is not received within a preset period of time after the update time, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second indication information, where the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is further configured to send address information, where the address information includes M IP addresses of the controller, where a destination IP address of the probe packet is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

In the fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device may also be configured to execute the steps executed in each possible implementation manner of the second aspect, and achieve corresponding technical effects, and in particular, reference may be made to the second aspect, which is not repeated herein.

A fifth aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a communication device comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used for storing programs or instructions; the at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instructions to cause the apparatus to implement the method according to the foregoing first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, or to cause the apparatus to implement the method according to the foregoing second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

A sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including at least one logic circuit and an input-output interface; the logic circuitry is to perform the method as described in the preceding first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect or to perform the method as described in the preceding second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

A seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-executable instructions; when executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions perform the method as described above for any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect or the first aspect, or the processor performs the method as described above for any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect or the second aspect.

An eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product (or computer program) which, when executed by a processor, performs the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect or the first aspect, or performs the method of any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect or the second aspect.

A ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor for supporting a communication device for implementing the functions involved in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or for supporting a communication device for implementing the functions involved in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In one possible design, the system-on-chip may further include a memory to hold the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the system on a chip further comprises interface circuitry providing program instructions and/or data to the at least one processor.

A tenth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication system including the communication apparatus of the third aspect and the communication apparatus of the fourth aspect, or the communication system including the communication apparatus of the fifth aspect, or the communication system including the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect.

The technical effects caused by any one of the design manners of the third aspect to the tenth aspect may be referred to the technical effects caused by the different implementation manners of the first aspect or the second aspect, and are not described herein.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to the present application;

FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to the present application;

FIG. 4 is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to the present application;

FIG. 7 is another schematic diagram of a communication device according to the present application;

fig. 8 is another schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the application may be used interchangeably. "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: cases where A alone, both A and B together, and B alone, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, references to "first," "second," etc. ordinal words of embodiments of the present application are used for distinguishing between multiple objects and not for defining a sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects.

In the present application, the words "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application is provided. As shown in fig. 1, the system includes one or more network devices and a controller 100 coupled to the one or more network devices, e.g., the one or more network devices may include network device 101, network device 102, and network device 103 in the example implementation shown in fig. 1, as well as other network devices that may be present.

Optionally, the network devices (such as network device 101, network device 102, and network device 103 in fig. 1) to which the present application relates may be routers (routers), switches (switches), virtual machines, customer premise equipment (customer premises equipment, CPE), and the like.

Alternatively, the controller according to the present application may be a device for controlling a network device, where the name of the device may be a controller, a control device, a server, a management device, or the like, and in the embodiment of the present application, the name of the device is described as an example of the controller.

In one possible implementation, the communication system shown in fig. 1 may be applied to a software defined wide area network (SD-WAN). The key of the SD-WAN solution is to build one or more virtual logical networks on one physical network, namely to build an Overlay (Overlay) network.

The SD-WAN solution architecture includes, by way of example, the layering shown in fig. 2:

The management layer, the controller is the core component of the management layer, is the intelligent brain of the SD-WAN solution, and has network arrangement and management capability.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, the management layer includes a controller for implementing the functions of the management layer.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, the management layer may be connected to a business support system/operations support system (business support system/operations support system, BSS/OSS) so that users can be managed by a third party BSS/OSS. Further alternatively, the management layer may communicate with the third party BSS/OSS via a Restful interface.

And the control layer is mainly responsible for centralized control of route forwarding and topology definition of the SD-WAN network layer.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, the control layer may include one or more network devices (e.g., the network devices may include router 1, router 2, etc. in the illustration).

Network layer the network layer of SD-WAN is constituted by network devices (e.g. CPE in the figure, including CPE 1, CPE 2, etc.) interconnected by a wide area network (wide area network, WAN) where different sites (e.g. the sites may be terminal devices in the figure) are located, together with an intermediate WAN.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, the control layer communicates with the network layer via interfaces such as border gateway protocol (border gateway protocol, BGP)/datagram secure transport (datagram transport level security, DTLS).

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, the management layer and the network side may communicate through a network configuration protocol (network configuration protocol, netconf)/Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, or a telemetry (telemetry) protocol, or the like.

As an implementation example, in fig. 2, a management and operation channel needs to be established between a controller located at a management layer and a CPE located at a network layer in the SD-WAN, and after the CPE device is online, registration is first initiated with the SD-WAN controller and the management channel is established.

Optionally, the SD-WAN controller issues required network related configurations to the SD-WAN CPE device through the management channel, where the configurations mainly include site opening parameters, VPN topology definition, and various network policies such as application routing, etc. In addition, the information required by network operation and maintenance, such as alarms, logs, network flows and other performance acquisition information of the network layer SD-WAN CPE equipment, is also reported to the SD-WAN controller by the network layer SD-WAN CPE equipment through the management channel.

Alternatively, typically the SD-WAN controller employs netcon f to manage and configure devices, typically without using the controller to automatically discover devices, but rather using the devices to automatically connect to the controller. In the scene, a user can configure a NETCONF active registration function, and after equipment is online, the NETCONF connection request can be actively sent to a network manager and NETCONF connection is established with a controller, so that the user can manage the equipment in time through the controller.

With the development of communication technology, the number of communication nodes in a communication system increases, and in general, a data transmission procedure between two communication nodes needs to be implemented through forwarding of one or more network devices (such as the network devices referred to in fig. 1 and 2 above). Wherein the controller may issue configuration information to the network device such that the network device performs version updating based on the configuration information.

In the implementation process, the network device may have a case of upgrade failure, for example, the reason of upgrade failure may be that hardware of the network device is not supported, or the configuration information received by the network device is incomplete due to packet loss in the transmission process of the configuration information, etc. In this case, the network device will not operate normally, and it is necessary to rely on a manager to maintain the network device in a field maintenance manner, so that the network device can operate normally. However, the above-mentioned manner of relying on the management personnel to perform maintenance on site will greatly increase the maintenance cost of the equipment.

Taking the scenario shown in fig. 2 as an example, SD-WAN CPE devices are generally managed by using an SD-WAN controller, and because of the relatively large number of branches of sites and the wide geographical distribution of sites, once the site devices are out of the management, the service management is greatly affected. The controller is used for carrying out upgrading strategy configuration, and once upgrading failure and equipment pipe removal occur, only personnel can be relied on to go to the site for operation and maintenance, so that more labor cost can be brought. In addition, the incompatibility of the configuration after the upgrade in the existing network causes that the controller is not connected, and the accident risk is easily caused by the fact that the equipment is out of the pipe.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present application provides a communication method and related devices, which are used for executing version rollback when a network device determines that a controller cannot be connected in the process of executing version update, so as to make a successful connection to the controller through the returned version. The following description will be made with reference to more drawings.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic diagram of a communication method according to the present application is provided, and the method includes the following steps.

S301, the controller sends a first configuration.

In this embodiment, the controller sends the first configuration in step S301, and the network device receives the first configuration in step S301. Wherein the first configuration indicates a target version.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration includes configuration information of the target version, at least one of an identification of the target version. In particular, this first configuration may be achieved by at least one of the above, in order to promote flexibility in the implementation of the scheme.

S302, the network device updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration.

In this embodiment, after the network device receives the first configuration in step S301, the network device updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration in step S302.

Optionally, in the case that the first configuration includes the configuration information of the target version, the network device performs the update procedure of step S302 based on the first configuration; in the case where the first configuration includes the identification of the target version and does not include the configuration information of the target version, the network device determines the configuration information of the target version from the history-cached data (or acquired by other devices) based on the identification of the target version, and performs the update process in step S302 based on the acquired configuration information.

In one possible implementation, the target version is an upgraded version corresponding to the initial version, or the target version is a downgraded version corresponding to the initial version. Specifically, the target version may be an upgraded version or a downgraded version of the initial version relative to the initial version of the network device running, so as to promote flexibility of scheme implementation.

S303, the network equipment sends N detection messages.

In this embodiment, the network device sends N probe messages in step S301, and accordingly, the controller may receive the N probe messages in step S301, where N is a positive integer.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration further includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate an update time of the target version, and the sending, by the network device, N probe packets to the controller includes: and the network equipment sends the N detection messages to the controller in a preset time period after the updating time. Specifically, the first configuration indicating the target version may further include time information for indicating an update time of the target version, so that the network device sends the N probe messages to the controller in a preset period of time after the update time, in order to implement probing in a time period in which it is understood that there is agreement between the network device and the controller.

In one possible implementation, the process of updating the running version from the initial version to the target version by the network device based on the first configuration in step S302 includes: when the network device determines that the controller route is reachable, the operating version is updated from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration. In particular, the network device may update the operational version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration upon determining that the controller route is reachable, such that the network device is able to perform version updates with the route between controllers reachable in hopes of avoiding subsequent failure to connect to the controllers due to network problems.

In one possible implementation, before the updating is performed in step S302, the method further includes: the network device receives address information from the controller, where the address information includes M IP addresses of the controller, and a destination IP address of one probe packet in the N probe packets is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer. Specifically, the network device may receive address information including M IP addresses of the controller from the controller in advance, so that the network device can further transmit N probe messages based on the M IP addresses.

S304, when the network equipment determines that no response message is received, updating the running version from the target version to the initial version, wherein the response message corresponds to one of the N detection messages.

In one possible implementation, the network device determining that no response message is received includes: starting a timer when one of the N detection messages is sent to the controller, and determining that the response message is not received by the network equipment after the timer is overtime; or when the number of the N detection messages sent to the controller reaches a threshold value, the network equipment determines that the response message is not received. Specifically, the network device may determine that no response message is received through any implementation manner, so as to improve flexibility of implementation of the scheme.

In one possible implementation, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version, the method further includes: the network device sends first indication information to the controller, the first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version. Specifically, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version, the network device may further send first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version to the controller, so that the controller determines that the current running version of the network device is the initial version based on the first indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device based further on the first indication information.

Based on the technical solution shown in fig. 3, after the network device updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration from the controller in step S302, N probe messages are sent to the controller in step S303; and, when determining that no response message is received, the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version in step S304. In other words, the network device, after performing the version update based on the first configuration from the controller, and when sending the probe message and not receiving the response message, determines that it is not possible to connect to the controller, the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version. Therefore, in the process of executing version updating, the network equipment and the controller can interact with the response message through the detection message, so that the network equipment can determine whether to disconnect from the controller based on the interaction process, version rollback can be executed under the condition that the network equipment determines to disconnect from the controller, and the version after rollback is successfully connected to the controller.

In the solution shown in fig. 3, after receiving the first configuration, the network device may further include other implementations besides the execution actions based on the steps S302 to S304, which will be described below in connection with the embodiment shown in fig. 4.

Referring to fig. 4, a schematic diagram of a communication method according to the present application is provided, and the method includes the following steps.

S401, the controller sends a first configuration.

In this embodiment, the controller sends the first configuration in step S401, and the network device receives the first configuration in step S401. Wherein the first configuration indicates a target version.

It can be understood that the implementation process of step S401 may refer to the implementation process of step S401 and achieve corresponding technical effects, which are not described herein.

In one manner, after receiving the first configuration in step S401, the network device may perform update and perform version rollback in case of update failure, specifically including step S402 and step S403.

S402, after updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, the network equipment sends N detection messages.

S403, when the fact that the response message is not received is determined, the running version is updated from the target version to the initial version.

It can be understood that the implementation process of step S402 and step S403 may refer to the implementation process of step S302 to step S304, and achieve corresponding technical effects, which are not described herein.

In the second manner, after receiving the first configuration in step S401, the network device may perform update and determine that the update is successful, and need not perform version rollback, which specifically includes step S404 and step S405.

S404, after updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, the network device sends N detection messages.

It can be understood that the implementation process of step S404 may refer to the implementation processes of step S302 to step S303, and achieve corresponding technical effects, which are not described herein.

S405, the controller sends a response message.

In this embodiment, the controller sends a response message in step S405, and correspondingly, the network device receives the response message in step S405, where the response message is a response message corresponding to one of the N probe messages.

In a possible implementation manner, after the network device determines that the response packet is received in step S405, the network device may further send second indication information to the controller, where the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version. Specifically, after determining that the response message is received, the network device may determine that the network device is successfully connected to the controller, and for this purpose, the network device may send second indication information indicating that the running version is the target version to the controller, so that the controller determines that the current running version of the network device is the target version based on the second indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device further based on the second indication information.

In the third way, after receiving the first configuration in step S401, the network device may perform updating and determine to perform version rollback in the case of a start failure based on the target version, specifically including step S406.

S406, when the start failure based on the target version is determined, the running version is updated from the target version to the initial version.

In this embodiment, in step S406, the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version when it is determined that the start-up based on the target version fails. Specifically, when the network device determines that the start-up based on the target version fails, the running version is updated from the target version to the initial version, so that the network device can execute version rollback in the case that the start-up based on the target version is not determined to be successful, and hopefully, the network device is successfully connected to the controller through the returned version. And moreover, the occurrence of the condition that the equipment is out of the pipe due to the failure of starting can be avoided, and the network safety is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version in the step S403 or the step S406, the method may further include: the network device sends first indication information to the controller, the first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version. Specifically, after the network device updates the running version from the target version to the initial version, the network device may further send first indication information indicating that the running version is the initial version to the controller, so that the controller determines that the current running version of the network device is the initial version based on the first indication information, and may subsequently communicate with the network device based further on the first indication information.

The implementation process shown in fig. 3 and 4 described above will be exemplarily described with reference to an implementation example shown in fig. 5.

501. The user configures a promotion and demotion policy for the site device (e.g., the promotion and demotion policy indicates the target version in the previous embodiment).

502. The network device (denoted as device) detects that the device is connected to the controller in both directions before the policy is executed (i.e., before the update is executed), and executes step 503 when the connection is normal, and executes step 504 when the connection is abnormal.

503. And recording the normal version file and configuration, and executing a promotion and degradation strategy.

504. The detection task (configurable) is performed after a delay. When the detection task is executed again and the connection is determined to be normal, step 505 is executed.

505. The device is restarted, step 506 is performed when the start-up is successful, and step 507 is performed when the start-up fails.

506. The device is started normally but cannot be connected to the controller.

507. The use is restarted using the recorded normal version file (e.g., the recorded normal version file may be the original version in the previous embodiment).

508. The device actively probes the controller network, performs step 509 when the network is reachable, and performs step 510 when the network is not feasible.

509. The normal version file of the usage record is restarted for use.

510. The timeout waiting time may be configured and step 509 is performed when the waiting time times out.

Taking the above-described device as a CPE device as an example,

1. The CPE device automatically detects the communication status with the controller based on the established policy (e.g., step 502 described above). Specifically, after receiving the timed up-down policy issued by the controller, the CPE device detects a communication state with the controller, such as netconf channels being normal, and records the current saved configuration and version files, within a preset time period (e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.) before the policy takes effect.

2. The CPE device actively probes the communication status with the controller (e.g., step 508 described above). Specifically, the CPE device uses a plurality of southbound IP addresses of the configured controller as a probing objective to send probe messages over different WAN lines to probe the state of the controller. Success is considered as long as there is one southern IP address accessible.

Alternatively, the probing process may configure the number of times or time-out time. And returning the detection result after the detection is finished to be success or failure. And if successful, establishing netconf connection.

3. The CPE device supports rollback of the system to the last normal version state (e.g., step 507 or 509 above) using the set normal version file and configuration restart.

Optionally, the device rollback includes two phases, phase 1 rollback patch, phase 2 rollback version.

Optionally, in stage 1, the device automatically unloads the newly loaded patch and then actively restarts. A reconnect controller attempt is made. If the stage 1 is invalid, the stage 2 is started, the software version is rolled back, the equipment is actively restarted, and the reconnection controller is tried.

Optionally, the rollback phase flag is written to flash (flash).

Thus, the CPE device automatically detects the network condition with the controller and is used to rule out whether the connection problem between the CPE device and the controller is the network cause. In addition, the CPE device automatically rolls back the software version and configuration so that the CPE device reverts to an available normal connection version on the device.

As can be seen from the embodiment shown in fig. 5, after the user configures the up-down policy on the controller, the device automatically detects communication with the controller before and after the policy starts to be executed, and automatically restarts the rollback software version and automatically reconnects to the controller after the network connection status detection times out.

The application is described above in terms of a method and the communication device provided by the application will be described below based on more drawings.

Referring to fig. 6, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 600, where the communication device 600 includes a transceiver unit 601 and a processing unit 602.

It should be appreciated that the communication device 600 may implement the functions of any of the communication devices (e.g., network equipment or controllers) in the above-described method embodiments, and thus may also implement the advantages provided by the above-described method embodiments. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 600 may be any of the communication devices in the above method embodiments, or may be an integrated circuit or an element, such as a chip, inside any of the communication devices in the above method embodiments.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 601 is configured to receive a first configuration from the controller, where the first configuration indicates a target version; after the processing unit 602 updates the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, controlling the transceiver unit 601 to send N probe messages to the controller, where N is a positive integer; the processing unit 602 is further configured to update the running version from the target version to the initial version upon determining that no response message is received, where the response message corresponds to one of the N probe messages.

In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is specifically configured to: starting a timer when one of the N detection messages is sent to the controller, and determining that the response message is not received after the timer is overtime; or when the number of the N detection messages sent to the controller reaches a threshold value, determining that the response message is not received.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is further configured to update the running version from the target version to the initial version when it is determined that the start-up based on the target version fails.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to receive address information from the controller, where the address information includes M IP addresses of the controller, a destination IP address of one probe packet of the N probe packets is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to send first indication information to the controller, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, after the processing unit 602 determines that the response packet is received, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to send second indication information to the controller, where the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

In one possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is specifically configured to: when the controller route is determined to be reachable, the running version is updated from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration.

In a possible implementation manner, the first configuration further includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate an update time of the target version, and the transceiver unit 601 is specifically configured to send the N probe packets to the controller in a preset period of time after the update time.

In another possible implementation, the processing unit 602 is configured to determine a first configuration, where the first configuration indicates a target version; the transceiver 601 is configured to receive a detection message after sending the first configuration; the transceiver 601 is further configured to send a response packet, where the response packet corresponds to the probe packet.

In one possible implementation, the first configuration further includes time information for indicating an update time of the target version; the transceiver 601 is specifically configured to receive the probe message within a preset period of time after the update time.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to receive the first indication information when the detection message is not received within a preset period of time after the update time, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to receive first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to receive second indication information, where the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 601 is further configured to send address information, where the address information includes M IP addresses of the controller, where a destination IP address of the probe packet is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

It should be noted that, the information execution process and the corresponding technical effects of the units of the communication device 600 may be specifically referred to the description in the foregoing method embodiments of the present application, and are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 7, in another schematic structural diagram of a communication device 700 according to the present application, the communication device 700 includes at least an input/output interface 702. Wherein the communication device 700 may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

Optionally, the communication device further comprises logic 701.

The transceiver unit 601 shown in fig. 6 may be a communication interface, which may be the input/output interface 702 in fig. 7, and the input/output interface 702 may include an input interface and an output interface. Or the communication interface may be a transceiver circuit that may include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

The logic circuit 701 and the input/output interface 702 may perform the method performed by any one of the communication apparatuses (e.g., the network device or the controller) in the foregoing method embodiments and achieve corresponding beneficial effects, which are not described herein.

Alternatively, the logic 701 may be a processing device, and the functions of the processing device may be implemented in part or in whole in software. Wherein the functions of the processing device may be partially or entirely implemented by software.

Optionally, the processing means may comprise a memory for storing a computer program and a processor for reading and executing the computer program stored in the memory for performing the corresponding processes and/or steps in any of the method embodiments.

Alternatively, the processing means may comprise only a processor. The memory for storing the computer program is located outside the processing means and the processor is connected to the memory via circuitry/electrical wiring for reading and executing the computer program stored in the memory. Wherein the memory and the processor may be integrated or may be physically independent of each other.

Alternatively, the processing means may be one or more chips, or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated chips (ASICs), system-on-chips (socs), central processors (central processor unit, CPUs), network processors (network processor, NP), digital signal processing circuits (DIGITAL SIGNAL processors, DSPs), microcontrollers (micro controller unit, MCUs), programmable controllers (programmable logic device, PLDs) or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors, or the like.

Referring to fig. 8, a communication apparatus 800 according to the foregoing embodiment provided as an embodiment of the present application, where the communication apparatus 800 may specifically be a communication apparatus serving as a network device or a controller in the foregoing embodiment.

Wherein, a possible logical structure diagram of the communication device 800, the communication device 800 may include, but is not limited to, at least one processor 801 and a communication port 802.

Further optionally, the apparatus may further comprise at least one of a memory 803, a bus 804, and in an embodiment of the application, the at least one processor 801 is configured to control the actions of the communication apparatus 800.

Further, the processor 801 may be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with this disclosure. The processor may also be a combination that performs the function of a computation, e.g., a combination comprising one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so forth. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

It should be noted that, the communication apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 may be specifically used to implement steps implemented by the network device or the controller in the foregoing method embodiment, and implement corresponding technical effects, and the specific implementation manner of the communication apparatus shown in fig. 8 may refer to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiment, which are not repeated herein.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method as described in any one of the communication apparatus (e.g., network device or controller) possible implementations of the previous method embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product (or computer program) storing one or more computers, which when executed by the processor performs a method as possible for any of the communication apparatuses (e.g. network devices or controllers) of the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip system, which comprises at least one processor and is used for supporting the terminal equipment to realize the functions involved in the possible implementation of any communication device (such as a network equipment or a controller) in the embodiment of the method.

Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit providing program instructions and/or data to the at least one processor. In one possible design, the system on a chip may further include a memory to hold the necessary program instructions and data for the terminal device. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

In one possible design, the system on a chip may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for any of the communication devices of the above-described method embodiments. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, and the network system architecture comprises the network equipment and the controller in any one of the embodiments.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are illustrative, and the division of the units, for example, into a logic function division, may be implemented in other manners, such as multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing module, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units. The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, a substantial portion of the technical solution of the present application, or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (RAM, random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

The foregoing is merely a specific implementation of the embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the embodiment of the present application, and the changes or substitutions are covered by the protection scope of the embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving a first configuration from a controller, the first configuration indicating a target version;

after updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration, N detection messages are sent to the controller, wherein N is a positive integer;

and when no response message is received, updating the running version from the target version to the initial version, wherein the response message corresponds to one detection message in the N detection messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that no response message has been received comprises:

starting a timer when one of the N detection messages is sent to the controller, and determining that the response message is not received after the timer is overtime; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

And when the number of the N detection messages sent to the controller reaches a threshold value, determining that the response message is not received.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

And updating the running version from the target version to the initial version when determining that the start-up based on the target version fails.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

And receiving address information from the controller, wherein the address information comprises M IP addresses of the controller, the destination IP address of one detection message in the N detection messages is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein after updating a running version from the target version to the initial version, the method further comprises:

and sending first indication information to the controller, wherein the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

and after the response message is determined to be received, sending second indication information to the controller, wherein the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the updating the operational version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration comprises:

and when the controller route is determined to be reachable, updating the running version from the initial version to the target version based on the first configuration.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first configuration comprises configuration information of the target version, at least one of an identification of the target version.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first configuration further comprises time information indicating an update time of the target version, and wherein the sending N probe messages to the controller comprises:

and in a preset time period after the updating time, sending the N detection messages to the controller.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the target version is an upgraded version corresponding to the initial version, or the target version is a downgraded version corresponding to the initial version.

11. A method of communication, comprising:

Determining a first configuration, the first configuration indicating a target version;

after the first configuration is sent, receiving a detection message;

And sending a response message, wherein the response message corresponds to the detection message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first configuration comprises configuration information for the target version, at least one of an identification of the target version.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first configuration further comprises time information indicating an update time of the target version; the receiving the detection message comprises the following steps:

and receiving the detection message in a preset time period after the updating time.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

And when the detection message is not received within a preset time period after the updating time, receiving the first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein after sending the response message, the method further comprises:

and receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the running version is the initial version.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein after sending the response message, the method further comprises:

and receiving second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates that the running version is the target version.

17. The method according to any of claims 11 to 16, wherein prior to transmitting the first configuration, the method further comprises:

And sending address information, wherein the address information comprises M IP addresses of a controller, the destination IP address of the detection message is one of the M IP addresses, and M is a positive integer.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the target version is an upgraded version corresponding to the initial version, or the target version is a downgraded version corresponding to the initial version.

19. A communication device comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit, wherein the transceiver unit and the processing unit are configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10, or wherein the transceiver unit and the processing unit are configured to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.

20. A communication device comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to a memory;

the memory is used for storing programs or instructions;

the at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instructions to cause the apparatus to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A communication system comprising a network device for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 and a controller for implementing the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.