JP2003163684A - Method for storing program via network, method for processing packet routing method, its program, its device and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism for providing an environment where either one of two systems, i.e., a programmable switch system and a capsule system is used in response to purpose or the both systems are used by mixture and also processing even a conventional packet which is not an active packet. <P>SOLUTION: The mechanism is provided with a packet identifying function to identify whether the packet is an active packet or a conventional packet. The mechanism refers to a function correspondence table which is arranged for giving a description about whether the conventional packet is processed by a program (function) which is prepared in a router device or not and by which program the packet is processed in the case of processing the packet. The mechanism is also provided with a function management table and a function storage memory for storing-the actual program as the function in order to transfer the program prepared in a router via the same network and to store it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A program is attached to a packet, or the program is sent to a router device in which the program is executed in advance, and every time the packet is input, the program attached to the packet or the router device in advance. By executing the program sent to
The present invention relates to a transfer method of a corresponding input packet and processing in a router device capable of processing the packet itself. In particular, it relates to an active network technology configured by connecting a plurality of the router devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally proposed active networks can be roughly classified into a programmable switch system and a capsule system. In the programmable switch method, a processing program is injected into the router device in advance, an identifier indicating which program should be executed is stored in the packet that requires processing in the network, and it is indicated by the identifier when the packet arrives. It is a method of executing a stored program. Since the program required for the service needs to be installed in each router device in advance, it is inferior to the capsule system in that different processing can be quickly realized for each user or application.

The encapsulation method is a method in which a program is attached to each packet and injected into the network, and a router on the transfer path interprets / executes the packet as appropriate. The attachment of the program is performed by the user terminal or the edge router accommodating the user terminal. Since different processing can be performed for each packet, an extremely flexible active network can be realized. However, since the program is loaded in each packet, the payload (user data) is reduced and the actual throughput is reduced.

Further, in both methods, it is necessary to use a special packet (herein collectively referred to as an active packet) in which an identifier or a program is attached to each packet, and a conventional packet can be processed. There wasn't.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised in view of the above, and provides an environment in which the above two methods can be used in either or in combination depending on the application. It is intended to provide a mechanism capable of processing a conventional packet that is not an active packet.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a packet identification function is provided and a function is provided to identify an active packet or a conventional packet. Whether or not a conventional packet should be processed by a program (hereinafter synonymous with function) prepared in advance in the router device,
Further, a function correspondence table describing which program should be processed when processing is provided, and the above is determined by referring to it.

Further, a function management table and a function storage memory for storing an actual program as a function are provided in order to transfer and store the program prepared in the router in advance to the corresponding router device through the same network.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present embodiment, an IP (Inte.
rnet Protocol) packet. First, as shown in FIG. 1, an IP packet includes an IP header in which information such as a destination IP address is written and an IP payload (user data). At the beginning of this payload,
An area indicating an attribute is provided, and if the attribute value is 1, it is an active packet, 2 is a function loaded packet, and 3 is a function erased packet.

The active packet (attribute = 1) has a format in which the size of the attached program is written, and then the actual program and data are attached, and all of them correspond to the IP payload 120.

In the case of a function-equipped packet (attribute = 2),
Similar to the active packet, the program size 142 attached later, the function name 143 used when the program is called later as a function, and the packet number 144 indicating the part of the program carried by the packet in the whole packet , A termination flag 145 indicating whether or not the corresponding packet carries the last part of the program, and an overall size of the program to be sent using a plurality of this function-equipped packets and an overall program size 146. If a part of the loaded function program is the last part, the end flag = 1, otherwise, the end flag =
Set to 0. Here, the packet number 144, the end flag 145, and the entire program size 146 are provided on the assumption that the function itself is large and cannot be attached to one packet when sending the function to the router device. For example, let us consider a case in which the size of a certain function (herein, the function name is F1) is 2 Kbytes and only a maximum of 1.2 Kbytes of program can be sent in one packet. The first packet has (attribute = 2, program size = 1.2 Kbytes, function name = 'F1', packet number =
1, the end flag = 0, the entire program size = 2 Kbytes, and then the program of 1.2 Kbytes from the beginning is loaded, and the second packet has (attribute = 2, program size = 0 .8 Kbyte, function name =
'F1', packet number = 2, end flag = 1, total program size = 2K bytes), 0.8K bytes remaining excluding 1.2K bytes mounted in the first packet (2K bytes-1.2K in total) Byte) program will be installed.

The function erase packet (attribute = 3) has a program size = 0 and a function name as an IP payload part. The router device that has received this function deletion packet deletes the function program already registered that matches the function name loaded in the packet, if any. here,
In the case of this erase packet, the area showing the program size is
Since it has no substantial meaning, it may be omitted, but it is provided in this embodiment in order to match with the packet format of other attributes = 1 or 2.

When the packet has the attributes 1 to 3, the protocol type field (8
bit) is the 107th, which makes UD
The router device determines whether the packet is a conventional packet such as P / IP or TCP / IP (Here, the value of the protocol field is set to 107 for the sake of explanation only, and it is already standard. Any number between 0 and 255 may be used as long as it can be distinguished from the number indicating the packet type that is used in general).

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a router device that receives the packet specified in FIG. The packet arriving from the network enters the packet identification section, and it is discriminated whether the type of the packet shown in FIG. 1, that is, the conventional IP packet, the active packet, the function loading packet, or the function erasing packet. Also, the packet itself is
It is temporarily stored in the packet buffer memory. At the time of this storage, a value indicating which location (address) on the packet buffer the attribute or program shown in FIG. 1 is stored is set in the packet buffer pointer. When accessing the data in the packet buffer, the program processing unit that actually executes the program refers to this packet buffer pointer to know its position. When the function-equipped packet arrives, the function program itself is stored in the function storage memory. To know in which position the function program should be stored, and where the stored function program is actually used, the function management table can be referred to. Details of the function management table are shown in FIG. The packet transfer unit has a function of determining the transfer destination and adjusting the output timing, which are required when the conventional router device transfers a packet. That is, all packet transfer processing performed by the conventional router device is performed by the packet processing unit. So it's a conventional packet,
When no processing is required by the stored function program, the packet stored in the packet buffer memory is sent to the packet transfer unit as it is, and transferred to the outside of the router device through an appropriate output port. All other packets are transferred to the outside of the router device through the packet transfer unit after being processed by the program executed by the program processing unit.

FIG. 3 shows how the function management table and the function program delivered by the function-loaded packet are stored in the router device. The function management table 300 uses a set of five values (access flag, function name, start pointer, download pointer, packet number) to manage one function program. The access flag 310 is a flag indicating whether or not the corresponding function may be used. When the access flag 310 is 1, it may be used, and when 0, it may not be used. The time when the function cannot be used is when the entire function is not yet stored in the function storage memory, or when the function is erased or is in the process of being deleted. The function name 320 is the same as the function name in the function-equipped packet shown in FIG. 1, and is the first function-equipped packet (packet number = 1) for accumulating the corresponding function.
When is received, the function name attached to the function-equipped packet is registered in this area. The head pointer 330 indicates the first address address of the corresponding function actually stored in the function storage memory. Like the function name, this is set when the corresponding first function-equipped packet is processed, and when the function is actually called, this pointer value is used to read the substance. The download pointer 340 is a work pointer value used when accumulating functions. The initial value is the same as the start pointer. The substance of the function program loaded in the corresponding first function storage packet is stored in the function storage memory indicated by the download pointer. This is called accumulation processing.
When the accumulation is completed, prepare for the processing of the next function accumulated packet,
The program size just stored is added to the value of the download pointer. As a result, the programs loaded by the function loading packets, which are loaded with some of the same functions that arrive sequentially, can be stored in one continuous area. When the first function-equipped packet of the relevant function arrives, a continuous area of the function storage memory is secured using the value of the entire program size (146 in FIG. 1) in the function-equipped packet. FIG. 3 shows the movement when the third function-equipped packet with the function name “Func3” arrives.

Packet number 350 of the function management table
Is initialized with a value of “1”, and the function-equipped packet arrives, and 1 is added every time the above-described processing, that is, a part of the program is stored in the function storage memory. When the second and subsequent relevant function-equipped packets are received, the packet is collated with the packet number 144 (see FIG. 1) of the packet, and if they match, the accumulation process is executed and the function management table If the value is smaller than the packet number of the function-equipped packet, the same packet has already been received in the past and is discarded. Conversely, if the value in the function management table is large, the expected packet (packet with the same packet number) Until it arrives, it is temporarily stored in another temporary storage memory, and after the expected packet arrives and the accumulation process is completed, it is checked again whether it is the next expected packet. If the packet is a relevant packet, the above-mentioned storage processing is performed using the packet stored in the temporary storage memory. At this time, if the packet stored in the temporary storage memory is not processed even after waiting for a certain period of time, that is, if part of the expected function program does not reach, it is determined that the storage of the function has failed, The entry line of the corresponding function is deleted from the function management table, and a part of the function program stored in the function storage memory is deleted.

When the accumulation processing of the function and the last function-equipped packet (packet in which the value of the end flag 145 is 1 in FIG. 1) to be mounted is completed, all the program data of the function is stored in the function storage memory. It will be.
At this time, the value of the access flag 310 of the function management table is set to 1 at this point.

The stored function is the active packet 1
It is called by the function call instruction from the program in 30. Now, assuming that the function call instruction is'CALL ', it is considered that the function Func2 is called by CALL Fun2. When this instruction is executed, the column of the function name 320 in the function management table 300 is referred to, and Fun on the second line
Know that there is an entry for c2. Next, by tracing the corresponding head pointer 333, the location of the substance 332 of the function program can be known, and the function Func2 can be executed. At this time, the access flag 310 is checked to confirm that the value is 1. If the value is 0, it is considered that the substance of the function does not exist, and the CAL
L instruction is an error.

The function erase packet 15 shown in FIG.
When 0 arrives at the router device, the column of the function name 320 in the function management table is checked, and if there is a match with the function name 151, that column is erased, and at the same time, the head pointer is traced and stored in the function storage memory. The corresponding function program substance of is also deleted. At this time, the size of the substance of the function program to be deleted is the value obtained by subtracting the "start pointer" from the "download pointer". This is because, according to the above-mentioned registration processing, the download pointer points to the end of the function program after accumulating the entire function program.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the program processing section shown in FIG. It takes the usual computer mechanics. That is, the instruction pointed to by the program counter (PC) 410 indicating the instruction to be executed is the instruction register 4
20 are sequentially loaded and interpreted by the instruction decoder 430 to control a data bus unit 440 including an ALU (arithmetic operation unit) and a data register for temporarily storing a calculation result, thereby performing desired processing. To do. Here, as described above, the substance of the instruction to be executed is either the program to which the active packet is attached or the already stored function program. Therefore, the program counter 410 sets the packet buffer 4
50 or the inside of the function storage memory 451.

Here, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 that a conventional packet (an ordinary IP packet in this embodiment) that is not an active packet can be processed by using the mechanism described above.

This is an embodiment of the content claimed in claim 7. FIG. 5 shows that, when processing a series of packets, a program that is commonly used for subsequent conventional packets is first sent to the router device using the function-equipped packet, then a series of conventional packet groups is sent, and finally the first packet. By sending a function delete packet that deletes the function set in, the router performs the processing unique to only a certain series of packets, and after the packets have passed, the packets used to delete the processing program as appropriate. It is the transfer order. The above processing becomes possible if packets are sent to the corresponding router device in the order of FIG. Here, in order for the function program installed in the function-equipped packet to process the conventional packet that subsequently arrives at the router device, it is necessary to associate them with each other. FIG. 6 is a function correspondence table that is referred to each time a conventional packet arrives at the router device to show the relationship. The function correspondence table 600 includes columns of a packet identification attribute 610, a packet processing unit number 620, and a function name 630. Conventional packets do not have the attribute information shown in FIG. 1 in the payload part. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish whether or not the packet is a conventional packet to be processed by a function, based on the information originally existing in the conventional packet. In this embodiment, the conventional packet is a packet of UDP / IP format, and the destination IP address and sender IP address that are the information in the IP header and the destination UDP port number and the sender that are the information in the UPD header are used. It is assumed that a conventional packet is identified by using a set of four UDP port numbers, which is used as a packet identification attribute. Every time a packet arrives, the router device acquires the above quartet information by analyzing the IP header and the UDP header, and collates it with the packet identification attribute column 610 of the function correspondence table. If there is a match, look at the line to the right and get the corresponding packet processing number and function name. Here, the packet processing unit number indicates, by a number, which processing unit should process the corresponding conventional packet when a configuration in which a plurality of packet processing units shown in FIG. . The function name indicates the function name registered in the function management table shown in FIG. As in the case where the function call instruction (CALL instruction) is executed in the active packet, the router device first refers to the function management table 300, acquires the value of the head pointer of the corresponding function program, and acquires it from FIG. By setting in the program counter 410 shown in FIG. 4, the head instruction of the corresponding function program can be called, and then the desired function program is applied to the conventional packet by sequentially executing the corresponding function instruction. You can If there is no match by referring to the function correspondence table, it is considered that it is not necessary to apply the function stored in the function storage memory described in the present invention to the conventional packet, and the packet transfer processing as in the conventional case is performed. Is performed by the packet transfer processing unit in FIG. Further, the contents of the function correspondence table of FIG. 6 are separately given to the router device in advance. Of course, the contents can be registered using the program of the active packet shown in FIG. The above-described function correspondence table reference processing is implemented as part of the packet identification unit in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the entire processing described so far. Basically, the router device repeats the processing of packets indefinitely without ending the series of processing. However, if the router device is provided with a reset button or the like and the processing is desired to be stopped, the termination judgment of 710 can be provided.

Here, the interrupt flag is set to ON when a processing stop interrupt is applied in the router device, and if the flag is ON, the process is terminated.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the number of program processing units does not have to be one, and a configuration in which a plurality of program processing units are used can be considered. 8 and 9 are examples of the configuration. FIG. 8 is an embodiment corresponding to claims 4 and 5, and is a diagram in which n program processing units are provided. Packet identification unit 81
0 identifies the packet shown in FIG. 1 and also determines which program processing unit to process. Figure 9
This is an embodiment corresponding to claim 6, and in FIG. 8, the function management table is independently provided for each program processing unit. This makes it possible to register completely different function programs with the same function name for each program processing unit.

As described above, the inventions made by the present inventor are
Although the specific description has been given based on the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0026]

According to the present invention, depending on the application, either the programmable switch method or the capsule method conventionally proposed in the active network, or the two methods are mixed in one application. It is possible to provide a usable environment. Also, a conventional packet that is not an active packet can be processed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a packet format of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a router device configuration according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a function management table that manages accumulated functions according to an embodiment.

4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a program processing unit in the router device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the order of packets to be sent to a router device when processing is performed by a function of a conventional packet sent in advance.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a format of a function correspondence table to be referred to when deciding which function to process a conventional packet.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the entire router device.

8 is a diagram showing an example of a device configuration when a plurality of program processing units are provided in the router device shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a device configuration example in the case where a plurality of program processing units and function management tables are provided in the router device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

110 ... IP header, 120 ... Payload, 130 ... Active packet, 140 ... Function loading packet, 150
... function erase packet, 300 ... function management table, 31
0 ... Access flag, 320 ... Function name, 330 ... Start pointer, 340 ... Download pointer, 350 ... Packet number, 400 ... Program processing unit, 410 ... Program counter, 420 ... Instruction register, 430 ... Instruction decoder, 440 ... Data bus Part, 450 ... Packet buffer, 451 ... Function storage memory, 600 ... Function correspondence table, 610 packet identification attribute column, 620 packet processing unit number column, 630 ... Function name column, 710 ... End judgment, 81
0 ... Packet identifier, 830 ... Function management table, 84
0 ... Function storage memory, 910 ... Packet identification unit, 940
Function storage memory

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takahiro Murooka             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation F term (reference) 5K030 HA08 HB19 HD03 JA05 KA03

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. In a communication network constituted by connecting a plurality of router devices by wire or wirelessly, a router device in which a program is attached to a packet flowing through the communication network or the program is executed in advance. Each time a packet is input to the corresponding router device, the program attached to the packet or the program sent to the corresponding router device in advance is executed to determine the transfer method of the input packet and the packet itself. In order to enable processing, a dedicated packet format for sending the program to the relevant router device is prepared in advance, and a mechanism for storing the program as one function by sending the packet to the relevant router is provided. , A subsequent packet with another program attached (active packet If the program delivered by (1) contains an instruction to call the function, the previously stored function is executed when the instruction to call the function is executed while the program is being executed on the corresponding router device. A method for storing and executing a program, characterized by comprising a processing mechanism capable of executing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a dedicated packet format that enables the already registered function to be deleted from the router device is defined, and the dedicated packet format is sent to the corresponding router device for registration. A program storage and execution method characterized in that a mechanism for erasing a certain function is provided. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for determining whether or not a conventional packet arriving at the router device is processed by a function stored in advance in the router device. A program accumulating and executing method characterized in that a mechanism for deciding which function should be used when processing is determined is provided. 4. The program storage execution method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the processing mechanisms are provided so that a plurality of incoming active packets can be simultaneously processed by the respective processing mechanisms. 5. The program storage execution method according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the processing mechanisms are provided so that a plurality of incoming conventional packets can be processed simultaneously by the respective processing mechanisms. 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a function to be accumulated is separately provided for each processing mechanism, and another function can be registered with the same name for each processing mechanism. Characteristic program accumulation and execution method. 7. When processing a series of packets using the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A series of conventional packets is sent by first sending a program commonly applied to subsequent conventional packets to the router device, then sending a series of conventional packets, and finally sending a packet that erases the first set function. A packet processing method characterized in that a processing peculiar to only a group is performed by a corresponding router device, and after the packet group has passed, the processing program is erased. 8. A network system using the program storage executing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 9. A transfer method of an input packet or a packet itself can be processed by executing a program attached to a packet flowing through a communication network or a program sent in advance, A procedure for receiving a packet in a dedicated packet format and accumulating a program attached to the packet in the dedicated packet format as one function, and a program delivered by a subsequent packet (active packet) attached with another program And a procedure for executing the function when the instruction for calling the function is executed during execution of the program, when the stored function contains an instruction for calling the function. Routing method. 10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of erasing the already registered function when a packet in a dedicated packet format that enables the already registered function to be erased is received. A routing method characterized by the above. 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein a procedure for determining whether or not an incoming conventional packet is processed by a function stored in advance in a router device, and when it is determined to be processed by the function , A routing method including a procedure for deciding which function should be used for processing. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein when a program delivered by a subsequent packet (active packet) attached with another program includes an instruction to call a function accumulated in the program, the program is executed. The routing method is characterized in that, when an instruction for calling the function is executed, the procedure for executing the function is a plurality of procedures capable of simultaneously processing a plurality of incoming active packets. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein when it is determined that processing is performed by a function, the procedure for determining which function should be used is a plurality of procedures capable of simultaneously processing a plurality of incoming conventional packets. A routing method characterized by being. 14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a plurality of procedures that can be processed at the same time are provided with separate functions to be accumulated, and different functions can be registered with the same name for each procedure. A routing method characterized by being a procedure. 15. Any one of claims 9 to 14.
A routing program for executing the routing method described in the item 1, which is for executing each procedure. 16. A routing device comprising the routing program according to claim 15. 17. A computer-readable recording medium in which the routing program according to claim 15 is recorded.