JP2016086374A - Communication device and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device and a communication method that are capable of leveling traffic of links constituting link aggregation and making full use of a communication band when an address based scheme is applied as a load distribution scheme in link aggregation.SOLUTION: A switch 104 at a device side configuring link aggregation 106 is set to operate distribution by a transmission source MAC address. A switch or router 107 at an opposite side configuring link aggregation is set to operate distribution by a transmission destination MAC address. The device is given a virtual MAC address, the virtual MAC address is dynamically changed, and thereby distribution to the respective links in link aggregation is controlled.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a load distribution technique for link aggregation.

  Link aggregation is a technology that enables a communication band to be expanded by bundling a plurality of links and treating them as one logical link. Link aggregation is standardized by IEEE802.3ad. In link aggregation, in order to efficiently use the bandwidth of each link, load distribution (distribution of communication data to each link) is important. In general, the load distribution method includes a round robin method in which distribution is performed in the order of arrival and an address base method in which distribution is performed based on a MAC address or an IP address. Further, a more even load distribution method is proposed in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and the like.

  In Patent Document 1, in a relay device that communicates via a link aggregation composed of a plurality of links, a link that transmits the packet with the smallest number of packets per unit time when a packet is received is a link for packet transmission. And a table indicating the correspondence between the destination MAC address and the link destination is stored.

  Further, Patent Document 2 includes a discard counter that counts discarded packets, and a port counter that counts the flow rate of each of a plurality of ports constituting the link aggregation. Based on the contents of the discard counter and the port counter, It is described that a distribution logic for distributing packets to a plurality of ports is optimized.

JP 2013-207436 A JP 2008-166881 A

  When the round robin method is applied as a load distribution method in link aggregation, communication data can be evenly distributed to each link, but there is a problem that order inversion occurs. When the address-based method is applied, order inversion does not occur because the same link is passed for each flow, but there is a problem that the communication band cannot be fully utilized when a deviation occurs in the communication amount for each address.

  In link aggregation, when preferentially allocating links to data to be subjected to priority control (priority data), priority information such as DSCP values assigned to packets is read in the distribution process to each link, and the priority A method of performing distribution to each link according to the information is conceivable, but it is necessary to read priority information in addition to the MAC address or IP address, and performance becomes an issue. It is also possible to configure two link aggregations for priority data and non-priority data, and allocate priority data to priority data link aggregation, but the number of links constituting each link aggregation can be determined according to the traffic. When changing, it is necessary to reconfigure link aggregation.

  Further, in the case of Patent Document 1, since a link with a small number of packets is selected and assigned to a destination MAC address, if the load state of the link changes, it is necessary to change the link assignment to the destination MAC address again. There is. In other words, it is necessary to modify the packet distribution logic itself.

  Similarly, in the case of Patent Document 2, since the distribution logic for distributing packets to a plurality of ports is optimized based on the contents of the discard counter and the port counter, it is necessary to modify the packet distribution logic itself. There is.

In the present invention, in order to solve at least one of the above-described problems,
A communication device that communicates with other devices via link aggregation composed of a plurality of links,
A control unit that holds the correspondence between the IP address used for communication and the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address;
Based on the correspondence relationship, the virtual MAC address assigned to the source IP address of the packet to be transmitted to other devices via link aggregation is specified, and the package unit is set as the source MAC address in the packet to be transmitted;
A switch unit that determines a link that transmits a packet from among a plurality of links that form a link aggregation based on a source MAC address set by the package unit;
A control part provides the communication apparatus which changes the virtual MAC address allocated to an IP address based on the traffic for every some link.

Also, a communication method by a communication device that communicates with other devices via link aggregation composed of a plurality of links,
Maintaining a correspondence between an IP address used for communication and a virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address;
Identifying a virtual MAC address assigned to a source IP address of a packet to be transmitted to another device via link aggregation based on the correspondence relationship, and setting the source MAC address in the packet to be transmitted;
Determining a link to transmit a packet from among a plurality of links constituting the link aggregation based on the set transmission source MAC address;
And changing a virtual MAC address assigned to an IP address based on a communication amount for each of a plurality of links.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the communication apparatus and communication method which can equalize the communication amount of each link which comprises link aggregation, and can fully utilize a communication band can be provided.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the virtual MAC address prepared for using with each package. It is a figure which shows the example of the initial setting sequence of a virtual MAC address. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of virtual MAC address setting contents, an ARP table, and an average value difference threshold in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a communication apparatus and a router manage before equalizing the traffic. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a communication apparatus and a router manage after equalizing the traffic. It is a figure which shows the example of the sequence about the traffic amount leveling process of each link. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the leveling process of the communication amount of each link. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of each link leveling process. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of an all link leveling process. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting content of a virtual MAC address in Example 2, an ARP table, an average value difference threshold value, and a priority data link maximum communication amount. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a communication apparatus and a router manage in the state in which normal data are transmitted / received to each link. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a communication apparatus or a router manages in the state in which the terminal (call type: priority call) was newly connected. It is a figure which shows the result of sorting the IP address for priority data in descending order of a required band, and the content of a link allocation process. It is a figure which shows the result of having sorted the IP address for normal data in the descending order of the required bandwidth, and link allocation processing content. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a communication apparatus and a router manage after equalizing the traffic. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in Example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the virtual MAC address used with each virtual server.

  Hereinafter, examples will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, an example in which link aggregation is configured between the communication apparatus (101) and the adjacent router (L3SW) (107) will be described. The communication device (101) is, for example, S-GW (Serving-Gateway) or P-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway) in LTE (Long Term Evolution) EPC (Evolved Packet Core).

  A plurality of packages (PKG) (103) are mounted on the communication device (101), and are connected to an adjacent router (L3SW) (107) via a switch (L2SW) (104). The switch (104) and the router (107) are connected by four links (105) to form a link aggregation (106). The distribution of the link aggregation (106) to each link (105) is set so that the switch (104) distributes by the source MAC address and the router (107) distributes by the destination MAC address.

  In each package (103), virtual MAC addresses (108) corresponding to the number of links constituting the link aggregation are prepared. In the example of FIG. 1, since there are four links, four virtual MAC addresses are prepared, and each MAC address is a MAC address value that is distributed to each link (105-1 to 10-4) of link aggregation.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the virtual MAC address (108) prepared for use in each package (103). For example, four virtual MAC addresses (VMAC11 to VMAC14) are prepared in the package 1 (103-1), and each virtual MAC address has a virtual MAC address value that is distributed to the links 1 to 4 of the link aggregation. ing.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual MAC address initial setting sequence. The control unit (102) of the communication device (101) issues a virtual MAC address initial setting instruction (301) to each package (103). Each package (103) that has received the virtual MAC address initial setting instruction (301) performs virtual MAC address initial setting (302), and assigns an IP address and a MAC address to the router by a GARP (Gratuistic Address Resolution Protocol) (303). 107 is notified. The router (107) that has received the GARP (303) performs an ARP table generation process (304).

  FIG. 4A shows an example of a table (401) indicating the setting contents of the IP address of each package managed by the control unit (102) of the communication apparatus (101) and the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address. FIG. 4B shows an example of the ARP table (402) managed by the router (107), and FIG. 4C shows an average value of the traffic of each link managed by the control unit (102). An example of setting a threshold value (average value difference threshold value (403)) relating to the difference between the actual traffic and the amount of traffic. According to the virtual MAC address initial setting instruction (301) from the control unit (102), the virtual MAC address for each IP address is initially set in each package (103) (302) as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, each package (103) is provided with a plurality of IP addresses, and is used for the opposite communication device (109) and communication purposes (for user data communication, authentication data communication, etc.). Differently used for each. The average value difference threshold in FIG. 4C will be described later.

  Processing of the packet addressed to IPa1 of PKG1 (103-1) of the communication device (101) from the opposite communication device (109) will be described. The packet addressed to IPa1 is transmitted from the opposite communication device (109) and arrives at the router (107). The packet addressed to IPa1 arriving at the router (107) is assigned with the VMAC11 as the destination MAC address according to the ARP table (402) at the router (107), and is linked based on the destination MAC address (VMAC11) in the link aggregation distribution process. 1 (105-1). Then, it arrives at PKG1 (103-1) via the switch (104). Next, processing of the response packet will be described. The response packet is assigned IPa1 as the source IP address and VMAC11 as the source MAC address, is transmitted from PKG1 (103-1), and arrives at the switch (104). The packet addressed to the opposite communication device (109) arriving at the switch (104) is transmitted to the link 1 (105-1) based on the transmission source MAC address (VMAC11) in the link aggregation distribution process. Thereafter, the packet arrives at the opposite communication device (109) via the router (107). As described above, in the communication via the link aggregation 106, the link 105 to be used is determined according to the virtual MAC address set in each package (103).

  Here, processing for leveling the traffic of each link (105) constituting the link aggregation (106) in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by the communication device (101) and the router (107) before leveling the traffic. FIG. 5A is a table that holds the communication amount for each IP address in addition to the setting contents of the virtual MAC address for each IP address of each package (103) described in FIG. Managed by the control unit (102) of (101). The table in FIG. 5A is also called a virtual MAC address setting table. FIG. 5B is an ARP table managed by the router (107) at that time. FIG. 5C is a table showing the communication amount for each link and the difference from the average value of the communication amount, and is managed by the control unit (102) of the communication device (101). Note that the unit of communication amount shown in FIG. 5 is Gbps.

  In this embodiment, since the bandwidth of each link (105) is 10 Gbps and the number of links is 4, it is assumed that the bandwidth of link aggregation is 40 Gbps. As shown in FIG. 5C, there is a bias in the traffic volume of each link, and the total traffic volume of each link (20 Gbps) is less than or equal to the link aggregation band, but the traffic volume of link 1 (11 Gbps) is different for each link. The link bandwidth (10 Gbps) has been exceeded, and packet loss can occur.

  Here, in order to equalize the traffic of each link, the communication device (101) changes the VMAC31 of the IPa3 of the PKG3 (103-3) to the VMAC33 and the VMAC23 of the IPb2 of the PKG2 (103-2) to the VMAC24, respectively. The GARP is transmitted to the router (107).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by the communication device (101) and the router (107) after the communication amount is leveled. FIG. 6A is a leveled virtual MAC address setting table managed by the communication apparatus (101). 6B is an ARP table managed by the leveled router (107), and FIG. 6C is managed by the communication apparatus (101), during leveling and after leveling. It is a table which shows the difference from the average value of the communication amount for every link, and a communication amount.

  FIG. 6A shows that the distribution link number in the link aggregation (106) is changed from the link 1 (105-1) to the link 3 (105-3) by changing the VMAC 31 of the IPa3 of the PKG3 (103-3) to the VMAC 33. It has been changed to. Similarly, the distribution link number is changed from link 3 (105-3) to link 4 (105-4) by changing VMAC 23 of IPb2 of PKG2 (103-2) to VMAC24. FIG. 6B shows that the ARP table managed by the router (107) is updated, and the MAC address corresponding to IPb2 is changed to VMAC24, and the MAC address corresponding to IPa3 is changed to VMAC33. . As a result, communication using each IP address shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is performed via the link indicated by the distribution link number in FIG. 6A.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, the uneven traffic is eliminated, and the traffic of each link is equal to or less than the bandwidth (10 Gbps) of each link, which is eliminated from the state where a packet loss may occur. In FIG. 6C, the communication amount (intermediate state) and the average value difference (intermediate state) when the IPA3 VMAC 31 is changed to the VMAC 33, and the communication amount (final state) when the IPb2 VMAC 23 is changed to the VMAC 24 ) And average value difference (final state).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for the traffic leveling process of each link described above. The control unit (102) of the communication device (101) periodically performs a communication amount collection process (701) for each package (103) and switch (104) to collect the communication amount for each IP address and each link. To do. The control unit (102) updates the communication amount for each IP address shown in FIG. 5A and the communication amount for each link shown in FIG. 5C based on the collected communication amount for each IP address and each link. To do. Subsequently, a leveling process (702) of the traffic volume of each link is performed based on the collected traffic volume.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the traffic leveling process (702) of each link. The content of the leveling process (702) will be described specifically using the example of the traffic volume shown in FIG. In this description, it is assumed that the average value difference threshold (403) is set to 2 Gbps as shown in FIG. A case will be described in which priority data is not transmitted / received via each link (105), and only normal data is transmitted / received. The case where priority data exists will be described in the second embodiment.

  In the leveling process (702) of FIG. 8, there is no priority data (No in Step 803), and there is no change in the number of links for priority data (No in Step 805), so each link leveling process (Step 801). to go into.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of each link leveling process (801). In each link leveling process (801), since priority data does not exist (No in step 901), a calculation process (step 907) of an average value of traffic is entered. The average value of the traffic of each link and the difference from the average value are calculated as shown in FIG. 5C, and it is determined that the average value difference between link 1 and link 3 is equal to or greater than the average value difference threshold (403). (Yes in step 908).

  Next, by referring to the tables of FIGS. 5A and 5C, by moving from the IP address using the link with the maximum traffic volume to the link with the minimum traffic volume. The IP address that minimizes the difference from the average value of the traffic is searched (step 909). Specifically, referring to FIG. 5 (c), the link 1 (communication amount is 11 Gbps) having the maximum communication amount and the link 3 (communication amount is 1 Gbps) having the minimum communication amount are specified, and FIG. With reference to a), IPa1 (communication amount is 6 Gbps) and IPa3 (communication amount is 5 Gbps) are specified as IP addresses using the link 1. Here, when IPa1 is moved to the link 3 having the smallest communication amount, the communication amounts of the link 1 and the link 3 become 5 Gbps and 7 Gbps, respectively, and the difference from the average value of the communication amount becomes 0 Gbps and 2 Gbps, respectively. On the other hand, when the IPa 3 is moved to the link 3 having the smallest communication amount, the communication amounts of the link 1 and the link 3 are both 6 Gbps, and the difference from the average value of the communication amount is 1 Gbps. As described above, when IPa1 is moved, the maximum difference from the average traffic is 2 Gbps, and when IPa3 is moved, the maximum difference from the average is 1 Gbps. For this reason, in step 909, IPa3 is searched for as a movement target to link 3.

  Since the IP address (IPa3) satisfying the condition is searched in step 909 (Yes in step 910), it is determined to move IPa3 from link 1 to link 3 (step 911). At this time, the communication amount and average value difference of each link are as shown in the communication amount (intermediate state) and average value difference (intermediate state) of FIG. In addition, the virtual MAC address and the distribution link number of the IPa3 record in the virtual MAC address setting table of FIG.

  The process again proceeds to step 908, where it is determined that the average value difference of the link 4 is equal to or greater than the average value difference threshold (403) (Yes in step 908). By executing step 909 again, the difference from the average value of the traffic volume is minimized by moving from the IP address using the link with the maximum traffic volume to the link with the minimum traffic volume. Search for an IP address. Specifically, referring to the communication amount (intermediate state) in FIG. 6C, link 1 and link 3 having the maximum communication amount (both communication amounts are 6 Gbps) and link 4 having the minimum communication amount (communication) Specify 3Gbps). Also, referring to FIG. 6A, IPa1 (communication amount is 6 Gbps), IPb2 (communication amount is 1 Gbps), and IPa3 (communication amount is 5 Gbps) are specified as IP addresses using link 1 and link 3. . Here, when IPa1 is moved to the link 4 having the smallest communication amount, the communication amounts of the link 1 and the link 4 are 0 Gbps and 9 Gbps, respectively, and the difference from the average value of the communication amount is 5 Gbps and 4 Gbps, respectively. Further, when IPb2 is moved to the link 4 having the smallest traffic volume, the traffic volume of the link 3 and the link 4 becomes 5 Gbps and 4 Gbps, respectively, and the difference from the average value of the traffic volume becomes 0 Gbps and 1 Gbps, respectively. Further, when IPa3 is moved to the link 4 having the smallest traffic volume, the traffic volume of the link 3 and the link 4 becomes 1 Gbps and 8 Gbps, respectively, and the difference from the average value of the traffic volume becomes 4 Gbps and 3 Gbps, respectively. As described above, the IPb2 is searched for as a movement target to the link 4 because the average value difference of the traffic is minimized by moving the IPb2 to the link 4.

  Since the IP address (IPb2) that satisfies the condition is found in step 909 (Yes in step 910), it is determined to move IPb2 from link 3 to link 4 (step 911). At this time, the communication amount and average value difference of each link are as shown in the communication amount (final state) and average value difference (final state) of FIG. In addition, the virtual MAC address and the distribution link number of the IPb2 record in the virtual MAC address setting table of FIG. 6A are also updated as illustrated.

  Again, since the average value difference of all the links is less than the average value difference threshold value (403), it is determined No in step 908, and each link leveling process (801) ends. . If no IP address matching the condition is found in step 909, the determination in step 910 is No and the all link leveling process (step 802) is entered. The all link leveling process will be described in the second embodiment.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 8, since the IP address for changing the link is determined in each link leveling process (801), it is determined Yes in step 806, and the virtual MAC address change instruction (703) is transmitted (step). 703).

  Returning to the description of FIG. 7, as described above, the virtual MAC addresses of IPb2 of PKG2 (103-1) and IPa3 of PKG3 (103-3) are to be changed, and the control unit (102) In accordance with the change contents, a virtual MAC address change instruction (703) is transmitted to PKG2 (103-2) and PKG3 (103-3). The PKG2 (103-2) and PKG3 (103-3) that have received the virtual MAC address change instruction (703) perform the virtual MAC address change processing (704) for each IP address as shown in FIG. The assignment of the MAC address is changed, and GARP (705) is notified to the router (107) based on the correspondence between the changed IP address and the virtual MAC address. The router (107) that has received the GARP (705) performs an ARP table update process (706). The update contents of the ARP table are as shown in FIG.

  According to the embodiment described above, communication using each IP address is performed via the changed link, the traffic of each link is leveled, and the communication bandwidth of each link is fully utilized. Is possible. In addition, according to the present embodiment, in order to equalize the traffic amount of each link, it is only necessary to change the assignment of the virtual MAC address to each IP address. There is no need to modify the distribution logic itself (for example, the correspondence relationship between the MAC address and the distribution destination link), and the traffic of each link can be easily leveled. These effects are the same in the second and third embodiments.

  Note that the control unit (102), the package (103), and the switch (104) constituting the communication device (101) in FIG. 1 can be realized by hardware such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit (102) and the package (103) may each include a CPU, a memory, and a hard disk, and each may be realized by the CPU executing a program developed on the memory. The same applies to the communication apparatus (101) shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a configuration diagram of the present embodiment. In this embodiment, a link aggregation is configured between the communication device (101) and the adjacent router (L3SW) (107), and relaying is performed with the terminal (1101) managed by the communication device (101). An example will be described. Description of the parts denoted by the same reference numerals shown in FIG. 1 is omitted.

  When the terminal (1101) is connected to each package (103), the distribution link (105) is assigned to the IP address of the terminal (1101) according to the traffic of each link (105) of the link aggregation (106). Select and assign the corresponding virtual MAC address. The package (103) notifies the router (107) of the allocation of the IP address and virtual MAC address of the terminal (1101) by GARP. The router (107) that has received the GARP performs ARP table generation processing.

  FIG. 12A shows an example of a setting table (1201) of the IP address and the assigned virtual MAC address of the terminal (1101) managed by the control unit (102) of the communication apparatus (101), FIG. ) Shows an example of an ARP table (1202) managed by the router (107), and FIG. 12 (c) shows an average value difference threshold (1203) managed by the control unit (102) and the maximum priority data link communication. An example of setting the quantity (1204) is shown.

  Processing of packets addressed to the PDN (Packet Data Network) (1102) from the terminal T11 (1101-1) will be described. A packet addressed to the PDN (1102) in which the IP address (IP1001) of the terminal T11 (1101-1) is set as the transmission source IP address is transmitted from the terminal T11 (1101-1) and is E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access). It arrives at PKG1 (103-1) via (Network). A packet addressed to the PDN (1102) arriving at the PKG1 (103-1) is given a VMAC11 as a transmission source MAC address in the PKG1 according to the virtual MAC address setting table (1201), and arrives at the switch (104). The packet addressed to the PDN (1102) arriving at the switch (104) is transmitted to the link 1 (105-1) based on the transmission source MAC address (VMAC11) in the link aggregation distribution process. Thereafter, the packet arrives at the PDN (1102) via the router (107).

  Next, processing of a packet addressed to the terminal T11 (1101-1) from the PDN (1102) will be described. A packet addressed to the terminal T11 (1101-1) in which the IP address (IP1001) of the terminal T11 (1101-1) is set as the destination IP address arrives at the router (107) from the PDN (1102). The packet addressed to the terminal T11 (1101-1) arriving at the router (107) is assigned with the VMAC11 in the destination MAC address according to the ARP table (1202) in the router (107), and the destination MAC address in the link aggregation distribution process. Based on (VMAC11), it is transmitted to link 1 (105-1). Thereafter, it arrives at the terminal T11 (1101-1) via the switch (104) and PKG1.

  Here, a process for leveling the traffic of each link when priority data is transmitted / received to / from each link (105) constituting the link aggregation (106) in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by the communication device (101) and the router (107) in a state where normal data is transmitted to and received from each link (105). FIG. 13A shows, in addition to the setting contents of the virtual MAC address assigned to each terminal IP address described with reference to FIG. Are managed by the control unit (102) of the communication apparatus (101). The table in FIG. 13A is also called a virtual MAC address setting table. FIG. 13B shows an ARP table managed by the router (107) at that time. FIG. 13C is a table showing the communication amount for each link, the difference from the average value of the communication amount, and the link type, and is managed by the control unit (102) of the communication device (101). Note that the unit of communication amount shown in FIG. 13 is Gbps.

  In this embodiment, since the bandwidth of each link (105) is 10 Gbps and the number of links is 4, it is assumed that the bandwidth of link aggregation is 40 Gbps. At this time, the call type is only a normal call (only normal data is transmitted / received to each link), and the average value difference of each link is 0, which is a leveled state. A case where the terminal T33 (call type: priority call) is connected in this state will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by the communication device (101) and the router (107) in a state where the terminal T33 (call type: priority call) is newly connected. FIG. 14A is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual MAC address setting table managed by the communication apparatus (101). A record relating to the newly connected terminal T33 is added, a virtual MAC address (VMAC31) is allocated to the IP address (IP3003) of the terminal T33, and communication data is allocated to the link 1 (105-1). Yes. The call type has priority, and the traffic is 3 Gbps. 14B is an ARP table managed by the router 107 at that time, and FIG. 14C is a communication amount for each link managed by the communication device 101 at that time. It is a table which shows the difference from the average value of traffic, and the kind of link. Although the terminal T33 is connected as a priority call, as shown in FIG. 14C, at this point in time, the preferential link assignment has not been performed, and the link type is “normal” via the link 1. Communication.

  Next, the leveling process (702) that operates in this situation will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, as shown in FIG. 14A, since the terminal T33 whose call type is “priority” is connected and performs 3 Gbps communication, it is determined in step 803 that priority data exists (Yes in step 803). ) Required in the priority data link number calculation process (step 804) so that the communication amount per link for priority data is equal to or less than the maximum priority data link communication amount (1204 in FIG. 12C). The number of priority data links is calculated. In this example, the priority data link maximum communication amount (1204 in FIG. 12C) is 5 Gbps, and the priority data communication amount (the total value of the communication amount (priority) in FIG. 14C) is 3 Gbps. The number of data links is calculated as one, and link 1 (105-1) is the priority data link. Since the number of priority data links is changed from 0 to 1, it is determined that there is a change in the number of priority data links (Yes in step 805), and all link leveling processing (step 802) is entered.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the all link leveling process (802). In the all link leveling process (802), since priority data exists, the priority data presence / absence determination (step 1001) is determined to be present, and the priority data IP addresses are sorted in descending order of necessary bandwidth (step 1002).

  FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating a result of sorting the priority data IP addresses in descending order of the necessary bandwidth in Step 1002. Specifically, the records of each terminal IP address in the virtual MAC address setting table shown in FIG. 14A are obtained by sorting the records with the call type “priority” in descending order of traffic.

  Subsequently, in steps 1003 to 1005, a process of assigning a priority data link with a small communication amount to communication by each terminal IP address is looped in the order of the sort result of FIG.

  FIG. 15B is a diagram showing the allocation processing contents in this processing and the traffic of each link before and after the allocation processing. In each link traffic volume (before processing), the traffic volume based on the IP address already assigned to each link is described. Here, the link for priority data is only the link 1 (105-1), Since it is before the allocation process to the link 1, 0 Gbps is set for each link traffic amount (before the process) of the process number “1”. Since links 2 to 4 are links for normal data, they are not assigned to IP addresses, and “−” is set as the traffic. In this example, link 1 (105-1) which is a link for priority data is assigned to the terminal IP address (IP3003) of terminal T33 which is a priority call. Since the communication amount of communication by the terminal IP address (IP3003) of the terminal T33 is 3 Gbps, 3 Gbps is set for each link communication amount (after processing) of the link 1 (105-1).

  Next, the normal data IP addresses are sorted in descending order of the necessary bandwidth (step 1006).

  FIG. 16A is a diagram showing the result of sorting the normal data IP addresses in descending order of the necessary bandwidth in step 1006. Specifically, the records of the terminal IP addresses in the virtual MAC address setting table shown in FIG. 14A are obtained by sorting the records with the call type “normal” in descending order of the traffic.

  Subsequently, in steps 1007 to 1009, a process of assigning a normal data link with a small amount of communication to the communication by each terminal IP address is looped in the order of the sorting result of FIG.

  FIG. 16B is a diagram showing the allocation processing contents in this processing and the traffic of each link before and after the allocation processing. The assignment process of FIG. 16B is executed in the sort order of FIG. 16A, and the normal data link is assigned to the normal data IP address. That is, the sort order in FIG. 16A matches the process number in FIG.

  First, processing number 1 in FIG. 16B will be described. Since the normal data link has not yet been assigned in process number 1, the link processing amount of each of the normal data links 2 to 4 (before processing) is set to 0 Gbps. In this state, any normal data link is allocated to IP1002 (communication amount: 3 Gbps) shown in the allocation processing contents, but all links are allocated in ascending order of link numbers because the communication amount (before processing) is 0 Gbps. , IP 2 is assigned link 2. As a result, the allocation link number of the allocation processing content in FIG. 16B is updated to link 2, and the link number 2 of each link traffic (after processing) is updated to 3 Gbps.

  Next, process number 2 in FIG. 16B will be described. Each link traffic volume of process number 2 (before processing) reflects information of each link traffic volume of process number 1 (after processing). In this state, any normal data link is allocated to IP 2001 (communication amount: 3 Gbps) indicated in the allocation processing content. As the normal data link with a small communication amount, since the link 3 and the link 4 are both 0 Gbps, they are assigned in ascending order of the link numbers, and the link 3 is assigned to the IP2001. Thereby, the allocation link number of the allocation processing content in FIG. 16B is updated to link 3, and the link number 3 of each link traffic (after processing) is updated to 3 Gbps.

  Subsequently, process number 3 in FIG. 16B will be described. Information on each link traffic volume (after processing) of the processing number 2 is reflected in each link traffic volume of the processing number 3 (before processing). In this state, any normal data link is allocated to IP 2002 (communication amount: 3 Gbps) indicated in the allocation processing content. Since the normal data link with a small communication amount is the link 4 (communication amount: 0 Gbps), the link 4 is allocated to the IP2002. Thereby, the allocation link number of the allocation processing content in FIG. 16B is updated to the link 4, and the link number 4 of each link traffic (after processing) is updated to 3 Gbps.

  Similarly, when the normal data links are assigned to all the normal data IP addresses in the sort order of FIG. 16A, the loop processing from step 1007 to step 1009 is completed, and the all link leveling processing (802) ends. To do.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 8, since the link assignment to the IP address is changed in the all link leveling process (802) (Yes in Step 806), the virtual MAC address change instruction transmission process (Step 703) is performed.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of information managed by the communication device (101) and the router (107) after the communication amount is leveled in the present embodiment. FIG. 17A is a virtual MAC address setting table after leveling managed by the communication device (101). 17B is an ARP table managed by the leveled router (107), and FIG. 17C is a level-by-link communication managed by the communication apparatus (101). It is a table which shows the difference from the average value of traffic volume, the traffic volume, and the type of link.

  When the virtual MAC address change instruction transmission process (step 703) is performed in the control unit (102) of the communication apparatus (101), the virtual MAC address change process (704) is performed in each package 103 as shown in FIG. Done. Specifically, each package changes the assignment of the virtual MAC address to each IP address as shown in FIG. 17A, and based on the correspondence between the changed IP address and the virtual MAC address, the package (107 ) To GARP (705). The router (107) that has received the GARP (705) performs an ARP table update process (706) as shown in FIG.

  If there is no change in the number of priority data links in step 805 of FIG. 8, the communication level is equalized for each of the priority data link and the normal data link by each link leveling process (801) shown in FIG. An IP address moving process is performed for the purpose of conversion. When there is priority data (Yes in Step 901), the IP address moving process (Step 902 to Step 906) is the IP address moving process related to the normal data link described in the first embodiment (Step 907 to Step 911). Is replaced with a priority data link and a priority data IP address, and the processing contents are the same, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Even in the case where the virtual MAC address is assigned to the IP address of the terminal as in this embodiment, the communication amount of each link in the link aggregation can be reduced by changing the virtual MAC address as in the first embodiment. It can be controlled. Further, when a terminal is newly connected, the distribution link is selected according to the communication amount, and the corresponding virtual MAC address is assigned to control the communication amount of each link. Also, in link aggregation, even when a link is preferentially assigned to data to be controlled with priority, it is necessary to read priority information in the distribution process to each link, and for priority data and non-priority data 2 There is no need to configure two link aggregations, and an effect is achieved that can be realized by a distribution process to each link by a conventional MAC address.

  FIG. 18 is an example of a configuration diagram of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which link aggregation is configured between a router (L3SW) adjacent to a physical server in a virtual environment.

  A plurality of virtual servers (VS) (1803) are constructed in the physical server (1801) in the virtual environment, and are connected to the adjacent router (L3SW) (1807) via the virtual switch (L2SW) (1804). ing. Two physical NICs (Network Interface Cards) (1809) are mounted on the physical server (1801), and the physical server (1801) and the router (1807) are connected by two links (1805). Yes. NIC teaming (1810) is applied to the two physical NICs (1809), and a link aggregation (1806) is configured between the physical server (1801) and the router (1807). The distribution of the link aggregation (1806) to each link (1805) is set so that the distribution by the transmission source MAC address is performed in the physical server (1801) and the distribution by the destination MAC address is performed in the router (1807).

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual MAC address (1808) used in each virtual server (1803). Each virtual server (1803) is provided with virtual MAC addresses (1808) corresponding to the number of links constituting the link aggregation. In the example of FIG. 18, since there are two links, two MAC addresses are prepared, one is a MAC address value distributed to link 1 (1805-1) in link aggregation, and the other is link 2 (1805- It is a MAC address value assigned to 2). Each virtual server 1803 is assigned an IP address, and operations of the control unit 1802, the virtual server 1803, and the virtual switch 1804 are the same as those of the control unit 102, the package 103, and the switch 104 according to the first embodiment. Detailed explanation is omitted.

  Even in the case where link aggregation is configured in the virtual environment as in the present embodiment, the communication amount of each link can be controlled by changing the virtual MAC address, as in the first embodiment. In addition, when a new virtual server (1803) is constructed on a physical server, the traffic of each link can be controlled by selecting a distribution link according to the traffic and assigning a corresponding virtual MAC address. is there.

  The physical server (1801) in FIG. 18 includes a CPU, a memory, and a hard disk (not shown), and the virtual server 1803 and the virtual switch 1804 are realized by the CPU executing a program expanded on the memory.

  101: Communication device 102: Control unit 103: Package 104: Switch (L2SW) 105: Link 106: Link aggregation 107: Router (L3SW) 108: Virtual MAC address 109: Opposite communication device 401 : Virtual MAC address setting table, 402: ARP table, 403: average value difference threshold, 1101: terminal, 1102: PDN, 1201: virtual MAC address setting table, 1202: ARP table, 1203: average value difference threshold, 1204: priority Maximum data link traffic, 1801: physical server, 1802: control unit, 1803: virtual server, 1804: virtual switch, 1805: link, 1806: link aggregation, 1807: router, 1808: virtual MAC address, 1809: physical N C, 1810: NIC teaming, 1811: opposing communication apparatus

Claims (14)

A communication device that communicates with other devices via link aggregation composed of a plurality of links,
A controller that holds a correspondence relationship between the IP address used for the communication and the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address;
A package unit that identifies a virtual MAC address assigned to a source IP address of a packet to be transmitted to the other device via link aggregation based on the correspondence relationship, and sets the source MAC address in the packet to be transmitted; ,
A switch unit for determining a link for transmitting the packet from among the plurality of links constituting the link aggregation based on a source MAC address set by the package unit;
The said control part changes the virtual MAC address allocated to the said IP address based on the traffic of every said some link, The communication apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The communication device according to claim 1,
The control unit is configured to change a virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address so that a communication amount for each of the plurality of links is leveled. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit calculates an average value of the traffic volume and the traffic volume for each of the plurality of links, identifies a link with the largest traffic volume and a link with the smallest traffic volume among the links, and a link with the largest traffic volume The IP address that communicates using the IP address that moves to the smallest link and determines the IP address that minimizes the difference between the communication amount for each link and the average value of the communication amount as a movement target, A communication device that changes a virtual MAC address assigned to the determined IP address. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit calculates a communication amount for each IP address used for the communication, sorts the IP addresses in descending order of the communication amount, assigns the link having a small communication amount in the sorted IP address, A communication apparatus, wherein the virtual MAC address is changed so that communication is performed using the link to which communication using an IP address is assigned. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The plurality of links include a priority link for communicating priority data and a normal link for communicating normal data;
The communication unit is characterized in that the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address is changed so that the communication amount of each of the priority link and the normal link is leveled. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the control unit changes the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address,
The package unit transmits a correspondence relationship between the IP address changed by the control unit and the virtual MAC address to the other device. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The IP address is an IP address assigned to the package unit,
The package unit sets an IP address assigned to itself as a transmission source IP address of the packet to be transmitted. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The communication device is connected to a terminal via a network;
The IP address is an IP address assigned to the terminal,
The package unit specifies a virtual MAC address assigned to an IP address of the terminal set as a source IP address of the packet to be transmitted, and sets the virtual MAC address as a source MAC address of the packet to be transmitted. Communication device. A communication method by a communication device that communicates with another device via link aggregation configured by a plurality of links,
Maintaining a correspondence between an IP address used for the communication and a virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address;
Identifying a virtual MAC address assigned to a source IP address of a packet to be transmitted via link aggregation to the other device based on the correspondence, and setting the source MAC address in the packet to be transmitted;
Determining a link for transmitting the packet from among the plurality of links constituting the link aggregation based on the set source MAC address;
Changing a virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address based on a plurality of communication amounts for each of the links. The communication method according to claim 9, comprising:
In the changing step, the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address is changed so that the traffic for each of the plurality of links is leveled. The communication method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein:
In the changing step, an average value of the traffic volume and the traffic volume for each of the plurality of links is calculated, a link with the maximum traffic volume and a link with the minimum traffic volume are identified from the plurality of links, and the traffic volume is the maximum. Among IP addresses that communicate using a link, an IP address that minimizes the difference between the communication amount for each link and the average value of the communication amount by moving to the smallest link is determined as a movement target. And changing the virtual MAC address assigned to the determined IP address. The communication method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein:
In the changing step, the communication amount for each IP address used for the communication is calculated, the IP addresses are sorted in descending order of the communication amount, and the link having a small communication amount is assigned in the sorted IP address order, A communication method, wherein the virtual MAC address is changed so that communication is performed using the link to which communication using the IP address is assigned. A communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 12,
The plurality of links include a priority link for communicating priority data and a normal link for communicating normal data;
In the changing step, the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address is changed so that the traffic for each of the priority link and the normal link is leveled. A communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 13,
When the virtual MAC address assigned to the IP address is changed by the changing step, the method includes a step of transmitting a correspondence relationship between the changed IP address and the virtual MAC address to the other device. Communication method.

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