JP5478684B2 - Edge node device, path control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system that provides a communication service by setting a path, and in particular, communication that provides a time-reserved communication service that provides a service by setting a path for a predetermined reservation time. It is about the system.

  For example, in a video relay network, in addition to a request for setting or disconnecting a large-capacity path immediately, a request for setting a path only during a designated start / end reservation time frequently occurs. Hereinafter, a service that provides communication by setting a path only during a start / end reservation time designated in advance is referred to as a time reservation communication service.

  One configuration that implements a time-reserved communication service is that the reservation management operation system converts time reservation information into network settings (start time, end time, start port, end port, relay route / relay link / relay resource, etc. ) Is set as reservation information for all network devices related to the path.

JP 2000-069039 A

  In the time reservation type communication service, if there are many requests for setting / deleting paths related to time reservations, reservation management and network configuration management become extremely complicated. However, the conventional method has setting information at a plurality of locations in the network. Therefore, there is a problem that mismatch of setting information is likely to occur.

  In the above conventional method, when canceling one reservation, the configuration information related to the path reservation of all NW devices related to the path is deleted. However, there is a problem that requires a great deal of exception handling.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in a communication system providing a time reservation type communication service, even when there are frequent path setting / deleting requests based on time reservation, the path setting / deletion can be performed quickly and reliably. An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables deletion.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is an edge node device that sets or deletes a path between end points based on reservation information in a communication network,
Reservation information storage means for storing reservation information including reservation time and endpoint information;
A connection that calculates path information that is information on a network configuration indicating a path to be set or deleted based on the reservation information, and generates connection information in which the path information is associated with the reservation time and the end point information. Information generating means;
Connection information storing means for storing connection information generated by the connection information generating means;
A path control unit configured to set or delete a path related to the path information corresponding to the reservation time based on the connection information when it is detected that the current time is a reservation time included in the connection information. Is configured as an edge node device.

  For example, the network configuration corresponding to the reservation information is a multicast tree, and the reservation time in the connection information is associated with path information indicating the multicast tree. For example, the network configuration corresponding to the reservation information includes a partial tree having a leaf of the multicast tree as an end point, and the reservation time in the connection information is associated with each piece of path information indicating the partial tree.

  In addition to the reservation information storage means, apparatus configuration data storage means for storing apparatus configuration data other than reservation information may be provided.

  The edge node device is connected to the service management device over the network, receives the reservation information from the service management device, and transmits identification information of the connection information to the service management device. May be.

  The edge node device is, for example, an Ingress node device in the communication network, and when the path control unit detects that the reservation time has come, it transmits a signaling message to the Egress node device using a predetermined signaling protocol. By doing so, the path is set or deleted. More specifically, for example, when the path control unit detects that the reservation time has come, it operates the control plane process at a predetermined timing in order to transmit and receive the payload data flow at a predesigned timing. The signaling message is transmitted to the Egress node device.

  In addition, the present invention may be configured as a program for causing a path control method executed by the edge node device and a communication device including a computer function to function as each unit in the edge node device.

  According to the present invention, in a communication system that provides a time reservation type communication service, even when there are frequent path setting / deleting requests based on time reservations, it is possible to perform path setting / deleting quickly and reliably. Is provided.

It is a block diagram of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a multicast tree (P2MP LSP). It is a function block diagram of the Ingress node apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of connection information. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is only an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

  For example, in the following description, it is assumed that an MPLS communication system is used as a communication system and RSVP-TE is used as a signaling protocol for LSP (path) generation in MPLS. -Applicable when using a signaling protocol other than TE. In addition, the present invention can be applied to communication systems other than MPLS as long as the communication system establishes a path by transmitting and receiving signaling protocol messages between the start node and the end node. In this embodiment, video is given as an example of data to be transmitted. However, data to be transmitted is not limited to video, and can be applied to various data such as IP packets and Ethernet frames.

(Whole system configuration)
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system according to the present embodiment includes an Ingress node device 10, an Egress node device 30, relay node devices 40 and 50, and a service management device 60. The relay node devices 40 and 50 constitute a relay network (IP / MPLS network in this embodiment), and each node device is connected by a transmission path as shown in the figure. The Ingress node device 10 is connected to a user device that transmits data, and the Egress node device 30 is connected to a user device that receives data. The service management device 60 is connected to the Ingress node device 10 via, for example, the Internet.

  FIG. 1 is an example showing the configuration of the embodiment according to the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner. In the configuration related to actual service provision, there are a plurality of Ingress node devices 10 and Egress node devices 30 respectively, and the number and connection of relay node devices can take various configurations. FIG. 1 is a diagram focusing on one-way communication.

  Each of the Ingress node device 10 and the Egress node device 30 is an edge device (router or the like) of the relay network. A signaling message is transmitted / received between the Ingress node device 10 and the Egress node device 30 to set or disconnect a path (more specifically, LSP). The Ingress node device 10 receives data from the user device on the data sending side and sends it to the set path, and the Egress node device 30 sends the data received from the path to the user device on the data receiving side. Each relay node device in the present embodiment is, for example, an LSR (Label Switched Router).

  In the present embodiment, the end point on the user device side of the Ingress node device 10 is called an input port, and the end point on the user device side of the Egress node device 30 is called an output port. In the present embodiment, by setting the end points (input port and output port) and performing signaling, it is possible to set an end-end path including the connection of the relay node device. In relay IP / MPLS networks, signaling packets are routed by OSPF, PCE, etc., or routed by explicit routing to provide connectivity between end points.

  When data to be transmitted is a video, a video processing device (video streamer) may be arranged at each end point. The video streamer is a device for transmitting a video signal, which is a non-IP communication signal, over an IP / Ethernet network, and transmits the video signal transmitted from the video transmission side to the Ingress node device 10 as a network frame. The frame received from the Egress node device 30 is reproduced as a video signal and sent to the video receiving side. When the data to be transmitted is video, the video processing portion may be held as an interface of the edge device (Ingress, Egress).

  The service management device 60 is also called an operation system (OpS), a database that holds reservation information (to be described later) input by a user or an operator, a function for transmitting reservation information to the Ingress node device 10, and a reservation from the Ingress node device 10. By receiving a connection ID corresponding to the information and accessing (polling) the Ingress node device 10 using the connection ID, it has a function of acquiring and displaying status information such as a reservation execution status. More specifically, the service management device 60 stores the reservation information and holds the time reservation information & address information based on the network information table, and has a function for confirming the reservation status. In order to prevent duplicate management of reservation information, the reservation information has an original on the service management device 60 side, and the reservation information is transmitted to the edge device (Ingress) in advance or immediately. The service management device 60 manages the time reservation by acquiring the reservation execution state in the edge device (Ingress).

(About multicast)
In the communication system of the present embodiment, as a network configuration, in addition to the point-to-point connection that connects one input port and one output port, the point-to-multipoint connection that connects one input port and a plurality of output ports (P2MP connection, multicast connection) is also possible.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of P2MP connection. FIG. 2 shows a multicast tree that connects points A, F, and G, which are output ports of one or a plurality of egress node devices, from point A, which is an input port of an ingress node device. Point C is connected to point B, which is a relay node device, and points F and G are connected to point E, which is a relay node device. In this embodiment, the end points of the multicast tree, such as points C, F, and G, are called leaves, and relay nodes (points B and E) that become Ingress (point A) or sub-group originator and Egress The signaling session with the leaves (C point, D point, F point, G point) is called Sub-LSP.

  In the present embodiment, a multicast message (P2MP− in MPLS) as shown in FIG. 2 is transmitted by transmitting a signaling message including control information designating a multicast route or the like from an Ingress node device constituting point A. It is possible to construct LSP). In addition, a Sub-LSP from point A / B to point D in FIG. 2 is added to the already constructed multicast tree by a signaling message for the leaf of the partial tree (corresponding to Sub-LSP in MPLS), for example. It is possible. Furthermore, it is also possible to delete an already constructed Sub-LSP by a signaling message. Further, in data transfer, a relay node device in which a plurality of leaves (including leaves connected to other relay node devices) are connected to the downstream side copies the data sent from the upstream side, The transmission operation is performed toward the leaf (or downstream relay node device). Note that MPLS multicast path construction signaling and multicast data transfer technology itself are existing technologies.

  In this embodiment, when P2MP connection is performed, one Sub-LSP is generated for one time reservation, one multicast tree is generated as a set of these, and this becomes one path (P2MP-LSP). .

(Configuration of Ingress node device 10)
FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the Ingress node device 10 according to the present embodiment. The functional configuration of the Ingress node device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 3 mainly shows functions on the Ingress side related to the present embodiment. An existing function (not shown) for performing a processing operation as an MPLS edge device is also included.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the Ingress node device 10 in the present embodiment includes a device configuration information receiving unit 11, a reservation information receiving unit 12, a reservation information storage unit 13, a device configuration data storage unit 14, a connection information generation unit 15, It has a connection information storage unit 16, a status information storage unit 17, a signaling execution unit 18, a reservation execution management unit 19, a device real time clock (RTC) 20, an input port 21, a data transfer control unit 22, and a data transfer information storage unit 23. . Hereinafter, an outline of main functional units will be described.

The device configuration information receiving unit 11 is a functional unit that receives device configuration data from the outside and stores it in the device configuration data storage unit 14. Here, the device configuration data in the present embodiment is information related to the device configuration and the like of the device, and is generally information that does not change with time.
The reservation information receiving unit 12 is a functional unit that receives reservation information from the service management device 60 and stores it in the reservation information storage unit 13 of the Ingress node device 10. In addition, the reservation information receiving unit 12 performs validation processing such as resource check and consistency check on the received reservation information.

  The connection information generation unit 15 is a functional unit that generates connection information to be described later based on the reservation information and stores the connection information in the connection information storage unit 16. Connection information is stored in the connection information storage unit 16.

  The state information storage unit 17 is a storage unit that stores various states such as a signaling execution state. The connection information stored in the connection information storage unit 16 also includes execution state information. This execution state information is retained by referring to the execution state information in the state information storage unit 17. The status information storage unit 17 stores not only the execution status information included in the connection information but also all status information. That is, the outline of the execution state can be known from the connection information, and more detailed execution state values can be obtained by accessing each object in the state information storage unit 17.

  The reservation information storage unit 13, the device configuration data storage unit 14, the connection information storage unit 16, and the state information storage unit 17 described above may be table data managed separately in the database system. Each of the predetermined areas may be a physically separate storage device.

  The signaling execution unit 18 performs signaling based on an instruction from the reservation execution management unit 19 to generate or delete a path. For example, RSVP-TE is used as the signaling protocol.

  The reservation execution management unit 19 is a functional unit that executes the reservation by detecting the arrival of the reservation time set in the connection information based on the time provided from the apparatus real time clock (RTC) 20. The reservation execution management unit 19 and the signaling execution unit 18 can be collectively referred to as path control means.

  The input port 21 is an interface that receives data from the user device. The data transfer control unit 22 refers to the data transfer information (transfer table) stored in the data transfer information storage unit 23 and sends the data input from the input port 21 to the set path. That is, a label corresponding to the path is added and output from a predetermined output interface. The data transfer control unit 22 is described as a functional unit including a relay network interface connected to the relay transmission path. Further, the data transfer control unit 22 performs a process of connecting the input data to a path (route) corresponding to the destination of the data, and thus can be called a cross-connect function unit.

  The data transfer information storage unit 23 stores table information for data transfer. In the data transfer information storage unit 23, for example, a data destination, label information of a set path, an input interface, and an output interface are stored in association with each other.

  3 according to the present embodiment is merely an example, and the device configuration is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 as long as the operation in the present embodiment can be realized. .

  The edge node device having the function of the Ingress node device 10 according to the present embodiment can be realized by causing a communication device having a computer function such as a router to execute a program corresponding to the processing described in the present embodiment. It is. The program may be stored in a storage medium such as a portable memory, distributed, installed in the communication device, or downloaded from a server on the network and installed in the communication device. Further, the processing described in the present embodiment may be realized as a hardware circuit, and the hardware circuit may be provided in the communication device.

(Reservation information and connection information)
In the present embodiment, the reservation information transmitted from the service management device 60 and received by the reservation information receiving unit 12 of the Ingress node device 10 includes start time / end time, start port / end port, relay route / relay link / relay. Includes resources, time reservation information ID, etc.

  Here, the start point port and the end point port correspond to the above-described input port and output port, and are the start port identification information and the end port identification information. The identification information may be an IP address used for signaling, or may be information that is not an IP address such as a name. In the case of information that is not an IP address, the Ingress node device 10 can obtain an IP address by performing name resolution using an existing method, for example.

  The relay route in the relay route / relay link / relay resource is information on the relay node device that is a route between the start port and the end port. The relay link is information on a link between relay node devices. The relay resource is information on the bandwidth required for the link. The time reservation information ID is an ID for identifying the reservation information.

  The connection information is information that maps the time reservation information handled by the application of the service management device 60 and the path information handled by the network device. A time zone that can be reserved for each user input or for each network interface as device resource management. This is information that manages and reflects the state of the path and the reservation execution state by signaling.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of attributes of connection information generated by the connection information generating unit 15 and stored in the connection information storage unit 16. The example shown in FIG. 4 is connection information on the Ingress side, and when there is an egress function in the same device, the received connection information is also held. The example illustrated in FIG. 4 is merely an example of connection information, and may include other information necessary for control, such as path route information. The example shown in FIG. 4 is an example in the case of multicast. Similarly, in the case of unicast, connection information in which unicast LSP (path information), reservation time, and endpoint information are associated is generated. .

  Each attribute is as described in “Description” in FIG. 4.

  The Ingress end point port corresponds to the input port described above. The outgoing connection ID is associated with the Ingress endpoint port in the time zone related to the reservation.

  For relay network IF information, for example, in order to realize a redundant configuration, a relay network for each path is assumed assuming that the corresponding Ingress endpoint port is connected to one Egress endpoint port via a plurality of paths in the relay network. IF information can be set.

  Leaf information is set for each leaf, and each leaf is identified by a reserved leaf ID. The relay network Sub-LSP information in the leaf information is set so that Sub-LSP information is set for each route, assuming that it is connected to one Egress endpoint port via multiple routes as described above. It has become. The Sub-LSP index number is associated with key information of the corresponding Sub-LSP object, and this object includes data such as route information on the Sub-LSP network. Such an object is stored in the storage means (database) of the Ingress node device 10.

  The operation tree ID is an ID associated with a path that is a multicast tree (an example that is input as reservation information and also used as path information). This operation tree ID can be used as path information for identifying the multicast tree of P2MP-LSP in the signaling message.

  The operation tree start time is, for example, the connection start time of the leaf connected first in the multicast tree identified by the origination connection ID (or operation tree ID), and the operation tree end time is, for example, the origination connection ID ( Alternatively, it can be the connection end time of the leaf that ends last in the multicast tree identified by the operation tree ID).

  An example of connection information generation will be described below. The multicast tree configuration in the following description is as shown in FIG. In the following, for the sake of easy understanding, it is assumed that the relay path is not redundantly configured.

  First, (start time: 9:00, end time: 11:00, start point port: A point, end point port: F point, relay route: B point → E point), (start time: 9:00, end time: 10:00, Start port: A point, end port: G point, relay route: B point → E point), (start time: 8:00, end time: 11:00, start point port: A point, end point port: C point, relay route: It is assumed that reservation information having point B) is input from the service management device 60 to the Ingress node device 10.

  Then, the connection information generation unit 15 grasps from the received reservation information that the data transfer path is a multicast tree starting from point A as shown in FIG. 2 (calculates the multicast tree), and FIG. Connection information having values for the indicated attributes is generated and stored. In this example, leaf information of point C (start time: 8:00, end time: 11:00), leaf information of F point (start time: 9:00, end time: 11:00), Three pieces of leaf information of leaf information (start time: 9 o'clock, end time: 10 o'clock) are generated and stored. Each leaf can be identified by a reserved leaf ID. The Sub-LSP information in the leaf information is information on the path execution status during reservation execution.

  Thereafter, reservation information having (start time: 10:00, end time: 11:00, start port: A point, end port: D point, relay route: B point) is input from the service management device 60 to the Ingress node device 10. Shall be. Then, the connection information generation unit 15 adds the partial tree (Sub-LSP) to the multicast tree in which the reservation information is already generated by comparing the connection information that has already been generated with the new reservation information. Recognize that there is, add the leaf information of point D in the form of adding to the leaf information of point C, leaf information of point F, and leaf information of point G.

  In this way, the connection information generation unit 15 recognizes the configuration in the network, which is a partial tree of the multicast tree, using the reservation information specifying the end points as input information, generates path information as information on the network configuration, and sets the reservation time. Connection information (in this case, leaf information) associated with can be added. When executing the reservation, by referring to the connection information including the path information corresponding to the partial tree, it is possible to quickly and accurately create a multicast leaf addition signaling message, and to quickly generate a path.

  The Ingress node device 10 that has generated the connection information based on the reservation information received from the service management device 60 returns the connection ID assigned to the connection information to the service management device 60. Thereafter, the service management device 60 refers to the connection information with the connection ID as key information for the Ingress node device 10, and executes each reservation execution state, reservation execution state as a whole multicast tree, path (Sub-LSP) execution. The state of each attribute object can be acquired using the key information (object index number) for each attribute in the connection information for more detailed information by referring to the state, the data plane transfer state, and the like.

  Thus, the connection information can reach the target information quickly and reliably with a small number of hops. If there is no connection information and each state is to be acquired based on the ID of the reservation information received from the service management device 60, it can be acquired by tracing a lot of complicatedly connected data with a pointer. As expected, there may be problems with speed and accuracy. On the other hand, the introduction of connection information as in the present embodiment does not cause such a problem.

(About features of Ingress node device 10)
<Separation of device configuration and reservation information>
As described above, in the present embodiment, the device configuration information receiving unit 11 and the reservation information receiving unit 12 are separated in the Ingress node device 10, and the device configuration data storage unit 14 and the reservation information storage unit 13 are clearly defined. It is divided into. The reason is as follows.

  In order to execute the end point setting / cross-connect setting change as the device configuration setting when the reservation execution time comes, the conventional technology retains the combination of the time information and the end point setting / cross-connect setting in the device configuration information. It is possible to do. Or, in the case of a conventional general network device (IP router device, Ethernet switch device, etc.), the reservation time cannot be set, so it is necessary to change the device configuration setting from the operation system immediately before the reservation time. In such a conventional reservation execution, the device configuration is not static, and dynamic configuration information is held such that the device configuration is changed at each time specified in the reservation.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, by using a signaling protocol starting from the Ingress node device 10 for path setting, the cross-connect setting of all devices related to the provision of the time reservation type path is specified as configuration information. Can be unnecessary. That is, it is not necessary to set the device configuration for each reservation for the relay node device and the egress node device. Further, since the Ingress node device 10 can generate data necessary for execution of path generation signaling based on the connection information generated from the reservation information, the device configuration setting can be made static.

  As described above, the reservation information and the connection information can be separated from the device configuration information in the Ingress node device 10, thereby providing the following advantages.

  (1) In the case of accepting reservation information, it is conventional to perform validation processing (check processing) such as whether the input reservation information is valid for the device configuration, and whether resources can be secured at the input reservation time. In the technical method, since the device configuration information includes the reservation information, there is a problem that it is not possible to respond to rapid data update. However, in this embodiment, the static configuration is separated from the reservation execution. Since there is no need to perform validation processing, the processing load on validation processing can be reduced and response time can be shortened. Although the frequency of changing the device configuration is low, since the frequency of updating the reservation information is high, the effect of reducing the load of validation processing of the high-frequency reservation information is high.

  (2) When restoring a device database, it is possible to clearly distinguish between device configuration data restoration and reservation information restoration. This is useful when only the device configuration is restored in the event of a node failure. In other words, if it takes a long time to recover from the failure, it is not necessary to set the path with the old reservation information. However, if the path information is written to the device configuration, the previously used configuration will be used. Although there is a problem that the old path information is restored by the restoration, such a problem does not occur in this embodiment.

<Introduction of connection information>
In the Ingress node device 10 according to the present embodiment, the state information storage unit 17, the connection information storage unit 16 and the like hold all execution state data such as interface, signaling, and reservation execution. In addition, when the reservation execution management unit 19 executes a reservation based on the reservation information and is referred from the outside, the key information is not the reservation information or the path data but connection information. Hereinafter, the reason for introducing the connection information will be described.

  As described above, in this embodiment, reservation information is input from the service management device 60. This reservation information is based on the time reservation information database generated by the reservation reception from the user / operator, and is not network setting information but application information on the time reservation type communication service side. For this reason, the Ingress node device 10 cannot use the time reservation information IDs included in the received reservation information as key information for reservation execution in the device, and requires key information that can ensure consistency as a device. Yes, this is connection information. When reservation information is input to the Ingress node device 10, connection information is generated and the reservation execution / port information / path information and their execution state are held as shown in FIG. It exists until it disappears, and this period becomes key information unique to the device. For example, assuming that there is no connection information in this embodiment and the time reservation information ID type of application information is key information, whether to accept a time reservation type connection is determined depending on the execution state and time of the reservation. There is a problem that. Further, as described in the description of the operation described later, in this embodiment, when a reservation is activated, if the reservation is adjacent and the network topology is the same, the existing path is not deleted to avoid packet drop. However, if the time reservation information IDs are used as key information, there is a problem that the operation at the time of reservation adjacent cannot be realized. In the present embodiment in which connection information is introduced, these problems do not occur.

(Operation of communication system)
Next, an operation example from reservation input to path generation in the entire communication system will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  Reservation information is transmitted from the service management device 60 to the reservation information receiving unit 12 of the Ingress node device 10 (step 1), and the reservation information receiving unit 12 performs a validation process of the reservation information. And stored in the connection information storage unit 16 (step 2). Then, the reservation information receiving unit 12 returns a reservation information reception response to the service management device 60 including the originating connection ID, which is the key information ID of the connection information (step 3). Thereby, the service management device 60 can grasp the connection ID of the connection information managed on the Ingress node device 10 side corresponding to the time reservation information ID.

  The reservation execution management unit 19 acquires the current time from the device real-time clock (RTC) 20 and always monitors the activation of the reservation with reference to the connection information in the connection information storage unit 16.

  For example, according to the reservation of the Sub-LSP whose connection start time is 9:00, the reservation execution management unit 19 activates the reservation when the current time is 9:00 and instructs the signaling execution unit 18 to execute the signaling. (Step 4). In the case of the instruction here, the reservation execution management unit 19 generates a parameter necessary for signaling based on the connection information, and notifies the signaling execution unit 18 of an instruction including the parameter. The parameters here include, for example, route information of the multicast tree, route information of the added Sub-LSP, and the like.

  The signaling execution unit 18 that has received the signaling execution instruction transmits a signaling protocol signaling message (for example, a Path message in RSVP-TE) to the relay node device. More specifically, in order to transmit / receive the data flow of the payload at a timing designed in advance, a control plane process is operated at a predetermined timing, and a signaling message is transmitted to the Egress node device 30. That is, in this embodiment, in order to finely adjust the transmission / reception timing of data plane traffic, an offset time is set for the transmission timing and the return timing of the signaling message on the control plane. This offset time is introduced in order to allow for a margin of control plane processing time. The predetermined timing corresponds to the offset time.

  Thereafter, when a path generation completion message (Resv message in RSVP-TE) arrives, an End-End path between the end points specified in the reservation information is generated (steps 5 to 9). At this time, the egress node device 30 obtains reservation information from the service management device 60 in advance, and judges whether the connection is correct by checking whether the received signaling message is consistent with the reservation information. It is good.

  The End-End path includes a cross-connect (specifically, setting of data transfer information on the Ingress side) that connects the input port and the relay network path in the Ingress node device 10, a relay network path, A cross-connect (specifically, setting of data transfer information on the egress side) for connecting the relay network path and the output port in the egress node device 30 is included.

  When the path generation completion message is received, the data transfer information is not set in the Ingress node device 10, and the reservation execution management unit 19 is notified that the path of the relay network has been generated, and the reservation execution management is performed. After the unit 19 confirms this, the data transfer information in the Ingress node device 10 may be set at a timing offset from the specific time by a short time specified by the parameter. When data transfer information is set in the Ingress node device 10, data transfer to the Egress node device 30 is started.

  When the End-End path is generated, the signaling execution unit 18 notifies the reservation execution management unit 19 of the completion of the path generation (Step 10). In addition, the signaling execution unit 18 saves a state related to path generation in a database (the state information storage unit 17 or the like) (step 11).

  In addition, the reservation execution management unit 19 updates the network information data, reservation execution information data, and connection information state data to the connection information storage unit 16, the state information storage unit 17 and the like (step 12). The data is notified to an external service management device 60 or the like (step 13). Further, the signaling execution unit 18 sends a notification of path generation completion to the service management device 60 (step 14).

  When referring to the reservation information (time reservation information ID) managed by itself, the service management device 60 refers to the current reservation execution state and the execution state of signaling, the time is informed to the Ingress node device 10. Connection information can be acquired from the originating connection ID corresponding to the reservation information ID. If more detailed execution status parameters of each data are required, individual execution status data is acquired using the index value of the data included in the connection information.

  In step 4, the reservation execution management unit 19 makes a determination based on the connection information, and if the path setting is necessary, instructs the signaling execution unit 18 to generate a path as described above. If it is determined that the path is unnecessary, no new generation is instructed. For example, if there is a reservation for connection between end points from 14:00 to 15:00 in a reservation, and there is a reservation between the same end points from 15:00 to 16:00, the existing path is deleted at the timing of 15:00. Instead of generating a new path, it is determined that the existing path is reused as a next reserved path without deleting the existing path and generating a new path. Thus, when the existing path can be reused, there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate communication data drop (communication disconnection).

  The above operation example is an operation example when a path is set. However, when a path is deleted, if it is detected that the path end time is reached, the path deletion signaling is performed. Delete the path, delete the cross-connect information from the forwarding table, and update the status information.

(Summary of embodiment)
As described above, in this embodiment, the reservation information is set for the start node (Ingress) of the End-End path, and at the reservation time, it is dynamically set by signaling from the start node (Ingress). Generate a path.

  By not setting reservation information for all NW devices related to the path, especially relay node devices, path control processing and reservation change / cancellation can be realized in a very short time (1 second granularity). Processing can be greatly reduced.

  In the configuration in which only the Ingress node device 10 has reservation information for path setting, the Ingress node device 10 recognizes that the reservation time has come by referring to the device real-time clock (RTC) 20, and various types corresponding to the reservation information. Set the forwarding table (cross-connect) in the device based on the address information, set the path in the relay network from the endpoint port information using OSPF, PCE, explicit route instruction of the management system (OpS), etc. Reflect the operation status of the connection information.

  For ordinary leased lines, only the cross-connects in the device are set with the paths in the network being stretched. However, in order to meet the needs of a large-capacity path, it is impossible to keep the path open, and it is necessary to dynamically set and delete the path in the network based on the information of the transmission source / destination address. Conventionally, there has been no technology that meets such needs, but the technology according to the present embodiment can respond to such needs and set and delete paths quickly.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the reservation information is stored in the first storage unit (reservation information storage unit 13) of the device, and separately from the first storage unit, the reservation information is stored in the second storage unit (device configuration data storage unit 14). Configuration information that is typical device information is stored. The information stored in the second storage unit is static device information excluding reservation information and path setting.

  In this way, by not storing the reservation information in the second storage unit (config), it is possible to eliminate the duplication of the management of the static configuration of the device and the management of the signaling (time reservation) information. In-device resource checks can be performed quickly.

  When the time reservation is activated, the network path is set, but the specific path control on the network is determined based on the address information and reservation information of the source port and destination port. The In other words, only the information on the source / destination port can only be used to set / delete a path on the network, but by determining the reservation information together, the same source / same destination port can be determined in terms of time. In the case of consecutive, it is a series of reservations for setting the same path, and therefore, it is possible to perform an operation such as performing nothing without continuously performing path deletion and path generation simultaneously.

(Summary of effects)
According to the present embodiment, for example, the following effects can be obtained.

  In a large-scale network, it is possible to realize a time-reserved communication service in which a request for setting or disconnecting a large-capacity path immediately or setting only a designated start / end reservation time is frequently generated.

  In addition, the system can manage static network configuration management and dynamic reservation acceptance / change / execution. Multicast paths can be specified immediately or at a specified time with a granularity of 1 second per leaf. By referring to the connection information, the service management apparatus 60 can always manage the execution state of the latest time reservation type path and the operation state of the reservation in an integrated manner.

  In addition, even if a sudden reservation change, reservation abnormal state, or network failure occurs, the path is set by soft-state signaling, so the path is cleared and re-set within a few minutes to roll back to the normal state. can do. That is, it is possible to return to the pre-setting state with the minimum procedure when setting / deleting fails.

  The combination of reservation information, endpoint port information, network path, and transfer table (cross-connect) in the device is stored in the device as information such as connection information, from reservation activation to path setting / deletion, execution status management All this connection information was used. In other words, since the connection information can map reservation information and network path (LSP) information that change from moment to moment, it can be used as a reference source for all execution states.

  In addition, reservation management and path management can be performed by browsing connection information that is not configuration information, and reservation information is accepted by eliminating the reservation information and path information in the configuration in the service management device 60 or NW device. Independent device validation processing (resource check, etc.) during configuration and device validation processing (configuration consistency check) during configuration change can be executed lightly and in a short time, and the execution status does not match between devices The occurrence of events can be avoided.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ingress node apparatus 11 Device configuration information reception part 12 Reservation information reception part 13 Reservation information storage part 14 Device configuration data storage part 15 Connection information generation part 16 Connection information storage part 17 State information storage part 18 Signaling execution part 19 Reservation execution management part 20 Real time clock (RTC)
21 Input Port 22 Data Transfer Control Unit 23 Data Transfer Information Storage Unit 30 Egress Node Device 40, 50 Relay Node Device 60 Service Management Device

Claims (7)

An edge node device that sets or deletes a path between end points based on reservation information in a communication network including an edge node device and a relay node device,
A connection information storage means for storing connection information including path information that is information on a network configuration indicating a path to be set or deleted and a reservation time;
When it is detected that the current time is a reservation time included in the connection information, a signaling message for setting or deleting a path related to the path information corresponding to the reservation time is transmitted to the communication network based on the connection information. And path control means for transmitting to
The signaling message is:
Via a relay node device that operates based on signaling transmitted by the path control means instead of the reservation information, and is transmitted toward another edge node device that is an end point of the path ,
The network configuration corresponding to the reservation information includes a partial tree having a multicast tree leaf as an end point, and a reservation time in the connection information is associated with each piece of path information indicating the partial tree. Edge node device. The edge node apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network configuration corresponding to the reservation information is a multicast tree, and the reservation time in the connection information is associated with path information indicating the multicast tree. The edge node device is network-connected to a service management device, receives the reservation information from the service management device, and transmits identification information of the connection information to the service management device. Item 3. The edge node device according to Item 1 or 2 . The edge node device is an Ingress node device in the communication network, and when the path control unit detects that the reservation time has come, it transmits the signaling message to the Egress node device by a predetermined signaling protocol. The edge node device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a path is set or deleted. When the path control means detects that the reservation time has come, in order to transmit / receive a payload data flow at a predesigned timing, the path control means operates a control plane process at a predetermined timing, and sends the signaling message to the The edge node device according to claim 4 , wherein the edge node device transmits to an egress node device. A path control method executed by an edge node device that sets or deletes a path between end points based on reservation information in a communication network including an edge node device and a relay node device,
The edge node device includes connection information storage means for storing connection information including path information and reservation time, which is information on a network configuration indicating a path to be set or deleted,
When the path control method detects that the current time is a reserved time included in the connection information, the path control method is for setting or deleting a path related to the path information corresponding to the reserved time based on the connection information. A path control step of transmitting a signaling message to the communication network,
The signaling message is:
Via a relay node device that operates based on signaling transmitted by the path control step instead of the reservation information, and is transmitted toward another edge node device that is an end point of the path ,
The network configuration corresponding to the reservation information includes a partial tree having a multicast tree leaf as an end point, and a reservation time in the connection information is associated with each piece of path information indicating the partial tree. Path control method. A program for a communication device that includes the functions of a computer to function as each means in the edge node device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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