JP6932118B2 - Packet processing method and equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to network communication technology, and more particularly to packet processing methods and devices.

Telecom networks include many complex network devices such as routers, gateways, switches, firewalls and various servers. Each of these network devices supports a variety of network protocols to provide network connectivity between network elements. In these network devices, the individual devices are network elements, including packet forwarding modules and control modules for various protocols.

Such a distributed deployment of control modules in network elements complicates network deployment and management to a high degree, and in order to modify or upgrade control parameters, network operators can be separated on individual devices. The operation must be performed.

To solve problems in the flexibility and manageability of deploying network elements, the industry has proposed the concept of Software Defined Networking (SDN).

In SDN, the control logic and transfer functions of network elements are separated, and the control logic is centrally deployed so that the task of controlling and maintaining the network can be simply realized by operating the control plane device. It improves network management efficiency, simplifies transfer plane devices, and facilitates the achievement of high performance and reusability of transfer devices.

Currently, the idea of SDN is widely applied in data center networks and telecommunications networks. In SDN networks, the most typical and most frequently used protocol is the Openflow protocol.

Network elements in the OpenFlow protocol include an OpenFlow controller (open flow controller, abbreviated as OF controller) and an OpenFlow switch (open flow switch, abbreviated as OF switch).

The OF controller follows the characteristics of the packet according to the characteristics of the packet, such as forwarding actions, such as IP (Internet Protocol, abbreviated as IP) 5 taples, Ethernet frame headers, and VLAN ID (Virtual Local Area Network ID Encapsulation, abbreviated as VLAN ID). It is responsible for forwarding, discarding, modifying packet headers, making encapsulation or decapsulation decisions, and passing the corresponding flow entry to the OF switch. The flow entry contains flow reconciliation information such as IP5 tuples and Ethernet frame headers, as well as the corresponding actions to be performed.

The OF switch acquires and stores the flow entry and executes the corresponding action on the subsequent packet that matches the flow reconciliation information.

When the OF controller requests the OF switch to send a packet to an external network element, the OF controller uses a packet send message (Packet_Out) to indicate the packet to be sent and the corresponding action to be taken. Send to the switch.

Since the OF controller uses an independent flow entry introduction message Flow_mod and a packet transmission message Packet_Out, a relatively large amount of messages are exchanged between the OF controller and the OF switch. Thus, for example, if the process is executed frequently, handovers are performed simultaneously for a large number of users, a considerable amount of signal transmission load is imposed on the control interface, and the control interface in the entire system is overloaded.

From this point of view, embodiments of the present invention provide packet processing methods and devices such that a switch can simultaneously complete the introduction of a flow entry and the transmission of a packet to be transmitted in accordance with a controller flow entry introduction message. This reduces unnecessary control message exchanges and improves the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

According to the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention is
Steps to determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, and
Sends a flow entry introduction message to the switch that carries the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, so that the switch acquires the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message and introduces the flow entry. A packet processing method including a step of transmitting a packet according to the packet transmission information is provided.

In the first possible embodiment of the first aspect, the step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced is
It includes a step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced according to the local configuration, or a step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced by receiving a trigger message of a network element.

With reference to the first possible embodiment method of the first aspect, or the first aspect, in the second possible embodiment method of the first aspect, the packet transmission information is a packet to be transmitted, or Contains packet build information used to build packets to be sent.

With reference to the second possible embodiment method of the first aspect, in the third possible embodiment method of the first aspect, the packet construction information is
Source MAC (Media Access Control) address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, the packet sequence number, message type, GTP (GPRS Tunne li ng Protocol ) TEID (Tunnel Endpoint IDentifier) , And at least one piece of information in the GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) key.

With reference to the second possible embodiment method of the first aspect, or the third possible embodiment method of the first aspect, in the fourth possible embodiment method of the first aspect, the packet transmission information teeth,
It further includes at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, transmission processing action, transmission port, transmission frequency, transmission duration, maximum transmission duration and maximum amount of transmissions.

With reference to any one of the first to fourth possible embodiments of the first aspect, or the first to fourth possible embodiments, the fifth possible embodiment of the first aspect is introduced. After the step of sending the flow entry introductory message carrying the flow entry to be and the packet transmission information to the switch, the method further includes the step of receiving the packet transmission result returned by the switch, and the packet transmission result is:
It contains at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the packet response message, and the amount of packet responses.

According to the second aspect, the embodiment of the present invention is
The step of receiving the flow entry introduction message sent by the controller and carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information, and
The steps to obtain the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message, and
A packet processing method including a step of introducing a flow entry and transmitting a packet according to packet transmission information is provided.

In the first possible embodiment of the second aspect, the packet transmission information includes a packet to be transmitted, and the corresponding step of transmitting the packet according to the packet transmission information comprises the packet to be transmitted. The packet transmission information includes the step of obtaining from the packet transmission information and transmitting the packet, or the packet transmission information includes the packet construction information used to construct the packet to be transmitted, and correspondingly, the packet is packet according to the packet transmission information. The step of transmitting the packet includes a step of acquiring packet construction information from the packet transmission information and a step of constructing a packet to be transmitted according to the packet construction information and transmitting the packet.

With reference to the first possible embodiment method of the second aspect, in the second possible embodiment method of the second aspect, the packet construction information is the source MAC address, the destination MAC address, the source IP address, and the destination. It contains at least one piece of information in the IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

With reference to the first possible embodiment method or the second possible embodiment method of the second aspect, in the third possible embodiment method of the second aspect, the packet transmission information is the number of times of packet transmission. Further includes at least one piece of information in quantity, transmit processing action, transmit port, transmit frequency, transmit duration, maximum transmit duration, and maximum amount of transmissions.
The step of transmitting a packet according to the packet transmission information includes a step of transmitting a packet according to at least one piece of information.

With reference to any one of the first to third possible embodiments of the second embodiment, or the first to third possible embodiments of the second embodiment, in the fourth possible embodiment scheme of the second embodiment, the method is The packet transmission result further includes a step of receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device and a step of transmitting the packet transmission result to the controller.
It includes the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the amount of packet responses, and at least one piece of information in the packet response message.

With reference to the fourth possible embodiment method of the second aspect, in the fifth possible embodiment method of the second aspect, after the step of receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device, the method Further includes a step of stopping the transmission of the packet according to the packet transmission information.

According to the third aspect, the embodiment of the present invention is
A decision module configured to determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, and
It is configured to send a flow entry introduction message to the switch that carries the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, so that the switch acquires the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message. A controller is provided that includes a first transmission module that introduces a flow entry and transmits a packet according to packet transmission information.

In the first possible embodiment of the third aspect, the determination module is specifically
Determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced according to the local configuration, or
By receiving the trigger message of the network element, it is configured to determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced.

With reference to the first possible embodiment method of the third aspect, or the third aspect, in the second possible embodiment method of the third aspect, the packet transmission information is the packet to be transmitted, or Contains packet build information used to build packets to be sent.

With reference to the second possible embodiment method of the third aspect, in the third possible embodiment method of the third aspect, the packet construction information is
It contains at least one piece of information in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

With reference to the second or third possible embodiment method of the third aspect, in the fourth possible embodiment method of the third aspect, the packet transmission information is
It further includes at least one piece of information about the amount of packet transmissions, the transmission processing action, the transmission port, the transmission frequency, the transmission duration, the maximum transmission duration, and the maximum amount of transmissions.

With reference to any one of the first to fourth possible embodiment schemes of the third aspect, or the third aspect, in the fifth possible embodiment scheme of the third aspect, the controller In addition, a first transmission module configured to receive the packet transmission result returned by the switch after the first transmission module sends a flow entry introduction message carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information to the switch. Including the receiving module, the packet transmission result is
It contains at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the packet response message, and the amount of packet responses.

According to the fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present invention is
A second receive module configured to receive flow entry introduction messages sent by the controller and carrying flow entries to be introduced and packet transmission information, and
Provides a switch that captures the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message, introduces the flow entry, and includes a second transmission module configured to transmit the packet according to the packet transmission information. ..

In the first possible embodiment of the fourth aspect, the packet transmission information includes a packet to be transmitted.
Correspondingly, the second transmission module specifically
The packet to be transmitted is obtained from the packet transmission information and is configured to transmit the packet, or the packet transmission information includes packet construction information used to construct the packet to be transmitted.
Correspondingly, the second transmission module specifically
It is configured to acquire packet construction information from packet transmission information, construct a packet to be transmitted according to the packet construction information, and transmit the packet.

With reference to the first possible embodiment method of the fourth aspect, in the second possible embodiment method of the fourth aspect, the packet construction information is
It contains at least one piece of information in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

With reference to the first or second possible embodiment method of the second aspect, in the third possible embodiment method of the second aspect, the packet transmission information is
It further includes at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, transmission processing actions, transmission ports, transmission frequency, transmission duration, maximum transmission duration, and maximum amount of transmissions.
Specifically, the second transmission module is
It is configured to send a packet according to at least one piece of information.

With reference to any one of the first to third possible embodiments of the fourth aspect, or the first to third aspects of the fourth aspect, in the fourth possible embodiment of the fourth aspect, the second. Send module
It is further configured to receive the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device and send the packet transmission result to the controller, and the packet transmission result is
It includes the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the amount of packet responses, and at least one piece of information in the packet response message.

With reference to the fourth possible embodiment of the fourth aspect, in the fifth possible embodiment of the fourth aspect, after receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device, a second aspect is made. The transmission module is further configured to stop transmitting packets according to the packet transmission information.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a controller comprising a first processor and a first memory connected to the first controller, the first memory being a set of program code. The first processor calls the program code stored in the first memory and is any of the first to fifth possible embodiments of the first aspect or the first aspect. It is configured to execute the packet processing method described in one of the above.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a switch comprising a second processor and a second memory connected to the second processor, the second memory being a set of program code. The second memory calls the program code stored in the second memory, and is one of the first to fifth possible embodiment methods of the second aspect or the second aspect. It is configured to perform the packet processing method described in any one.

According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network device comprising the controller described in the fifth aspect and the switch described in the sixth aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program product including a computer-readable medium, wherein the readable medium is the first aspect, or the first to fifth possible aspects of the first aspect. Used to perform the packet processing method described in any one of the embodiments, the second embodiment, or of the first to fifth possible embodiments of the second embodiment. Includes a set of program code used to perform the packet processing method described in any one.

According to the above solution, in the embodiment of the present invention, the controller transmits a flow entry introduction message carrying a flow entry to be introduced and a packet transmission message, and the flow entry to be introduced and the packet to be transmitted are simultaneously. Sent, thereby the switch simultaneously receives the flow entry to be introduced and the packet to be transmitted, performs flow entry introduction and packet transmission, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling exchanges and flow entry introduction. And improve the efficiency of packet transmission.

In order to more clearly explain the technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required to explain the embodiment will be briefly described below. As will be apparent, the accompanying drawings in the following description merely illustrate some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will remain others from these attached drawings without creative effort. Drawings can be drawn out.
It is a flowchart of the packet processing method by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the packet processing method by another embodiment of this invention. It is a signaling flowchart of the packet processing method by another embodiment of this invention. It is a signaling flowchart of the packet processing method by another embodiment of this invention. It is a signaling flowchart of the packet processing method by another embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the signaling exchange between the OF controller and the OF switch in the prior art. It is a signaling flowchart of the packet processing method by another embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic structural diagram of the controller according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic structural diagram of the switch according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic structural diagram of the controller according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic structural diagram of the switch according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic structural diagram of the network device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In order to clarify the object, technical solution and advantage of the present invention, the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As is clear, the embodiments described are merely some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments acquired by one of ordinary skill in the art based on embodiments of the invention without creative effort fall within the scope of protection of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a packet processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the method comprises the following steps.

Step 11: Determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced.

Step 12: Send a flow entry introduction message to the switch carrying the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, whereby the switch acquires the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message and flows. Introduces an entry and sends a packet according to the packet send information.

Further, in step 11, the step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced is
It includes a step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced according to the local configuration, or a step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced by receiving a trigger message of a network element.

Further, the packet transmission information includes the packet to be transmitted or the packet construction information used to construct the packet to be transmitted. Packet construction information is
It contains at least one piece of information in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

Furthermore, the packet transmission information is
It further includes at least one piece of information on the amount of packet transmissions, the transmission processing action, the transmission port, the transmission frequency, the transmission duration, the maximum transmission duration, and the maximum amount of transmissions. The information is information related to packet sending actions and is used by the switch to send packets according to these packet sending actions.

After the step of optionally transmitting the flow entry introduction message carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information to the switch in step 12, the method further comprises the step of receiving the packet transmission result returned by the switch. , The packet transmission result includes at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the packet response message, and the amount of packet responses. The packet transmission result can further include the transmitted packet, the packet transmission duration, the response message packet returned by the packet receiving device, and the like. Details will not be repeated herein.

Specifically, the flow entries and packet-transmitted messages to be introduced are determined based on changes in local configuration policies or triggers of network elements, and packet-transmitted messages are messages to be transmitted or messages to be transmitted. You can specify how to send a packet to be sent by using the packet send action, which contains the packet build information used to build the packet and is included in the packet send message. The flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission message are sent simultaneously by using the flow entry introduction packet, so that after receiving the flow entry introduction packet, the switch introduces the flow entry to be introduced. Extract, extract the packet to be transmitted, or extract the packet construction information, and construct the packet to be transmitted according to the packet construction information, and then transmit the packet to be transmitted according to the packet transmission action. If the packet transmission information does not include a packet transmission action, the packet is sent directly according to existing protocols or by the default method of the application scenario. After the flow entry introductory message is sent, the packet transmission result returned by the switch can be received, and the local configuration policy can be further adjusted according to the packet transmission result, or the network element is notified of the packet transmission result. Can be done. However, in the prior art, the flow entry introduction message and the packet transmission message are usually transmitted separately.

The flow entry to be introduced is used by the switch to perform a match for the user packet and then process the user packet according to the actions contained in the flow entry and is included in the packet transmission information. Note that the packet to be transmitted refers to the packet to be transmitted by the controller, and the switch transmits the packet to be transmitted according to the packet transmission action information contained in the packet transmission information. Details will not be repeated herein.

In this embodiment, by transmitting a flow entry introduction message carrying a flow entry to be introduced and a packet transmission message, the flow entry to be introduced and the packet to be transmitted are transmitted at the same time, thereby unnecessary signaling. It reduces exchanges and improves the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a packet processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the method comprises the following steps.

Step 21: Receive the flow entry introduction message transmitted by the controller and carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information.

Step 22: Acquire the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message.

Packet transmission information includes packet construction information used to construct a packet to be transmitted or a packet to be transmitted.

Step 23: Introduce a flow entry and transmit the packet according to the packet transmission information.

Corresponding to step 22, the packet to be transmitted is acquired from the packet transmission information and the packet is transmitted, or the packet construction information is acquired from the packet transmission information and the packet to be transmitted is constructed according to the packet construction information. , And the packet is sent.

Further, the packet construction information in step 22 includes at least one in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key. Contains one piece of information.

Further, the packet transmission information further includes at least one piece of information regarding the amount of packet transmissions, transmission processing action, transmission port, transmission frequency, transmission duration, maximum transmission duration, and maximum amount of transmissions, in step 23. , The step of transmitting a packet according to the packet transmission information includes a step of transmitting a packet according to at least one piece of information.

Optionally, the method further includes the step of receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device and the step of sending the packet transmission result to the controller, and the packet transmission result is the amount of packet transmissions, successful. It includes the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of packet responses, and at least one piece of information in the packet response message.

Preferably, after receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device, the method further comprises stopping the transmission of the packet according to the packet transmission information.

Specifically, the flow entry introduction message transmitted by the controller is received, the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information are extracted from the flow entry introduction message, and the flow entry to be introduced is introduced. The packet transmission information includes the packet to be transmitted, or the packet construction information used to construct the packet to be transmitted, and can further include the packet transmission action information, and the packet to be transmitted is a packet. Sent according to the send action. If the packet transmission information includes packet construction information, the packet to be transmitted is constructed according to the packet construction information before being transmitted. When the packet is sent and the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device is received, the packet transmission is stopped, the packet transmission result is returned to the controller, and the packet transmission result is the amount of packet transmissions, successful. It can include the number of packet transmissions, packet response messages, and so on. After the flow entry is introduced, when a user packet is received, a match is performed between the user packet and the matching rule contained in the flow entry, and if the match is successful, the action contained in the flow entry. User packets are processed according to.

In this embodiment, by receiving the flow entry introduction message carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission message, the flow entry to be introduced and the packet to be transmitted are received at the same time, and the flow entry is introduced. In addition, the packet is transmitted according to the packet transmission information, thereby reducing unnecessary exchange of control information and improving the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

Hereinafter, the packet processing method will be described in more detail by using FIGS. 3 to 6 as an example.

FIG. 3 is a signaling flowchart of a packet processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The OpenFlow protocol is used as an example in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the method specifically comprises the following steps.

Step 31: The OF controller generates a flow entry corresponding to the service flow and passes the flow entry and packet transmission information to the OF switch by using the flow entry introduction message Flow_Mod, and the flow entry is the flow reconciliation information and the flow. It can include actions that must be taken in order to.

The process of generating flow entry and packet transmission information can be completed according to the local configuration of the OF controller, or can be completed by the OF controller according to received trigger messages of other network elements, which is in this embodiment. Not limited.

Further, the packet transmission information can include a packet to be transmitted or packet construction information.

Further, the packet transmission information includes the required amount of the number of transmissions, the packet processing action, the transmission port, the transmission frequency (for example, 3 times / second), the transmission duration (for example, 30 seconds), and the maximum amount of the number of transmissions (for example, the maximum). 10 times), and one or more pieces of information at the maximum transmission duration (eg, up to 60 seconds) can be further included.

In this embodiment, the packet to be transmitted, the amount of transmissions and the transmission port number are used as examples, and the OF switch is instructed to transmit the packet to be transmitted twice. If the sending port number is 2, the structure of the Flow_Mod message can be shown as:

Step 32: In this embodiment, the OF switch introduces into the flow table the flow entry passed by the OF controller by using the Flow_Mod message, and the OF switch obtains packet transmission information from the Flow_Mod message. The packet transmission information includes the packet to be transmitted (packet), the amount of packet transmissions, and the transmission port number.

Step 33: The OF switch transmits a packet (packet) according to the packet transmission information, and in this embodiment, the OF switch continuously transmits the packet included in the Flow_Mod message twice from the port 2.

Step 34: After the user packet reaches the OF switch, the OF switch performs a reconciliation between the packet and the flow table, and for the packet that matches the flow reconciliation information of the flow entry, the processing action corresponding to the flow entry. To execute.

In this embodiment, the OF controller uses a flow entry introduction message to notify the OF switch of the flow table that must be introduced and the packets that must be sent, and the OF switch introduces the flow entry, and Completes the transmission of packets according to the flow entry introduction message, thereby reducing unnecessary control message exchanges and improving the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

FIG. 4 is a signaling flowchart of a packet processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The OpenFlow protocol is used as an example in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the method specifically comprises the following steps.

Step 41: The OF controller generates a flow entry corresponding to the service flow and passes the flow entry and packet transmission information to the OF switch by using the Flow_Mod message, and the flow entry is for the flow reconciliation information and the flow. Includes actions that must be performed on.

In this embodiment, the packet transmission information includes a packet to be transmitted (packet) and a transmission processing action. Transmission processing actions can include actions such as transmission, packet modification (eg MAC header field or IP header field), packet encapsulation, virtual port (eg GRE virtual port, MPLS virtual port or GTP virtual port) forwarding. Also, the OF switch can make specified modifications to the packet according to the transmit processing action or forward the packet to the specified virtual port in order to realize the corresponding function.

In this embodiment, the send action is used as an example, and the double transmission of the packet is achieved by adding the two send actions to the Flow_Mod message (sending the packet to port 1 and port 2 separately). Will be done. Therefore, the structure of the Flow_Mod message is shown as follows.

Step 42: The OF switch introduces into the flow table the flow entry passed by the OF controller by using the Flow_Mod message, and the OF switch is getting the packet transmission information from the Flow_Mod, in this embodiment the packet. Transmission information includes packets to be transmitted and transmission processing actions.

Step 43: The OF switch sends the packet according to the packet transmission information, and in this embodiment, the OF switch sends the packet to port 1 and according to the two transmission actions included in the packet execution message contained in the Flow_Mod message. Send separately from port 2.

Step 44: After the user packet reaches the OF switch, the OF switch performs reconciliation between the user packet and the flow table, and processes the packet corresponding to the flow reconciliation information of the flow entry corresponding to the flow entry. run the action, when the user packets to match the flow entry introduced in step 42, oF switch transmits the thus user packets in action in the flow entry.

In this embodiment, the OpenFlow protocol is used as an example, and the OF controller uses a flow entry introductory message to switch the flow entries that must be introduced, the packets to be sent, and the send processing actions. The OF switch completes the introduction of the flow entry and the transmission of the packet according to the flow entry introduction message, thereby reducing unnecessary control message exchanges and improving the efficiency of the flow entry introduction and packet transmission. Improve.

FIG. 5a is a signaling flowchart of a packet processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an example in which an EndMarker message is transmitted by using an OpenFlow protocol is used. As shown in FIG. 5a, the method specifically comprises the following steps:

Step 51: The OF controller generates a flow entry corresponding to the service flow and passes the flow entry and packet transmission information to the OF switch by using the Flow_Mod message, and the flow entry is the flow matching information to which the flow entry belongs. And includes actions that must be performed for the flow.

In this embodiment, the packet transmission information includes packet construction information, transmission frequency, and transmission duration. The packet construction information can optionally include a source IP address, a destination IP address, a source port number, a destination port number, a message type, and the like. In this embodiment, the message type is an End marker message, the source IP address is the gateway IP address to the OF switch, and the destination IP address is the IP of the source base station (Evolved Node B, abbreviated as eNodeB) in the handover. It is an address, and the source port number and the destination port number are GTP protocol port numbers (2152).

Therefore, the structure of the Flow_Mod message can be shown as:

Step 52: In this embodiment, the OF switch introduces into the flow table the flow entry passed by the OF controller by using the Flow_Mod message, and the OF switch obtains packet transmission information from the Flow_Mod message. The packet transmission information includes packet construction information, transmission frequency, and transmission duration.

Step 53: The OF switch builds an endmarker message that must be sent according to the packet build information.

Step 54: The OF switch is transmitting the constructed end marker packet to the source eNodeB according to the transmission frequency and transmission duration in the packet transmission information, and in this embodiment, the OF switch is transmitted in step 51. According to the packet transmission information in the Flow_Mod message, the end marker message is transmitted to the source eNodeB three times at a frequency of once per second.

After the transmission is completed, optionally, the method can further include step 55, in which the OF switch returns the packet transmission result to the OF controller, and the message is optionally, the packet to be transmitted, the number of transmissions. Includes quantity, transmission duration, etc.

When the source eNodeB returns a response message or a failure instruction message, the packet transmission result can further include a transmission success instruction, the amount of successful transmissions, a response message, and the like.

Step 56: After the user packet reaches the OF switch, the OF switch performs reconciliation between the packet and the flow table and also responds to the flow entry for packets that match the flow reconciliation information of the flow entry. Perform a processing action.

In the prior art, in some scenarios, passing flow entries and sending packets are typically performed together to achieve a particular function. FIG. 5b is a flowchart of signaling exchange between the OF controller and the OF switch in the prior art. The method for handover in a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network based on the OpenFlow protocol is used as an example in this flowchart. As shown in FIG. 5b, the method comprises the following steps:

Step 501: When a handover occurs, the mobility management entity (MME for short) sends a modification bearer request message to the OF controller to notify the controller of the modification for the bearer, and the modification is performed. The bearer request message includes a new bearer flow reconciliation template, such as source and destination IP addresses, source and destination port numbers, and TEID.

Step 502: The OF controller generates flow reconciliation information and related actions (eg, GTP encapsulation, forwarding and QoS processing) according to the flow information contained in the modified bearer request message, and also uses the Flow_Mod message. Sends a flow entry containing flow reconciliation information and actions to the OF switch.

Step 503: The OF controller returns a Modified Bearer Response message to the MME.

Step 504: The OF controller sends one or more End Marker messages to the OF switch by using the Packet_out message, and one or more by using the actions contained in the Packet_out. The OF switch is instructed to send a plurality of end marker messages to the source eNodeB in the handover.

Step 505: The OF switch indicates to the source eNodeB that the bearer handover has been completed, thereby sourcing one or more end marker messages according to the Packet_out message to complete the terminal handover from the source eNodeB to the destination eNodeB. Send to eNodeB.

In the prior art, since the OF controller uses an independent flow entry introduction message Flow_mod and a packet transmission message Packet_out, a process similar to the above handover can cause the exchange of multiple messages between the OF controller and the OF switch. can. If the above process is performed frequently (for example, if the handover is performed simultaneously for a large number of users), a considerable amount of signal transmission load is imposed on the control interface, and the control interface in the entire system is overloaded. Become.

In this embodiment, an example in which an endmarker message is sent by using the OpenFlow protocol is used, and the OF controller must be introduced by using the flow entry introductory message. Notifying the OF switch of packet construction information, transmission frequency, and transmission duration, the OF switch completes the introduction of the flow entry and the transmission of the packet according to the flow entry introduction message, and sends the packet transmission result to the OF controller. It returns, thereby reducing unnecessary control message exchanges and improving the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

The solution of the present invention is not limited to the OpenFlow protocol, but may be applied to various processes of introducing flow rules in flow entry or control, and transferring a split architecture.

FIG. 6 is a signal transmission flowchart of the packet processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. General purpose controllers and switches are used as an example in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the method specifically comprises the following steps.

Step 61: The controller passes the flow entry and packet transmission information to the switch by using the flow introduction (Flow_Install) message.

In this embodiment, the packet transmission information includes a packet to be transmitted, a transmission frequency (for example, 2 degrees / second) and a maximum amount of transmission times (for example, a maximum of 6 times).

Optionally, the packet transmission information can further include a transmission port, a transmission processing action, a transmission duration, and the like, and the processing of the packet transmission information is similar to that of the other embodiments described above. Details will not be repeated in this embodiment.

Step 62: The switch introduces the flow entry passed by the controller, performs the processing action specified in the flow entry according to the flow entry for the received packet, and the switch sends the packet transmission information from Flow_Install. In this embodiment, the packet transmission information includes the packet to be transmitted, the transmission frequency, and the maximum amount of transmission times.

Step 63: The switch sends a packet according to the packet transmission information, in this embodiment the switch sends the packet to the peer device at a frequency of 2 times per second, and the switch sends the packet up to 6 times.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the method can further include step 64 in which the switch receives a response message returned in a packet by the communication peer device.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the method can further include step 65 in which the switch stops transmitting the packet and returns the packet transmission result to the controller, and the packet transmission result is returned by the communication peer device. Can include a response message. Optionally, the packet transmission result can further include the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful transmissions, and the like in step 63.

Generic controllers and switches are used as examples in this embodiment, where the controller uses the flow entry introduction message Flow_Install to maximize the flow entries that must be introduced, the packets that must be sent, and the number of transmissions. Notifying the switch of a large number, the switch completes the introduction of the flow entry and the transmission of packets according to the flow entry introduction message. Optionally, when the switch receives a response packet corresponding to the transmitted packet, the switch stops sending the packet and reports the response packet to the controller, thereby reducing unnecessary control message exchanges and Improve the efficiency of flow entry introduction and packet transmission.

According to the method provided in the above embodiment, the controller can perform the introduction of flow entries while instructing the switch to complete the packet transmission action, thereby loading the control and forwarding interface. Reduces resource occupancy by controllers and switches, and improves system operational stability.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the controller according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 70 includes a decision module 71 and a first transmit module 72, and optionally includes a first receive module 73.

The decision module 71 is configured to determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced.

The first transmission module 72 transmits a flow entry introduction message carrying flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced to the switch, whereby the switch sends the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced to the flow entry introduction message. Obtained from, introduces a flow entry, and is configured to send packets according to packet transmission information.

The first receiving module 73 receives the packet transmission result returned by the switch after the first transmitting module 72 transmits the flow entry introduction message carrying the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information to the switch. The packet transmission result includes at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, the amount of successful packet transmissions, the amount of packet response messages and the number of packet responses.

Further, the decision module 71 specifically determines the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced according to the local configuration, or receives the trigger message of the network element to introduce the flow entry and packet transmission. It is configured to determine information.

Further, the packet transmission information includes the packet to be transmitted or the packet construction information used to construct the packet to be transmitted.

The packet construction information includes at least one piece of information in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

Further, the packet transmission information further includes at least one piece of information in the amount of packet transmissions, transmission processing action, transmission port, transmission frequency, transmission duration, maximum transmission duration, and maximum amount of transmissions.

The controller provided in this embodiment can be configured to perform the steps of the packet processing method shown in FIG. 1, the principles of the embodiments and their technical effects are similar, and the details are detailed. , Not repeated in this specification.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the switch 80 includes a second receive module 81 and a second transmit module 82, where the second receive module 81 is a flow entry to be introduced that is transmitted by the controller. And configured to receive a flow entry introductory message carrying packet transmission information, the second transmission module 82 acquires the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced from the flow entry introduction message and introduces the flow entry. , It is configured to transmit a packet according to the packet transmission information.

Further, the packet transmission information includes a packet to be transmitted, and correspondingly, the second transmission module 82 specifically acquires the packet to be transmitted from the packet transmission information and transmits the packet. It is composed of.

Alternatively, the packet transmission information includes packet construction information used to construct a packet to be transmitted, and correspondingly, the second transmission module 82 specifically converts the packet construction information into packet transmission information. It is configured to construct a packet to be transmitted from, according to the packet construction information, and transmit the packet.

The packet construction information includes at least one piece of information in the source MAC address, destination MAC address, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, packet sequence number, message type, GTP TEID, and GRE key.

Further, the packet transmission information further includes at least one piece of information regarding the amount of packet transmissions, transmission processing action, transmission port, transmission frequency, transmission duration, maximum transmission duration, and maximum amount of transmissions, and a second. Specifically, the transmission module 82 is configured to transmit a packet according to at least one piece of information.

Optionally, the second transmit module 82 is further configured to receive the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device and transmit the packet transmission result to the controller, the packet transmission result being the amount of packet transmissions. , The amount of successful packet transmissions, the amount of packet responses, and at least one piece of information in the packet response message.

Preferably, the second transmission module 82 is further configured to stop transmitting the packet according to the packet transmission information after receiving the packet response message returned by the packet receiving device.

The switch provided in this embodiment can be configured to perform the steps of the packet processing method shown in FIG. 2, the principles of the embodiments and their technical effects are similar, and the details are detailed. , Not repeated in this specification. FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a controller according to another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 9, the controller 90 includes a first processor 91 and a first memory 92, the first memory stores a set of program code, and the first processor is the first. It is configured to call the program code stored in the memory of, and can carry out the steps in the packet processing method shown in FIG. , Not repeated in this specification.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a switch according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the switch 100 includes a second processor 101 and a second memory 102, the second memory stores a set of program code, and the second processor is the second. It is configured to call the program code stored in the memory of, the steps in the packet processing method shown in FIG. 2 can be performed, the principles of the embodiments and their technical effects are similar and detailed. Will not be repeated herein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the network device 110 includes the controller 90 shown in FIG. 9 and the switch 100 shown in FIG. 10, the controller 90 and the switch 100, respectively, in FIG. The steps of the packet processing method shown and the steps of the packet processing method shown in FIG. 2 can be configured to carry out, the principles of the embodiments and their technical effects are similar and detailed. Will not be repeated herein.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, the readable medium being used to carry out the steps of the packet processing method shown in FIG. Contains a set of program code used to carry out the steps of the packet processing method shown in.

From the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present invention can be realized by hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When the present invention is realized by software, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes in the computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any medium that allows the transmission of computer programs from one location to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can access the computer. The following is an example that does not impose any restrictions. Computer-readable media carry, or carry, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disc storage or disk storage medium, or other magnetic storage device, or the expected program code in the form of instructions or data structures. It can include any other medium that can be stored and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection can be well defined as a computer readable medium. For example, software transmits from a website, server or other remote source by using coaxial cable, fiber optic / cable, twist pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology such as infrared, wireless and microwave. Where so, wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic / cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared, wireless and microwave are included in the definition of the medium to which they belong. For example, the discs and discs used by the present invention include compact disc CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital general purpose discs (DVDs), floppy discs and Blu-ray discs, and discs are usually discs. Data is copied by magnetic means, and the disc (disk) optically copies data by laser means. The above combinations should also be included in the protection of computer readable media.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are not intended to limit the invention, but merely to illustrate the technical solutions of the invention. The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, they may, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention, is still described in the above embodiments Technology Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can be made to the solution, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of its technical features.

Claims (16)

It is a packet processing method
Steps to determine the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced, and
Including the flow entry to be introduced and the step of transmitting a flow entry introduction message carrying the packet transmission information to the switch.
The packet transmission information includes at least packet construction information used to construct a packet to be transmitted.
The packet transmission information constructs the end marker packet for the switch according to the packet construction information so that the switch can transmit the end marker packet as the packet to be transmitted according to the packet transmission information. A method comprising instructing the end marker packet to be transmitted. The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet transmission information includes a destination IP address or GTP TEID of the end marker packet. The step of determining the flow entry and packet transmission information to be introduced is
The method of claim 2, comprising receiving a trigger message of a network element to determine the flow entry to be introduced and the packet transmission information. The packet transmission information is
The source MAC address of the end marker packet, or the destination MAC address of the end marker packet, or the source IP address of the end marker packet, or the source port number of the end marker packet, or the destination port number of the end marker packet, or The method according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a packet sequence number of the end marker packet or a GRE key of the end marker packet. The packet transmission information is
The amount of packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the transmission processing action of the endmarker packet, or the transmission port of the endmarker packet, or the transmission frequency of the endmarker packet, or the transmission duration of the endmarker packet, or The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising a maximum transmission duration of the end marker packet or a maximum amount of transmission of the end marker packet. The packet transmission result further includes a step of receiving the packet transmission result from the switch.
The actual amount of packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the amount of successful packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the amount of packet response messages of the endmarker packet, or the number of packet responses of the endmarker packet. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the method comprises. It is a packet processing method
In the step of receiving the flow entry introduction message from the controller, the flow entry introduction message carries the flow entry and the packet transmission information to be introduced, and the packet transmission information at least constructs a packet to be transmitted. The step, which contains the packet construction information used for
A method comprising constructing an end marker packet according to the packet construction information and transmitting the end marker packet as the packet to be transmitted. The method according to claim 7, wherein the packet transmission information includes a destination IP address or GTP TEID of the end marker packet. The packet transmission information is
The source MAC address of the end marker packet, or the destination MAC address of the end marker packet, or the source IP address of the end marker packet, or the source port number of the end marker packet, or the destination port number of the end marker packet, or The method according to claim 8, wherein the packet sequence number of the end marker packet or the GRE key of the end marker packet is included. The packet transmission information is
The amount of packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the transmission processing action of the endmarker packet, or the transmission port of the endmarker packet, or the transmission frequency of the endmarker packet, or the transmission duration of the endmarker packet, or The method according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising a maximum transmission duration of the end marker packet or a maximum amount of transmission of the end marker packet. Steps to receive packet response messages from packet receiving devices,
It is a step of transmitting the packet transmission result to the controller, and the packet transmission result is
The actual amount of packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the amount of successful packet transmissions of the endmarker packet, or the amount of packet response messages of the endmarker packet, or the number of packet responses of the endmarker packet. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, further comprising. The method according to claim 11, further comprising a step of stopping the transmission of the end marker packet according to the packet transmission result. Including processor and storage medium
The processor is a controller configured to read an instruction from the storage medium, execute the instruction, and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Including processor and storage medium
The switch is characterized in that the processor is configured to read an instruction from the storage medium, execute the instruction, and execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 12. The controller according to claim 13 and
A communication system including the switch according to claim 14. A computer-readable recording medium comprising an instruction to cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 when executed by the computer.

Images