JPH08223207A - Multi-protocol relay system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve the operating rate of a data memory by allowing a each routing table management mechanism to use a routing table entry as a common resource. CONSTITUTION: A routing table entry 8 havng fixed length is assigned to a data memory 5 in a repeater 1, and each routing table management mechanism 6 uses the routing table entry 8 as a common resource, the need of a data memory 5 relating to a protocol processing mechanism 4 not in use is eliminated and the operating rate of the data memory 5 is improved. Furthermore, a fixed length is adopted for the routing table entry 8 and the entry is divided into plural parts depending on the frequency of use and the size of the entry to generate chained entries thereby improving the operating rate of the data memory 5. Furthermore, each routing table management mechanism 6 uses the routing table entry 8 as a common resource. Thus, it is not required to add the data memory 5 to support a new protocol.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-protocol relay system in a relay device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional multi-protocol relay system, for example, in the multi-protocol relay system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-354438, a microprocessor is built in each of a plurality of protocol processing mechanisms to perform a relay process, Each has an independent data memory. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a data memory for each protocol processing mechanism regardless of the frequency of use.

[0003]

In the above conventional method, 1
Since the use of the routing table entry as a common resource in one data memory is not considered, there is an economical and performance problem that the usage efficiency of the data memory of the protocol processing mechanism that is not frequently used is reduced.

It is an object of the present invention to use the routing table entry as a common resource by each routing table management mechanism to improve the efficiency of use of the data memory.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a routing table which has a routing table entry for each protocol and which is used by a routing table management mechanism which responds to a search inquiry from a protocol processing mechanism. By assigning a fixed length routing table entry to one data memory in each entry, each routing table management mechanism uses the routing table entry as a common resource, and the data memory relating to the unused protocol processing mechanism is unnecessary.

Further, in a fixed-length routing table entry, a protocol having a high frequency of use and an entry of n bytes or less sets the size of the routing table entry to a size at which the search ends in one entry, and the frequency of use is low. For a protocol in which is larger than n bytes, an entry is created by chaining two or more entries having the size of the above entry.

By using the routing table entry as a common resource in each routing table management mechanism, it is not necessary to add a data memory in supporting a new protocol.

[0008]

The routing table management mechanism, which has a routing table entry for each protocol and responds to a search inquiry from the protocol processing mechanism, uses a routing table entry assigned to one data memory with a fixed length. This routing table entry is used as a common resource by each routing table management mechanism. The size of the routing table entry is high, and when the protocol is n bytes or less, the size of the routing table entry is set to the size that the search ends in one entry. For large protocols,
An entry is created by chaining two or more entries of the size of the above entry.

Each routing table management mechanism uses the routing table entry as a common resource,
Eliminates the need for additional data memory to support new protocols.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the internal configuration of a relay device 1 for implementing the present invention and the configuration of a network to which the relay device 1 is connected. The relay device 1 is connected to the networks A, B, C, D (2) by the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3. When the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3 receives a frame from the network 2, the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3 analyzes the protocol type and notifies the relevant protocol processing mechanism 4a, 4b, 4c. The notified protocol processing mechanism 4 further analyzes the frame, and if it is a protocol management frame, registers / deletes the routing table entry 8 with respect to the routing table entry management mechanism 6. In the case of registration, an empty entry is obtained from the empty routing table entry management mechanism 5, and in the case of deletion, the empty routing table entry management mechanism 5
Return empty entries to. If it is a relay frame, the routing table entry management mechanism 6 is searched for the routing table entry 8 to determine the relay destination. After determining the relay destination, the frame is transmitted to the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3.

FIG. 2 shows a main processing flow performed in the relay device 1. The frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3 receives a frame from the network 2 (step 9). After receiving the frame, the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism 3 analyzes the protocol type and notifies the relevant protocol processing mechanism 4a, 4b, 4c (step 10). If the received frame is IP (step 11), the IP protocol processing mechanism 4a further analyzes the frame (step 12). If the frame is a protocol management frame, the routing table entry management mechanism 6 receives the routing table entry 8
Register / delete. For registration, get an empty entry from the empty routing table entry management mechanism 5,
In the case of deletion, the empty entry is returned to the empty routing table entry management mechanism 5 (step 13). If it is a relay frame, the routing table entry management mechanism 6 is searched for the routing table entry 8 (step 14), the relay destination is determined, and the frame is transmitted to the frame transmission / reception mechanism 3 (step 1).
5).

FIG. 3 shows the routing table entry 8
An example of the structure of is shown. It consists of a 16-byte common part and a 48-byte protocol individual part. The structure of the protocol individual part is different for each protocol.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of the entries after the second entry when two or more routing table entries are chained and used. There is no common part, only a 64-byte protocol individual part.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the routing table entry held by the empty routing table entry management mechanism. The protocol individual part is not used.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the routing table entry possessed by the IP routing table entry management mechanism.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the routing table entry possessed by the IPX routing table entry management mechanism.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of the routing table entry possessed by the CLNP routing table entry management mechanism. Since two entries are used, the entries are chained.

For example, it is assumed that the relay device 1 has a total of 3000 routing table entries 8 in the data memory 7. When the three protocol processes of IP, IPX and CLNP are implemented, each protocol averages 1000.
The entry's routing table entry can be used. Initially, the relay device 1 is connected only to the network A and the network B, and the routing table entry 8 is set to 1000 by the IP routing entry management mechanism 6a.
It is assumed that the IPX routing table entry management mechanism 6b uses 200 entries, the CLNP routing table entry management mechanism 6c uses 200 entries, and the free routing table entry management mechanism 5 has the remaining 1600 entries. After that, in order to add a network, the network is connected to the network C and the network D having only IP frames. Upon receiving the IP protocol management frame, the routing table entry 8 is registered in the IP routing table entry management mechanism 6a as in the processing flow of FIG. If the number of entries to be registered is 1000, there are still 1600 entries in the free routing table entry management mechanism, so registration is possible. The total number of entries used by the IP routing entry management mechanism 6a is 2000.
Although the number of entries is 66% of the total, it is possible to register more than the average number of used entries of 1000, and even if the number of used entries increases due to the addition of a network, up to 600 entries can be registered. At that time, the data memory is 10
0% will be used.

[0020]

According to the present invention, a fixed length routing table entry is assigned to one data memory, and the data memory relating to the protocol processing mechanism that is not used is not required, so that the usage rate of the data memory can be improved. did. Furthermore, in a fixed-length routing table entry, a protocol with a high frequency of use and an entry of n bytes or less sets the size of the routing table entry to a size at which the search ends in one entry, and the frequency of use is low, and the entry is smaller than n bytes. The large protocol makes it possible to improve the usage rate of the data memory by creating an entry in which the size of the above entry is chained into two or more entries.

Further, by using the routing table entry as a common resource in each routing table management mechanism, it becomes possible to eliminate the need to add a data memory in supporting a new protocol.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a relay device that realizes the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a processing flowchart of a relay device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a routing table entry.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an entry after a second entry when two or more routing table entries are chained and used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a routing table entry held by an empty routing table entry management mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a routing table entry held by an IP routing table entry management mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a routing table entry held by an IPX routing table entry management mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a routing table entry held by a CLNP routing table entry management mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Relay device, 2 ... Network, 3 ... Frame transmission / reception mechanism, 4a ... IP protocol processing mechanism, 4b ... IPX
Protocol processing mechanism, 4c ... CLNP protocol processing mechanism, 5 ... Free routing table entry management mechanism,
6a ... IP routing table entry management mechanism, 6
b ... IPX routing table entry management mechanism, 6
c ... CLNP routing table entry management mechanism,
7 ... data memory, 8 ... routing table entry,

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device which connects to a plurality of networks and relays frames between the connected networks (hereinafter referred to as a relay device), receives frames of a plurality of protocols from the network, and delivers the frames to each protocol processing mechanism. A frame transmission / reception mechanism that transmits a frame from each protocol processing mechanism, and, when a protocol management frame is received from the frame transmission / reception mechanism, registers or deletes a routing table entry that is a database that represents a relay route of the frame, and other than the protocol management frame When a frame is received, the routing table entry is searched and the frame is relayed. In order to relay the frame, the protocol processing mechanism that transmits the frame to the frame transmitting / receiving mechanism of the corresponding network to be relayed Management table that allocates or releases routing table entries in response to a request to register or delete a bull entry, and a routing table management mechanism that has a routing table entry for each protocol and that responds to a query from the protocol processing mechanism. And a plurality of memory blocks to which a fixed-length (n is an integer of 1 or more) routing table entry consisting of n bytes is allocated and the data as the routing table entry is n bytes or less, the routing table A memory chain system in which one memory block is allocated to one entry, and two memory blocks are allocated to a protocol whose data as a routing table entry is larger than n bytes. Multiprotocol relay scheme, characterized in that a unit to the routing table management mechanism. 2. The multi-protocol relay system according to claim 1, wherein the routing table entry is used as a common resource in each routing table management mechanism, thereby eliminating the need to add a data memory to support a new protocol. . 3. When searching for an entry chained to two or more entries, an item frequently used for the search is assigned to the top entry in the chain and the search processing is performed at high speed. Multi-protocol relay system.