JPH11191790A - Communication data processing method and inter-network connection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the discrimination processing for routing. SOLUTION: In this communication data processing method by a router 10 that applies prescribed data processing based on a destination address of received data and relays the data among networks A, B, C or D, the router 10 has separate IP addresses for routing and its own device destination and MAC addresses corresponding to them. The router 10 discriminates whether a destination MAC address of a frame received by the data link layer is for a routing or for its own device destination. In the case of the routing MAC address, the data are subject to relay processing to attain efficient discrimination processing for routing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inter-network connecting device that performs predetermined data processing based on a destination address of data received from a connected terminal device or another inter-network connecting device and relays the data. The present invention relates to a communication data processing method and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of communication data processing, for example, an inter-network connecting device called a router has, for example, an IP address for each interface in the device and a MAC (Media Acquisition) corresponding to the IP address.
process control) address, and creates network routing information for the IP address given to the interface by a typical protocol such as RIP (Routing Information Protocol) and stores it in a routing table. I was letting it. Then, the router has transmitted the routing information to a terminal device in the same physical network.

A terminal device creates and holds a routing table including a set of a destination network address and a corresponding next hop (IP address of a router that has generated a route), and stores a data frame to be relayed to another network. When transmitting, the above table was referenced. Next, the operation of the conventional data relay will be described with reference to a general network configuration diagram shown in FIG.
In the figure, a router 10 is connected between a network A and a network B. A terminal device (computer) 20 is connected to the network A, and a terminal device (computer) 21 is connected to the network B. . The terminal device 20 searches the network B of the destination network with reference to the routing table in its own device, acquires the IP address of the corresponding next hop, and uses an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) to send an ARP request packet. A data frame for a MAC address solution request called “MAC address resolution request” is transmitted (see in the figure).

In response to this packet, the router 10 having the IP address indicated in the packet returns an ARP response packet (see FIG. 1). The ARP response packet includes the M corresponding to the IP address.
An AC address (for example, a MAC address of an interface having an IP address) is included. Terminal device 20
Creates a data frame with the received MAC address as the destination address and sends it to the router 10 (see in the figure).

[0005] The router 10 determines whether the received data frame is addressed to itself or for relaying, and if the data frame is for relaying, performs a routing process (see FIG. 1). Then, the router 10 is connected to the terminal device 2
1 was created and transmitted (in the figure,
reference). In the above description, upon receiving the data frame, the router determines whether the destination MAC address of the data frame is the MAC address, the broadcast address, or the multicast address of the received interface. If any one of the above three MAC addresses matches, the router sets the destination I
By determining whether the P address is the IP address of the interface that received the frame or not, the routing process is performed if the P address is not addressed to the own device. If the P address is addressed to the own device, the process is performed by the host application. I was

[0006] If the data frame does not match any of the MAC addresses, the data frame is discarded.

[0007]

However, even though most of the data frames processed by the router are data frames for relaying, and in such a method, the router performs processing on all the received data frames. Since the routing process is performed after two determinations as to whether the destination MAC address and the destination IP address are addressed to the own device, there is a problem that the efficiency of data relay is low. That is, in the router, the destination MAC address is determined at the data link layer, and the destination IP address is determined at the network layer.
Inefficient processing has been performed such that the P address does not match the IP address of the interface of the own device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a communication data processing method and a communication data processing method capable of simplifying a determination process for performing routing.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention has an address for its own device and a relay address corresponding to each interface, and a destination address of a received data frame is the relay address. And whether the destination address is M
An address comparing unit that determines whether or not the address matches the own device address including the AC address or the broadcast address or the multicast address based on these MAC addresses; a routing processing unit that performs a routing process of the data frame; It has a higher-level application unit that performs higher-level application processing, and a transmission processing unit that transmits the data frame from each interface.

[0010] That is, the router has separate IP addresses for relay and for its own device with respect to the interface and the corresponding MAC address, and the destination MAC address of the frame received at the data link layer is for relay or By judging whether it is for the own device, efficient judgment processing for performing routing becomes possible. When exchanging path information, the relay address is used as a next hop,
Preferably, the route information is created and exchanged.

The own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include an upper-layer protocol address, and the upper-layer protocol address is included in the relay address used as a next hop when exchanging path information. It is preferably used. Further, it is preferable that the routing processing unit performs a process of specifying an interface used for transmission from the own device based on the relay address.

Further, the routing processing unit performs a process of specifying an interface to be used for transmission from its own device using a first routing processing unit that uses a MAC address that is a relay address and a higher-level protocol that is a relay address. Preferably, it is divided into a second routing processing unit. Further, when a terminal device is connected, in response to an ARP request from the terminal device,
Preferably, the MAC address of the corresponding relay address is returned.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A communication data processing method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the data communication system of the present invention. In the figure, a router 10 (an example of an inter-network connecting device in the present invention) is connected to networks A and B via interfaces 1 and 2 in the own device, and is connected to ATM network 4 via interface 3. I have. In the network A, the terminal device 20
However, in the network B, the terminal device 21 and the router 30
However, routers 40 are connected to the ATM network 4 respectively. The router 30 is also connected to a network C, and the terminal device 22 is connected to the network C. Further, the router 40 is also connected to the network D, and the terminal device 23 is connected to the network D.

Conventionally, an upper protocol address (for example, an IP address), which is one address for an interface (physical interface) in a router, is changed to two addresses, one for routing and one for its own device, in each router of the present invention. In addition to being set separately, different MAC addresses corresponding to the respective IP addresses are set. The routing IP address is used when creating the routing information generated by the router, so that the next hop of the routing table of the other device, the terminal device connected to the network, and the own device is determined by the own device of the router. The set routing IP address is not the destination IP address.

Here, for example, in the router 10, one IP address “15
8.202.232.1 "and two routing (relay) IPs
Addresses “158.202.232.2” and “158.202.232.3” are respectively set, and the corresponding MAC addresses “00: 80: BD: F0: 00: 0” for the own device and for routing are set.
1, 00: 80: BD: F0: 00: 02, 00: 80: BD: F0: 00: 03
Are set respectively. In this case, the IP address “158.202.232.2” enables data relay between the network A and the networks B and C.
The IP address “158.202.232.3” enables data relay between the network A and the network D. In this embodiment, the networks A, B, C, D
158.202.0.0,
`` 192.52.128.0 '', `` 192.52.121.0 '', `` 202.232.158.
0 ".

In the above data communication system, the RIP for exchanging routing information (route information) includes:
Version 1 and version 2 are defined as standards. The format of such a RIP data frame is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a RIP data area in which each entry of a DP header, a RIP header, and routing information is stored. In this manner, data is encapsulated by attaching a higher-order header to the RIP data.

In the case of RIP version 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the area of the RIP data is composed of a set of a destination address composed of an IP address and a metric, and these pieces of information are used as a destination network address when a routing table is created. used. Also, as the next hop of the routing table, the IP address of the interface of the router that transmitted the RIP data frame is used.
Quoted from the source address field of the header. Therefore, for the interface 1 of the present embodiment, for each routing IP address set in the interface 1, that is, the source IP address “158.202.232.
2) and “158.202.232.3”, a frame in which separate (two) routing information is generated is created, and each frame is transmitted to the interface 1.

On the other hand, in the case of RIP version 2, as shown in FIG. 4, the RIP data area is composed of a set of a destination address composed of an IP address, mask information, next hop information, and a metric. You. Therefore, for the interface 1 of the present embodiment, the respective I of “158.202.232.2” and “158.202.232.3”
By creating routing information using the P address as next hop information, there is no need to create a RIP data frame of two pieces of routing information as in the case of RIP version 1, and the frame transmission to the interface 1 can be performed once. It has the advantage of ending.

Next, a schematic configuration of the communication data processing device of each router will be described. Since the configuration of the communication data processing device of each router has the same configuration, the schematic configuration of the communication data processing device of the router 10 will be representatively described here with reference to FIG. 5, in the communication data processing device, the routing information generation unit 14a in the upper application unit 14 generates the routing information in the storage unit 13 and transmits the routing information to another router via the transmission processing unit 15. Is going. For example, at the start of communication with the terminal device 20, the reception processing unit 11 connected to the interfaces 1 to 3 performs the
The ARP request packet from the terminal device 20 for resolving the MAC address corresponding to the P address is received and processed. The ARP response packet created by the ARP processing unit 14b in the upper application unit 14 includes:
A routing MAC address is used.

That is, in the case of an Ethernet frame, for example, the terminal device 20 creates an ARP request packet having a format as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the area after the hardware indicates the data field of the Ethernet frame. The hardware indicates a fixed code indicating Ethernet, the protocol indicates a fixed code indicating IP, and the HLEN.
Is a code indicating the length of the MAC address, and PLEN is
A code indicating the length of the IP address, the operation is:
A code indicating whether the packet is an ARP request or an ARP response, the sender hardware address is the MAC address of the device that sent this packet, the sender Internet address is the IP address of the device that sent this packet, and the target hardware address is the target The MAC address of the target device and the target Internet address indicate the IP address of the target device.

The terminal device 20 is, for example, a network B,
In order to send data to the terminal devices 21 and 22 in C, the MAC address “FF: FF: FF: F” indicating broadcast is set as the destination address in the ARP request packet in FIG.
F: FF: FF ", and the routing IP address of interface 1" 158.20 "
Create and send an ARP request packet storing “2.232.2”.

In the router 10, the received terminal device 20
The reception processing unit 11 performs a reception process on the ARP request packet from the client and outputs it to the MAC address comparison unit 12. M
The AC address comparison unit 12 compares the destination address in the packet with each entry of the MAC address table in the storage unit 13. If the destination address is a MAC address indicating broadcast, the higher-level application unit 14 to the ARP request packet.

The ARP processing unit 14b of the higher-level application unit 14 refers to the routing entry of the IP address table and the MAC address table in the storage unit 13 and converts the ARP request into the IP address “158.202.232.2”. The corresponding MAC address "00:
80: BD: F0: 00: 02 "is stored in the sender hardware address to create an ARP response packet.
The RP response packet is transmitted to the terminal device 20 after being transmitted by the transmission processing unit 15.

The storage unit 13 stores, as shown in FIG.
It comprises a MAC address table 13a, an IP address table 13b, a destination parameter table 13c, and a routing table 13d, and the corresponding entries in each table are associated with each other. M
In the AC address table 13a, the routing MAC address, the own device MAC address, “FF: F
F: FF: FF: FF: FF "broadcast MAC address, MA for multicast by application
Each entry of the C address is registered, and Table 1
Each entry in 3a is referred to when the MAC address comparing unit 12 compares with the destination MAC address of the received data frame. The blank entry of the multicast entry in the table 13a indicates that there is no multicast frame entry.

In the IP address table 13b, the IP address corresponding to the routing MAC address and the IP address corresponding to the own device MAC address are registered, and each entry in the table 13b is subjected to ARP processing. The unit 14b sets the target Internet address (IP address) of the ARP request packet
Referenced when comparing with.

An entry is registered in the destination parameter table 13c in which an identifier of the interface and a parameter corresponding to the interface (a parameter for specifying an interface such as an ISDN number or a virtual connection number in ATM) are registered. Each entry in 13c is referred to in the first routing processing unit 16. This entry may be associated with a routing IP address as in this embodiment, but may be added or deleted basically irrespective of the routing IP address.

Also, the routing table 13d includes:
Destination address (network or host address)
, The next hop, the metric value, and the like are registered as main elements, and each entry in the table 13d is
It is referred to in the second routing processing unit 17. This entry has the same meaning as the entry in the conventional routing table, but the next hop is the IP address of the interface for the own device when the networks A and B to which the own device is directly connected are destinations. In the case of networks C and D, which are composed of “158.202.232.1” and “192.52.128.1”, and are not directly connected to the own device, the routing IP addresses of the interfaces “192.52.128.2” and “202.232.158.2” Has become.

Next, the data processing operation of a data frame in the communication data processing apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The terminal device 20 uses the above A
Upon receiving the RP response packet, it creates a data frame and sends it to the router 10. In router 10,
After the reception processing unit 11 performs reception processing on the Ethernet frame received via the interface 1,
The address comparing unit 12 compares the destination address (MAC address) of the frame in the data link layer with each MAC address entered for routing in the MAC address table 13a (step 10).
1).

If the two MAC addresses match, the MAC address comparing unit 12 determines that the Ethernet frame is a data frame for routing, and passes the frame to the first routing processing unit 16. . The first routing processing unit 16 first determines whether there is a corresponding entry by referring to the destination parameter table 13c (step 102). If there is a corresponding entry, the first routing processing unit 16 matches the destination parameter information of that entry. A first routing process for creating a data frame for routing and outputting it to the transmission processing unit 15 is performed (step 103). The transmission processing unit 15 performs transmission processing on the input frame (step 104) and relays the frame via a predetermined interface.

If no entry is found in the destination parameter table 13c in step 102, the first routing processor 16 passes the fetched data frame to the second routing processor 17. The second routing processing unit 17 performs a routing process of creating a data frame for routing and outputting the data frame to the transmission processing unit 15 with reference to the routing table 13d (step 105).

If the destination MAC address in the received frame does not match the routing MAC address in the MAC address table 13a in step 101, the MAC address comparing unit 12 compares the destination MAC address with the MAC address table. 13a is compared with its own, broadcast or multicast MAC address (step 10).
6) If the two MAC addresses do not match, it is determined that the data frame is not a data frame addressed to the own device, and the discard processing unit 18
And the discard processing is performed (step 10).
7).

In step 106, both MACs
If the addresses match, the MAC address comparison unit 1
2 judges that the Ethernet frame is a data frame addressed to the own device, passes the frame to the upper application unit 14, and performs data processing in the network layer (step 108). As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of upper-layer protocol addresses for routing that relays to one physical interface of the router and for the own device whose destination is the own device are separately set, and when transmitting data, Use different MAC addresses corresponding to the upper protocol address (IP address) of. That is, the routing IP address is used when creating the routing information generated by the router, so that the next hop of the routing table for management of the other routers and the own device is the same as the own IP address of the router. Instead, it becomes a routing IP address.
When a data frame is transmitted, the destination MAC address of the frame is used as a data frame for this routing or for its own device, and the data frame is transmitted. By comparing the MAC address in the link layer, it is possible to determine whether the frame is for routing or for its own device, and an efficient determination process for performing routing can be performed.

Further, by applying the method of this embodiment, the router can easily separate the routing function from the host function for management. It becomes possible.
Note that the router according to the present invention may be a router having a plurality of physically connected interfaces connected to a plurality of networks such as a LAN or a dedicated line as shown in FIG. 9, or as shown in FIG. Physically, it has only one interface, but it is also possible to configure an interface having a plurality of logical interfaces by being connected to a plurality of routers via a public network such as an ATM network. In the present invention, the IP address for routing and the IP address for
By setting the respective C addresses, it is possible to simplify the determination process for performing the routing.

Further, in this embodiment, the routing IP address in the IP address table is associated with the interface in the destination parameter table, so that it is optimal for dynamic routing (routing when routing information is dynamically updated). It is. In addition,
The present invention is not limited to this, and the destination address (network or host (including terminal devices and routers connected to the network)) may be added to the parameters of the destination parameter table.
P address), and it is also possible to associate the routing IP address in the IP address table with this destination address. In this case, since a specific network address and a routing IP address are associated with each other, it is effective when communication to a specified network is to be handled separately.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the present invention has an address for its own device and a relay address corresponding to each interface, and determines whether a destination address of a received data frame matches the relay address. Judgment and
An address comparing unit that determines whether or not the destination address matches a device address or a broadcast address or a multicast address including a MAC address based on these MAC addresses; and a routing processing unit that performs a routing process on the data frame. An upper-level application unit that performs an upper-level application process on the data frame, and a transmission processing unit that transmits the data frame from each interface.The address comparison unit first determines that a destination address of the received data frame is the destination address. After determining whether the destination address matches the relay address, if necessary, determining whether the destination address matches the own device address, the broadcast address, or the multicast address is performed. Computing can be simplified determination processing for performing.

In the present invention, the own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include an upper-layer protocol address, and the relay address used for a next hop when exchanging path information includes the upper-layer protocol. Since the address is used and the route information is created and exchanged using the relay address as the next hop, routing processing at the data link layer becomes possible.

Further, in the present invention, the routing processing unit performs a process of specifying an interface to be used for transmission from its own device based on the relay address, so that it is optimal for dynamic routing when routing information is dynamically updated. It will be. Further, in the present invention, the routing processing unit performs a process of specifying an interface used for transmission from the own device by using a MAC address serving as a relay address.
Since it is divided into a first routing processing unit based on an address and a second routing processing unit based on a higher-level protocol serving as a relay address, efficient determination processing for routing can be performed.

Further, according to the present invention, when the terminal device is connected, the MAC address of the corresponding relay address is returned in response to the ARP request from the terminal device. Processing efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a data communication system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a RIP data frame.

FIG. 3 shows the RI shown in FIG. 2 in the case of RIP version 1
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a P data area.

FIG. 4 shows the RI shown in FIG. 2 in the case of RIP version 2
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a P data area.

5 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication data processing device of the router shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an ARP request packet.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a table configuration of a storage unit illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing operation of the communication data processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection of the router illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the connection of the router.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a general network.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 30, 40 router 11 reception processing unit 12 MAC address comparison unit 13 storage unit 14 upper application unit 15 transmission processing unit 16 first routing processing unit 17 second routing processing unit 18 discard processing unit 20 to 23 terminal device ( Computer) AD Network

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A communication data processing method in an inter-network connection device, wherein the inter-network connection device has its own device address and a relay address corresponding to each interface,
When a data frame is received, it is determined whether or not the destination address of the data frame matches the relay address. If the data frame is matched, routing processing of the data frame is performed. A determination is made as to whether the address matches the own device address or the broadcast address or the multicast address. If any of the addresses matches, the upper application processing is performed on the data frame. A method of processing communication data in an internetwork connecting device, comprising: 2. The network connection according to claim 1, wherein the own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include a MAC address, and each of the determinations is based on the MAC address. Communication data processing method in the device. 3. The exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, when exchanging path information, the inter-network connecting apparatus creates and exchanges the path information using the relay address as a next hop. A communication data processing method in a network connection device. 4. The own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include a higher-order protocol address, and the higher-order protocol address is included in a relay address used as a next hop when exchanging path information. The communication data processing method in the network connection device according to claim 3, wherein the communication data processing method is used. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing process includes a process of specifying an interface used for transmission from the own device based on the relay address.
A communication data processing method in the network connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The process of specifying an interface to be used for transmission from the own device based on the relay address first specifies the relay MAC address, and if not specified, specifies the relay higher-layer protocol address. 6. The communication data processing method in an inter-network connection device according to claim 5, wherein: 7. A terminal device is connected to the network connecting device, and the network connecting device includes:
7. The communication data processing method according to claim 1, wherein a MAC address of a corresponding relay address is returned in response to an ARP request from the terminal device. 8. It has an own device address and a relay address corresponding to each interface, determines whether a destination address of a received data frame matches the relay address, and checks whether the destination address is the own device. An address comparing unit for determining whether the address matches a use address, a broadcast address, or a multicast address; a routing processing unit for performing a routing process of the data frame; and a high-order application for performing a high-order application process for the data frame. And a transmission processing unit for transmitting the data frame from each interface. The address comparing unit first determines whether a destination address of the received data frame matches the relay address. , If necessary Address network connecting unit, wherein a determining whether to meet the own device address or broadcast address or multicast address. 9. The own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include a MAC address.
9. The network connection device according to claim 8, wherein the device is based on an AC address. 10. The network connection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when exchanging path information, the path information is created and exchanged using the relay address as a next hop. 11. The own device address, the relay address, and the destination address each include an upper protocol address, and the relay address used for a next hop when exchanging path information includes the upper protocol address. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
0. The network connection device according to item 0. 12. The network connection device according to claim 8, wherein the routing processing unit performs a process of specifying an interface used for transmission from the own device based on the relay address. . 13. The routing processing unit according to claim 1, further comprising:
First performed by MAC address serving as relay address
13. The network connection device according to claim 12, wherein the network processing device is divided into a routing processing unit of the first embodiment and a second routing processing unit that performs the processing according to a higher-level protocol serving as a relay address. 14. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein, when a terminal device is connected, a MAC address of the corresponding relay address is returned in response to an ARP request from the terminal device. 2. The network connection device according to item 1.