KR102339426B1 - Method for applying flow rule in Software Defined Networking environment and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for collectively applying a flow rule to each SDN domain in an SDN environment. According to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for applying a flow rule to each SDN domain in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) environment includes: a rule application unit configured to transmit a dummy flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain; and an activation time calculation unit configured to set an activation time of the actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times when the required time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in the domain is received from the SDN controller of each domain. do. The rule application unit transmits the set activation time and the actual flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain, and applies the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time.

Description

Method for applying flow rule in Software Defined Networking environment and apparatus therefor in SDN environment

The present invention relates to a method of applying a flow rule in an SDN environment, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for collectively applying a flow rule to each SDN domain in an SDN environment.

SDN (Software Defined Networking) technology refers to a technology that can conveniently process network path setting, control, and operation management through software programming. In the SDN environment, network equipment is divided into a data plane and a control plane, and processing related to management, monitoring, and control of network equipment is performed in real time.

The SDN controller corresponding to the control plane uses the international standard Open Flow protocol for communication between network devices. That is, the SDN controller transmits a specific flow rule to the switches belonging to the data plane to create a service function chain (SFC) on the network, and the switches based on the flow rule they receive An action is performed according to a specific set of rules. For example, based on the flow rule, the switches transfer the incoming packet to another switch, or when a packet of an undefined rule comes in, the switch performs an operation of forwarding it to the upper controller. Furthermore, switches are capable of coping with real-time failures by detecting switch status information (flow rule information for each switch, UP/Down status for each port, Tx/Rx traffic throughput, transmission speed, etc.) in real time based on the flow rule. . A switch and a router supporting the Open Flow Rule may be existing physical devices, and a virtual switch such as an Open Virtual Switch (OVS) may also be a target of the control.

However, in a large-scale SDN environment, a plurality of SDN domains may exist according to a region or a service type. In such a large-scale SDN environment, a situation may arise where the changed flow rule is applied to the switch device already built in each domain. However, when the changed flow rule is transmitted to each domain, it is applied with a different time difference for each SDN domain. That is, the physical distance for each SDN domain is different (that is, the time to receive the changed flow rule is different), there may be a difference in hardware performance, and also there may be a difference in the amount of traffic currently being processed. Even when a new flow rule is received, a difference occurs at the time of applying the new flow rule for each domain for each SDN.

If the time of applying the new flow rule occurs for each SDN domain, there is a problem in that the service provider may lose the reliability of the service policy.

The present invention has been proposed to solve these conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a flow rule application method and system in an SDN environment that maintains service consistency by collectively applying flow rules at the same time for each SDN domain. .

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be understood by the following description, and will become more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the appended claims.

According to the first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, an apparatus for applying a flow rule to each SDN domain in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) environment according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: a rule applying unit for transmitting a dummy flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain; When the time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in the domain is received from the SDN controller of each domain, an activation time calculation unit configured to set the activation time of the actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received time required; , the rule application unit transmits the set activation time and the actual flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain, and applies the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for applying a flow rule in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) environment according to a second aspect of the present invention includes: transmitting, by an orchestrator, a dummy flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain; receiving, by the orchestrator, a time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in a domain from an SDN controller of each domain; setting, by the orchestrator, an activation time of an actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times; and transmitting the activation time set by the orchestrator and the actual flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain, and applying the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time.

The present invention predicts the longest time for which a flow rule is applied among SDN domains in consideration of the characteristics of each SDN domain, and has the effect of collectively applying the flow rules in each SDN domain at the rule activation time set based on the longest time have.

In addition, the present invention has the advantage of improving service consistency and reliability by removing the existing phenomenon that a new flow rule is applied to each SDN domain with a time difference.

The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with specific details for carrying out the invention, so the present invention is described in the drawings It should not be construed as being limited only to the matters.
1 is a diagram illustrating a system for applying a flow rule in a large-scale SDN environment, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of calculating a rule activation time in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of collectively applying a new flow rule to a network device in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for collectively applying a change flow rule to a network device in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The above-described objects, features, and advantages will become more apparent through the following detailed description in relation to the accompanying drawings, whereby those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. There will be. In addition, in the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system for applying a flow rule in a large-scale SDN environment, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the flow rule application system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of SDN domains 200 , 300 , 400 and an SDN orchestrator 100 .

Each SDN domain may be installed in different regions, and may be logically divided according to service types or functions. For example, SDN domain #1 (200) is responsible for SDN service in region A, SDN domain #2 (300) is in charge of SDN service in region B, and SDN domain #3 (400) provides SDN service in region C can be in charge

Each of the SDN domains 200 , 300 , and 400 includes the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 , and includes a plurality of network devices (NEs: Network Equipment). The network device is a device that establishes a packet route and processes a packet, such as a switch or a router. Also, the network device may be a physical switch device or a router, or may be a virtual network device. When the network device is implemented virtually, a function of the network device may be mounted in the cloud computing system in the form of a virtual machine.

The network device NE stores a rule table in which a flow rule ID and a flow rule are mapped, and processes an incoming packet based on the flow rule stored in the rule table. That is, the network device sets the packet transmission path based on the flow rule and sets the bandwidth for each port. In addition, the network device may discard a specific packet according to a flow rule, or allocate a large amount of relative resources to the specific packet to preferentially process the corresponding packet. In addition, each network device continuously delivers its status information to the SDN controller belonging to the same domain as itself. In particular, when the network device receives a flow rule from the SDN controller, the network device records the flow rule in the rule table, and then transmits an application success message to the SDN controller indicating that the flow rule application is successful. In particular, when the network device NE receives a rule activation time and a flow rule, the network device NE records the flow rule in the rule table, but deactivates the flow rule (that is, does not process the packet according to the flow rule), and then activates the rule By monitoring whether a time has arrived, when the activation time arrives, the flow rule is activated to process a packet according to the flow rule.

When a new flow rule or a changed flow rule is received, the network device NE records the new flow rule or the changed flow rule in a rule table. Here, the new flow rule is a flow rule that is newly applied without changing the existing flow, and is generated by the SDN orchestrator 100 when a service for a new customer is required or when a new service is additionally requested from an existing customer. In addition, the change flow rule is a flow rule used when updating an already applied flow rule, and may be generated by the SDN orchestrator 100 when a service is changed according to a request of an existing customer.

Meanwhile, the network device NE may mix the old version of the flow rule (ie, the flow rule before the change) and the new version of the rule (ie, the changed flow rule). At this time, the network device NE compares the packet inflow time and the rule activation time, and applies the old version of the flow rule if the packet inflow time is before the rule activation time, and if the packet inflow time is after the rule activation time, the The new version of the flow rule is applied. In addition, the network device NE may delete the old version of the rule from the management table when a predetermined time (eg, 30 minutes) has elapsed from the rule activation time.

The SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 are devices for monitoring and managing network devices belonging to the same domain, and may be implemented in a physical form or mounted in a cloud computing system in the form of a virtual machine. The SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 receive status information from each network device belonging to the same domain, and monitor the traffic amount for each network device, the port status, the data throughput for each port, and the like.

When the SDN controller (210, 310, 410) receives the new/change flow rule from the SDN orchestrator 100, it transmits the new/change flow rule to the network device (NE), so that the new/change flow rule is transmitted from the network device. make it apply In addition, when receiving the dummy flow rule from the SDN orchestrator 100 , the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 apply the dummy flow rule to the network device, and check the time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in the network device and reports to the SDN orchestrator 100 .

The dummy flow rule is generated by the SDN orchestrator 100 as a test type flow rule for calculating the time required for the flow rule to be applied in the network device without affecting packet processing at all in the network device. For example, the dummy flow rule may be a flow rule for processing a packet related to a substantially unused port. In other words, even if the dummy flow rule is applied by the network device, the amount of traffic or the performance of the network device is maintained without change according to the dummy flow rule.

The SDN orchestrator 100 is a flow rule application device, and controls each SDN controller 210 , 310 , and 410 included in each SDN domain 200 , 300 , and 400 to control the overall SDN service. That is, the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 manage network devices of their domains, and the SDN orchestrator 100 controls the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , 410 to control and manage the overall SDN service. do. The SDN orchestrator 100 may control a service applied to each SDN domain 200 , 300 , 400 by managing a flow rule applied to each SDN domain.

The SDN orchestrator 100 checks the network device that takes the longest time for the flow rule to be applied when there is a flow rule that needs to be newly applied or modified, and the amount of time it takes for this network device to apply the flow rule A predetermined time is added to the time to calculate the activation time of the flow rule. In addition, the SDN orchestrator 100 transmits a rule application message including the rule activation time and change or new flow rule to the controller of the corresponding SDN domain, respectively, so that at the rule activation time, the new/changed flow rules are collectively control to be applied.

2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The SDN orchestrator 100 may include a memory, a memory controller, one or more processors (CPU), a peripheral interface, an input/output (I/O) subsystem, a display device, an input device, and communication circuitry. These components communicate via one or more communication buses or signal lines. These various components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

The memory may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include one or more magnetic disk storage devices, non-volatile memories such as flash memory devices, or other non-volatile semiconductor memory devices. In some embodiments, the memory comprises storage devices located remotely from one or more processors, such as RF circuitry, the Internet, intranets, local area networks (LANs), wide LANs (WLANs), storage area networks (SANs), etc.; or a network attached storage device accessed via a communication network (not shown), such as a suitable combination thereof. Access to the memory by other components of the device, such as the processor and peripheral interface, may be controlled by the memory controller.

Peripheral interfaces connect the device's input/output peripherals to the processor and memory. One or more processors execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory to perform various functions for the system and process data.

In some embodiments, the peripheral interface, processor, and memory controller may be implemented on a single chip, such as a chip. In some other embodiments, they may be implemented as separate chips.

The I/O subsystem provides an interface between the input/output peripherals of devices such as display devices and input devices and the peripheral interfaces.

The display device may use a liquid crystal display (LCD) technology or a light emitting polymer display (LPD) technology, and the display device may be a touch display such as a capacitive type, a resistive type, or an infrared type. The touch display provides an output interface and an input interface between the system and the user. The touch display presents a visual output to the user. The visual output may include text, graphics, video, and combinations thereof. Some or all of the visual output may correspond to a user interface object. The touch display forms a touch-sensitive surface that receives user input.

A processor is a processor configured to perform an operation associated with a system and perform instructions, for example, using instructions retrieved from a memory, to control reception and manipulation of input and output data between components of the system.

In some embodiments, the software component is loaded with (installed) an operating system, a graphics module (instruction set), and a program for performing operations for the present invention.

The operating system may be, for example, a built-in operating system such as Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS or VxWorks, Android, iOS, etc., and performs general system tasks (eg, memory management). , storage device control, power management, etc.) to control and manage various software components and/or devices, and facilitate communication between the various hardware and software components.

The graphics module includes several well-known software components for providing and displaying graphics on a display device. The term "graphics" refers to any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (eg, user interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like. include

As shown in FIG. 2 , the SDN orchestrator 100 includes a storage unit 110 , a device identification unit 120 , an activation time calculation unit 130 , and a rule application unit 140 , which include the hardware described above. or/and may be implemented by a combination of software, implemented as software, stored in a memory, and executed by a processor.

The storage unit 110 stores domain identification information related to a service function chain (SFC) and chain information to which network device identification information is mapped. The SFC abstracts functions necessary to execute a specific service (eg, firewall service, network address translation service, private network service, etc.) and an application sequence between them, and the storage unit 110 is related to each SFC to provide networking services. It stores domain identification information and network device identification information that provides Also, the storage unit 110 stores a management table in which the flow rule identification information and the flow rule are recorded separately for each network device.

The device identification unit 120 performs a function of identifying an SDN domain and a network device related to a specific SFC based on chain information of the storage unit 110 . Specifically, when receiving a newly created or changed Service Function Chain (SFC), the device identification unit 120 identifies domain identification information and network device identification information related to the SFC from the chain information of the storage unit 110 .

The activation time calculation unit 130 calculates an activation time at which the actual rule is applied, based on the required time for applying the dummy rule of each network device. Specifically, when the dummy flow rule is transmitted to each SDN controller 210 , 310 , 410 , the activation time calculation unit 130 receives the dummy rule application time required for each network device from each SDN controller 210 , 310 , 410 . And, by adding a preset time to the required time for applying the dummy rule having the longest time among them, the rule activation time is calculated.

The rule application unit 140 transmits a dummy flow rule or an actual flow rule to the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 . That is, the rule application unit 140 transmits the dummy flow rule to the SDN controllers 210 , 310 , and 410 of the domains 200 , 300 , 400 related to the new/modified SFC. In addition, the rule application unit 140 transmits a rule application message including the rule activation time and new/change flow rule to the SDN controllers 210, 310, 410 of the corresponding domains 200, 300, 400, and the rule It controls that the new/change flow rule is applied at the time of activation.

On the other hand, when the flow rule is changed, the rule application unit 140 checks the identification information of the old version of the flow rule before the change in the management table of the storage unit 110, and the identification information of the new version of the flow rule. It is newly created and recorded in the rule table by associating the flow rule of the new version with the flow rule identification information of the new version. In addition, the rule application unit 140 transmits a rule application message including the identification information of the old version of the flow rule, the identification information of the new version of the flow rule, the new version of the flow rule and the rule activation time to the domains 200 and 300 . , 400) to the SDN controllers 210, 310, and 410, so that the old version of the flow rule and the new version of the flow rule are mixed in each SDN domain for a certain period of time (ie, expiration time).

A method in which the flow rule is collectively applied through the orchestrator 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 .

In the description with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 , network device #1-1 (220-1) of SDN domain #1 (200), network device #2-2 (320-2) of SDN domain #2 (300), and It is assumed that network device #3-1 (420-1) and network device #3-2 (420-2) of SDN domain #3 (400) are target devices to which a new or changed flow rule is applied.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of calculating a rule activation time in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the device identification unit 120 of the orchestrator 100 receives a newly created or changed Service Function Chain (SFC) from the manager (S301). Then, the device identification unit 120 of the orchestrator 100 identifies the domain identification information and the network device identification information related to the SFC in the chain information of the storage unit 110 (S303). In FIG. 3 , the device identification unit 120 identifies the domains related to the SFC as the SDN domain #1 200 , the SDN domain #2 300 , and the SDN domain #3 400 , and a network device related to the SFC. is network device #1-1 (220-1), network device #2-2 (320-2), network device #3-1 (420-1), and network device #3-2 (420-2). explained.

Next, the rule application unit 140 transmits the dummy flow rule to each of the SDN controller #1 210, SDN controller #2 310, and SDN controller #3 410 belonging to the identified network domain (S305, S307, S309). In this case, the rule application unit 140 transmits identification information of a network device belonging to the same domain to the corresponding SDN controller. That is, the rule application unit 140 transmits the identification information of the network device #1-1 (220-1) to the SDN controller #1 (210), and transmits the identification information of the network device #2-2 (320-2) to the SDN controller #1 (210). Transmits to SDN controller #2 (310), and transmits identification information of network device #3-1 (420-1) and identification information of network device #3-2 (420-2) to SDN controller #3 (410) Thus, the dummy flow rule is applied in the designated network device.

Then, the SDN controller #1 (210) causes the network device #1-1 (220-1) to apply the dummy flow rule. That is, the SDN controller #1 (210) transmits the dummy flow rule to the network device #1-1 (220-1) (S311), and the network device #1-1 (220-1) applies the dummy flow rule to the rule. After writing to the table and applying the dummy flow rule, if the application is successful, an application success message is transmitted to the SDN controller #1 (210) (S313). Next, the SDN controller #1 (210) checks the time required for the dummy flow rule to complete application in the network device #1-1 (220-1) (S315), and then the network device #1-1 (220-1) 220-1) reports the required time for applying the dummy flow rule to the SDN orchestrator 100 (S317). At this time, the SDN controller #1 (210) counts the time between the time when the dummy flow rule is transmitted to the network device #1-1 (220-1) and the time when the application success message is received, and the application of the dummy flow rule is required time can be calculated.

Similarly, the SDN controller #2 (310) transmits a dummy flow rule to the network device #2-2 (320-2) (S319), and the network device #2-2 (320-2) transmits the dummy flow rule to the rule After writing to the table and applying it, if the application is successful, an application success message is transmitted to the SDN controller #2 (310) (S321). Then, the SDN controller #2 (310) checks the time it takes for the dummy flow rule to complete application in the network device #2-2 (320-2) (S323), and then the network device #2-2 ( 320-2), the required time for applying the dummy flow rule is reported to the SDN orchestrator 100 (S325). At this time, the SDN controller #2 (310) counts the time between when the dummy flow rule is transmitted to the network device #2-2 (320-2) and the time when the application success message is received, and the required time for applying the dummy flow rule can be calculated.

In addition, the SDN controller #3 (410) transmits the dummy flow rule to each of the network devices #3-1 (420-1) and #3-2 (420-2) (S327 and S329). Then, the network device #3-1 (420-1) writes and applies the dummy flow rule in the rule table, and if the application is successful, transmits an application success message to the SDN controller #3 (410) (S331), and the network device #3-2 (420-2) records and applies the dummy flow rule in the rule table, and when the application is successful, transmits an application success message to the SDN controller #3 (410) (S333). The SDN controller #3 (410) checks the time it takes for the dummy flow rule to complete application in each of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2), (S335), the dummy flow rule completion time of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the dummy flow rule application time of the network device #3-2 (420-2) are reported to the SDN orchestrator 100 do (S337).

Next, upon receiving a report of the required time for applying the dummy flow rule to all network devices related to the SFC change, the activation time calculation unit 130 of the SDN orchestrator 100 checks the longest time among the required times (S339). Next, the activation time calculation unit 130 adds a preset time to the longest time and calculates a rule activation time to which the actual flow rule is applied based on the added time ( S341 ). In this case, the activation time calculation unit 130 may calculate a future time at which the added time to the current time elapses as the rule activation time. That is, the activation time calculation unit 130 checks the required time for applying the dummy flow rule to the network device that applies the dummy flow rule the latest, and activates the rule based on the total time obtained by adding a preset delay time to the required time. Set the time.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of collectively applying a new flow rule to a network device in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The process according to FIG. 4 follows the process according to FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the rule application unit 140 of the SDN orchestrator 100 determines a new flow rule for implementing the SFC by checking the new SFC received from the manager in step S301 . In addition, the rule application unit 140 allocates identification information for the new flow rule, maps the new flow rule and the new flow rule identification information to a management table of the storage unit 110 and stores it. Next, the rule application unit 140 transmits the rule application message including the new flow rule, identification information of the new flow rule, and the set rule activation time (T _action ) to the SDN controller #1 (210), SDN controller #2 ( 310) and SDN controller #3 (410), respectively (S401, S403, and S405). At this time, the rule application unit 140 of the SDN orchestrator 100 records the identification information of the network device to which the rule is applied in the rule application message. That is, the rule application unit 140 transmits the rule application message including the identification information of the network device #1-1 (220-1) to the SDN controller #1 (210), and the network device #2-2 (320-) The rule application message including the identification information of 2) is transmitted to the SDN controller #2 (310), and the identification information of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2) are A rule application message including identification information is transmitted to the SDN controller #3 (410).

Then, the SDN controller #1 (210), SDN controller #2 (310), and SDN controller #3 (410) each check the new flow rule, new flow rule identification information and network device identification information included in the rule application message, and , a new flow rule, new flow rule identification information, and a rule activation time T _action are transmitted to the network device corresponding to the identification information (S407). That is, the SDN controller #1 210 transmits the new flow rule, the new flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time T _action to the network device #1-1 220-1 (S407a), and the SDN controller #2 The 310 transmits the new flow rule, the new flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time T _action to the network device #2-2 (320-2) (S407b). In addition, the SDN controller #3 (410) transmits the new flow rule, the new flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time (T _action ) to the network device #3-1 (420-1), the network device #3-2 (420-2). ) are transmitted to each (S407c, S407d).

Next, the network device #1-1 (220-1), the network device #2-2 (320-2), the network device #3-1 (420-1), and the network device #3- that have received the new flow rule Each of the 2 420-2 maps and stores the new flow rule and the new flow rule identification information in its own rule table (S409a, S409b, S409c, S409d). At this time, each of the network devices 220-1, 320-2, 420-1, and 420-2, upon receiving the rule activation time, deactivates the new flow rule, and does not immediately apply the new flow rule. packet processing according to the new flow rule is suspended.

Next, the network device #1-1 (220-1), the network device #2-2 (320-2), the network device #3-1 (420-1), and the network device #3- that have received the new flow rule Each of the 2 420-2 monitors whether the rule activation time has arrived (S411a, S411b, S411c, S411d).

Subsequently, when the storage of the new flow rule is completed in the corresponding network device, each of the SDN controller #1 210 , SDN controller # 2 310 , and SDN controller # 3 410 receives an application success message from the network device. It can be (S413). That is, the SDN controller #1 210 may receive a rule application success message from the network device #1-1 220-1 that has completed storing the new flow rule (S413a), and the SDN controller #2 (310) may receive a rule application success message from the network device #2-2 (320-2) that has completed storing the new flow rule (S413b). In addition, the SDN controller #3 (410) receives a rule application success message from each of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2) that have completed the storage of the new flow rule. It can be done (S413c, S413d). In addition, each of SDN controller #1, SDN controller #2 310, and SDN controller #3 410 may transmit a rule application success message to the SDN orchestrator 100 (S415a, S415b, S415c).

Meanwhile, when the rule activation time arrives, network device #1-1 (220-1), network device #2-2 (320-2), network device #3-1 (420-1), and network device #3 Each of -2 ( 420 - 2 ) activates the deactivated new flow rule and simultaneously applies the new flow rule ( S417 ). That is, when the rule activation time arrives, the network device #1-1 (220-1) activates the deactivated flow rule recorded in the rule table, and then performs packet processing according to the flow rule (S417a), and the network Device #2-2 (320-2) also activates the inactivated flow rule recorded in the rule table and performs packet processing according to the flow rule (S417b). Similarly, the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2) also activate the deactivated flow rule recorded in the rule table, and then perform packet processing according to the flow rule. (S417c, S417d).

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, it has been described that each network device reports a rule application success message to the SDN controller after recording the new flow rule in the rule table. Thereafter, a rule application success message may be transmitted to the SDN controller.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for collectively applying a change flow rule to a network device in an SDN orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The process according to FIG. 5 follows the process according to FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , the rule application unit 140 of the SDN orchestrator 100 checks the changed SFC received from the manager in step S301 , and determines a changed flow rule for implementing the SFC. And the rule application unit 140 allocates identification information for the change flow rule (that is, the new version of the flow rule), and maps the change flow rule and the change flow rule identification information to the management table of the storage unit 110, Save. Next, the rule application unit 140 checks the identification information of the old version of the flow rule being applied before the new version of the flow rule is applied in the management table (S501).

Next, the rule application unit 140 changes flow rule (ie, new version of the flow rule), changed flow rule identification information (ie, new version of the flow rule identification information), the old version of the flow rule identification information and the setting A rule application message including one rule activation time (T _action ) is transmitted to the SDN controller #1 210, SDN controller #2 310, and SDN controller #3 410, respectively (S503, S505, S507). At this time, the rule application unit 140 of the SDN orchestrator 100 records the identification information of the network device to which the rule is applied in the rule application message. That is, the rule application unit 140 transmits the rule application message including the identification information of the network device #1-1 (220-1) to the SDN controller #1 (210), and the network device #2-2 (320-) The rule application message including the identification information of 2) is transmitted to the SDN controller #2 (310), and the identification information of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2) are A rule application message including identification information is transmitted to the SDN controller #3 (410).

Next, the SDN controller #1 210 , the SDN controller #2 310 , and the SDN controller #3 410 each check the network device identification information included in the rule application message, and change to a network device corresponding to the identification information. The flow rule (ie, the new version of the flow rule), the new version of the flow rule identification information, the old version of the flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time (T _action ) are transmitted (S509). That is, the SDN controller #1 210 transmits the changed flow rule (ie, the new version of the flow rule), the new version of the flow rule identification information, the old version of the flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time (T _action ) to the network device# 1-1 (220-1) (S509a), the SDN controller #2 (310) identifies the changed flow rule (ie, the new version of the flow rule), the new version of the flow rule identification information, and the old version of the flow rule The information and the rule activation time T _action are transmitted to the network device #2-2 (320-2) (S509b). In addition, the SDN controller #3 (410) transmits the change flow rule (ie, the new version of the flow rule), the new version of the flow rule identification information, the old version of the flow rule identification information, and the rule activation time (T _action ) to the network device# 3-1 (420-1) and network device #3-2 (420-2) respectively (S509c, S509d).

Next, the network device #1-1 (220-1), the network device #2-2 (320-2), the network device #3-1 (420-1), and the network device #3- that have received the change flow rule Each of the 2 420-2 maps and stores the changed flow rule (ie, the new version of the flow rule) and the changed flow rule identification information in its own rule table (S511a, S511b, S511c, S511d). At this time, each of the network devices 220-1, 320-2, 420-1, 420-2, upon receiving the rule activation time, inactivates the change flow rule without immediately applying the change flow rule. The practical application of the modified flow rule is suspended, and the packet is continuously processed according to the old version of the flow rule.

Next, the network device #1-1 (220-1), the network device #2-2 (320-2), the network device #3-1 (420-1), and the network device #3- that have received the change flow rule Each of the 2 ( 420 - 2 ) checks the rule activation time and monitors whether the rule activation time has arrived ( S513a , S513b , S513c , S513d ).

When the storage of the change flow rule in the network device is completed, each of the SDN controller #1 210, SDN controller #2 310, and SDN controller #3 410 may receive an application success message from the network device ( S515). That is, the SDN controller #1 (210) may receive a rule application success message from the network device #1-1 (220-1) that has completed storing the change flow rule (S515a), and the SDN controller #2 (310) may receive a rule application success message from the network device #2-2 (320-2) that has completed saving the changed flow rule (S515b). In addition, the SDN controller #3 (410) receives a rule application success message from each of the network device #3-1 (420-1) and the network device #3-2 (420-2) that have completed saving the change flow rule. It can be (S515c, S515d). Then, each of the SDN controller #1, SDN controller #2 310, and SDN controller #3 410 may transmit a rule application success message to the SDN orchestrator 100 (S517a, S517b, S517c).

Meanwhile, when the rule activation time arrives, network device #1-1 (220-1), network device #2-2 (320-2), network device #3-1 (420-1), and network device #3 Each of -2 ( 420 - 2 ) activates an inactivated change flow rule (ie, a new version of a flow rule) to simultaneously apply the change flow rule ( S519 ). That is, when the rule activation time arrives, the network device #1-1 (220-1) activates the inactivated change flow rule recorded in the rule table, and then performs packet processing according to the change flow rule (S517a) , the network device #2-2 (320-2) also activates the inactive modified flow rule recorded in the rule table to process the packet according to the modified flow rule (S519b). Similarly, network device #3-1 (420-1) and network device #3-2 (420-2) also activate the inactive changed flow rule recorded in the rule table, and then perform packet processing according to the changed flow rule. performed (S519c, S519d). In this case, each network device does not immediately delete the old version of the flow rule from the rule table, but mixes the old version of the flow rule with the new version of the flow rule for a preset time (ie, expiration time). If the packet arrival time is before the rule activation time, the old version of the flow rule is applied to process the packet. If the packet arrival time is after the rule activation time, the new version of the flow rule is applied to create a flow rule. handle

Next, when a certain expiration time elapses after the rule activation time, each network device to which the change flow rule has been applied deletes the old version of the flow rule and the old version of the flow rule identification information from their rule table, The flow rule of the new version is applied without applying the flow rule of the version (S521a, S521b, S521c, S521d). The network devices may identify an old version flow rule to be deleted based on the old version flow rule identification information received from the SDN controller and delete it from the rule table. Each network device can count the expiration time by itself, and delete the old version of the flow rule and the old version of the flow rule identification information from the table. In addition, the SDN orchestrator 100 or the SDN controller counts the expiration time, and when the expiration time elapses, it instructs the corresponding network device to delete the old version flow rule, and the network device Flow rules and flow rule identification information can be deleted. In addition, the rule application unit 140 of the SDN orchestrator 100 may delete the recorded old version flow rule and old version flow rule identification information from the management table of the storage unit 110 after the expiration time. .

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, it has been described that each network device reports a rule application success message to the SDN controller after recording the change flow rule in the rule table. Thereafter, a rule application success message may be transmitted to the SDN controller.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the required time until the dummy flow rule is applied is analyzed for each network device, and a new or changed flow rule is performed based on the required time having the most delayed required time among network devices. By determining the activation time of , the new/modified flow rule is applied in each SDN domain at the activation time collectively.

While this specification contains many features, such features should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention or the claims. Also, features described in individual embodiments herein may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described herein in a single embodiment may be implemented in various embodiments individually, or may be implemented in appropriate combination.

Although acts are described in a particular order in the drawings, it should not be understood that the acts are performed in the particular order as shown, or that all of the described acts are performed in a continuous order, or to obtain a desired result. . Multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous in certain circumstances. In addition, it should be understood that the division of various system components in the above-described embodiments does not require such division in all embodiments. The program components and systems described above may generally be implemented as a package in a single software product or multiple software products.

The method of the present invention as described above may be implemented as a program and stored in a computer-readable form in a recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.). Since this process can be easily performed by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, it will not be described in detail any longer.

The present invention described above, for those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, various substitutions, modifications and changes are possible within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It is not limited by the drawings.

100: SDN orchestrator 110: storage
120: device identification unit 130: activation time calculation unit
140: rule application unit
200,300,400 : SDN domain 210, 310, 410 : SDN controller
220, 320, 420: network device

Claims (12)

delete A device that applies a flow rule to each SDN domain in an SDN (Software Defined Networking) environment,
a rule application unit for transmitting the dummy flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain;
When the time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied by the network device in each domain is received from the SDN controller of each domain, the activation time for setting the activation time of the actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times calculator; and
Including; a device identification unit for identifying one or more network devices to which the actual flow rule is applied;
The rule application unit transmits the set activation time and the actual flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain, and applies the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time, the SDN of the domain to which the identified network device belongs Flow rule application device, characterized in that for transmitting the dummy flow rule to a controller. 3. The method of claim 2,
The activation time calculation unit,
and receiving the required time from the SDN controller of each domain that measures the time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in the identified network device. A device that applies a flow rule to each SDN domain in an SDN (Software Defined Networking) environment,
a rule application unit for transmitting the dummy flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain; and
When the time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied by the network device in each domain is received from the SDN controller of each domain, the activation time for setting the activation time of the actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times a calculation unit; including;
The rule application unit transmits the set activation time and the actual flow rule to the SDN controller of each domain, and applies the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time,
The rule application unit, if the actual flow rule is a change flow rule that changes the existing flow rule, determines the new version of the flow rule, confirms the identification information of the old version of the flow rule, the old version of the flow rule The flow rule application device, characterized in that by transmitting identification information and the new version of the flow rule to the SDN controller, the old version of the flow rule and the new version of the flow rule are mixed during an expiration time. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The activation time calculation unit,
A flow rule application device, characterized in that the activation time of the actual flow rule is set by adding a predetermined time to the longest required time. delete A method of applying a flow rule in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) environment, comprising:
transmitting, by the orchestrator, a dummy flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain;
receiving, by the orchestrator, a time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in a network device in each domain from an SDN controller in each domain;
setting, by the orchestrator, an activation time of an actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times;
transmitting the activation time set by the orchestrator and the actual flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain, and applying the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time; and
Including, by the SDN controller of each domain, transmitting the dummy flow rule to a network device that it manages, and checking a time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in the network device;
The receiving comprises receiving, from the SDN controller of each domain, the required time required for applying the dummy flow rule in the network device. A method of applying a flow rule in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) environment, comprising:
transmitting, by the orchestrator, a dummy flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain;
receiving, by the orchestrator, a time required for the dummy flow rule to be applied in a network device in each domain from an SDN controller in each domain;
setting, by the orchestrator, an activation time of an actual flow rule based on the longest required time among the received required times;
transmitting the activation time set by the orchestrator and the actual flow rule to an SDN controller of each domain, and applying the actual flow rule to each domain at the activation time;
transmitting, by the SDN controller of each domain, the actual flow rule and the activation time to a network device that it manages; and
The network device that has received the activation time and the actual flow rule stores the actual flow rule, but deactivates it, and when the activation time arrives, activates the actual flow rule to process the packet based on the actual flow rule Step; flow rule application method comprising the. 9. The method of claim 8,
determining, by the orchestrator, if the actual flow rule is a change flow rule that changes the existing flow rule, determining a new version of the flow rule, and confirming identification information of the old version of the flow rule; and
Transmitting, by the orchestrator, identification information of the old version of the flow rule and the new version of the flow rule to the SDN controller, mixing the old version of the flow with the new version of the flow rule during an expiration time; Flow rule application method, characterized in that. 10. The method of claim 9,
The network device, which has received the old version of the flow rule identification information and the new version of the rule, applies the new version rule to the packets introduced after the activation time, and converts the packets introduced before the activation time into the old version. A flow rule application method comprising; applying a version of the flow rule. 11. The method of claim 10,
After the step of applying the old version of the flow rule,
The method further comprising: the network device receiving the old version of the flow rule identification information and the new version of the rule, checking whether the expiration time has elapsed, and removing the old version of the flow rule when the expiration time has elapsed; How to apply the flow rule with 12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
Setting the activation time comprises:
A method of applying a flow rule, characterized in that the activation time of the actual flow rule is set by adding a predetermined time to the longest required time.

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