KR20080105959A - Operational status testing apparatus and method for ethernet automatic protection switching process - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for testing the operation of an Ethernet-based APS process and a method thereof are provided to be utilized in case a special response which deviates from operational principles of the existing APS process is needed. An apparatus for testing the operation of an APS process comprises the followings: a received signal filtering portion(310) which filters a test instruction signal for commanding to test the operation of the APS process in the first node and the second test response signal for showing that the operation of the APS process in the second node is normal, and then generates the first test response signal for showing that the operation of the APS process in the first node is normal; a highest priority part request selection part(320) which selects the highest priority part request signal; and an output signal deciding unit(332) which determines a output signal to be transmitted to the second node.

Description

Operational test apparatus and method of Ethernet-based ASP process {Operational Status Testing Apparatus and Method for Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching Process}

The present invention relates to an operation test apparatus and method of an Ethernet-based APS process, and more particularly, to supplement the function of the operation state test function and the protection state maintenance function of the automatic protection transfer process specified in ITU-T Recommendation G.8031. The present invention relates to an improved operation test apparatus and method.

The present invention is derived from a study conducted as part of the IT new growth engine core technology development project of the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Ministry of Information and Communication Research and Development. [Task Management Number: 2006-S-061-02, IPv6 based Qos service and terminal mobility support] Router technology development].

Protection Switching is the creation of one or more connection paths to provide a reliable connection between two networked nodes so that they can communicate using protected protection paths that have been established in the event of a failure in the usual connection paths. do.

Ethernet protection switching is defined in ITU-T Recommendations G.8031 and G.8032. Here, G.8031 defines the protection switching method for the Ethernet point-to-point connection, and G.8032 defines the protection switching method for the Ethernet ring connection. The present invention relates to a function for testing the normal operation of the protection switching function operating between both ends regardless of the connection method between both ends. However, since G.8032 has not yet been approved as a recommendation, the following only refers to the Ethernet linear protection switching specified in G.8031.

G.8031 specifies the 1-phase Automatic Protection Switching (APS) process in linear or 1 + 1 linear interconnection networks. The nodes at both ends of the protection domain are connected by two paths, which are called working paths and protection paths, respectively. The working transmission path is a path for sending and receiving data between both ends, and the protective transmission path is a spare path that replaces the working transmission path when a failure occurs. Nodes at both ends use the APS process to send and receive their path state information and protection switch commands.

The APS process is a very important process that controls the protection switching operation. If the APS process is stopped or malfunctions at either end, the APS process may block the transfer path between both ends.

To prevent this situation, G.8031 defines test commands (hereinafter referred to as EXER requests) so that both ends can verify that the other party's APS process is normal. That is, both ends may transmit an EXER request to the other party as needed, and the receiving party may determine the operation state of the other party's APS process by confirming its own APS process and performing a predefined response if it is normal.

ITU-T Recommendation G.8031, published in 2006, specified NR or DNR as a response to an EXER request, but because it is usually confused with a response received from the other party, another response is defined by defining a new response called RR. It is being modified to distinguish it from.

However, this modification raises the priority of the response of the EXER request and has a problem of conflicting with the operation of the existing APS process.

The existing APS process has its own state or request (hereinafter referred to as local request) and the state or request received from the other party (hereinafter referred to as far end request) as shown in FIG. By comparing the priorities of the requests, the higher priority request is sent to the other party as the final own request (hereinafter called global request).

For example, if both ends are set to non-revertive mode and the working transfer path fails and switches to the protected transfer path, then both ends remain in the DNR if the working transfer path fails. (Do Not Revert) The request is forwarded to the other party. In this situation, when either end sends an EXER request, the other party checks its APS process and then sends an RR response. If the terminal releases the EXER request and returns to the DNR request, the other party must also release the RR response to send the DNR request.

However, since the priority of each request and status defined in G.8031 is higher than that of DNR, as shown in FIG. It is not possible to release and return to the DNR request.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide an operation test apparatus and method that complements and improves the operation state test function and the protection switching state maintenance function of the APS process in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation G.8031.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the APS process operation test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention performs an operation test of the APS process of the first node among the other request signal received from the second node connected to the first node by an Ethernet network. A second test response signal indicating that the operation of the test command signal and the APS process of the second node is normal; and the second test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process of the first node is normal when the counterpart request signal is the test command signal. A reception signal filtering unit generating a test response signal; A first local request selecting government for selecting a first local request signal according to a priority of the generated first test response signal and at least one local request signal representing a state of an APS process of the first node; And an output signal determiner configured to determine an output signal to be transmitted to the second node according to the priority of the highest local request signal and the filtered counterpart request signal.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the APS process operation test method according to an embodiment of the present invention performs the operation test of the APS process of the first node among the other request signal received from the second node connected to the first node by an Ethernet network. Filtering a test command signal to command and a second test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process of the second node is normal; When the counterpart request signal is a test command signal, generating a first test response signal indicating that an operation of the APS process of the first node is normal; Selecting a highest local request signal according to a priority of the generated first test response signal and at least one local request signal indicating a state of an APS process of the first node; And determining an output signal to be transmitted to the second node according to the priority of the highest local request signal and the filtered counterpart request signal.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing the operation test method of the APS process on a computer.

According to the present invention, when the operation of the existing APS process like the test command signal is in conflict with the standard protocol defined by the ITU-T standard, it is adjusted so that it does not conflict, so that the APS process can be normally operated even when the test command signal is used. To be.

According to the APS process operation test apparatus and method of an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to implement the operation state test function of the APS process in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation G.8031, and to perform the operation state diagnosis process of a separate complex APS process. Even without going through it, it is possible to efficiently understand the operating state of the APS process and provide an appropriate response to the counterpart.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art, although not explicitly described or illustrated herein, can embody the principles of the present invention and invent various devices that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, all conditional terms and embodiments listed herein are in principle clearly intended for the purpose of understanding the concept of the invention and are not to be limited to the specifically listed embodiments and states. Should be. In addition, it is to be understood that all detailed descriptions, including the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present invention, as well as listing specific embodiments, are intended to include structural and functional equivalents of these matters. In addition, these equivalents should be understood to include not only equivalents now known, but also equivalents to be developed in the future, that is, all devices invented to perform the same function regardless of structure.

Thus, the functionality of the various elements shown in the figures, including functional blocks represented by a processor or similar concept, can be provided by the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in conjunction with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functionality may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. In addition, the use of terms presented in terms of processor, control, or similar concept should not be interpreted exclusively as a citation of hardware capable of executing software, and without limitation, ROM for storing digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, software. It should be understood to include implicitly (ROM), RAM and nonvolatile memory. Other well known hardware may also be included.

The above objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a signal processing apparatus of a conventional APS process, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the priority of each signal indicating a request and a state of an APS process defined in ITU-T Rec. G.8031. to be.

Referring to FIG. 1, a signal processing apparatus of a conventional APS process includes a highest local request selecting unit 120, a global priority comparing unit 131, and an output signal selecting unit 132.

The highest priority local request selecting unit 120 receives a plurality of local request signals and selects the highest priority local request signal among them as a top priority local request signal.

The global priority comparison unit 131 compares the priority of the counterpart request signal received from the counterpart node with the highest priority local request signal output from the top priority local request selecting unit 120 to provide a top priority global request signal. Output

The output signal selecting unit 132 receives the highest priority local request signal output from the highest priority local request selecting unit 120 and the highest priority global request signal selected by the global priority comparison unit 131, and the highest priority global request signal is the highest priority local request. If it is the same as the signal, it is selected as an output local request signal to be transmitted to the other party, and if the highest priority global request signal is the same as the received other party request signal, an NR (No Request) signal indicating no request is selected.

3 is a view showing the configuration of the operation test apparatus of the APS process according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 shows the flow of the operation test method performed in the operation test apparatus of the APS process shown in FIG. Drawing.

Referring to FIG. 3, the operation test apparatus of the APS process according to the present embodiment includes a reception signal filtering unit 310, a highest local request selecting unit 320, and an output signal determination unit 330.

The reception signal filtering unit 310 performs a test command signal for instructing an operation test of the APS process of the first node and the second node among the other request signals received from the second node of the other party connected to the first node through the Ethernet network. The second test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process is normal is filtered (S411), and when the counterpart request signal is a test command signal, a first test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process of the first node is normal is generated. (S416).

According to ITU-T Recommendation G.8031, the test command signal for commanding the operation test of the APS process of the first node is an EXER signal, and the first and second test response signals are RR signals.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of the reception signal filtering unit 310 shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 5, the reception signal filtering unit 510 according to the present embodiment may include a test command signal filtering unit 511, a second test response signal filtering unit 512, and a first test response signal generation unit 516. Include.

The test command signal filtering unit 511 filters the test command signal for commanding an operation test of the APS process of the first node among the counterpart request signals received from the second node of the other party.

The second test response signal filtering unit 512 filters the second test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process of the second node of the other party is normal among the other party request signals received from the second node of the other party.

When the counterpart request signal received from the counterpart's second node is a test command signal, the first test response signal generator 516 generates a first test response signal indicating that the operation of the APS process of the first node is normal. do. In this case, the test command filtering unit 511 controls the generation of the first test response signal to the first test response generation unit 513 when the other party request signal received from the second node of the other party is a test command signal. Can be implemented by sending

The highest local request signal selecting unit 320 prioritizes the first test response signal generated by the first test response signal generator 513 and at least one local request signal indicating the state of the APS process of the first node. According to the highest priority local request signal is selected (S420).

That is, the highest local request signal selecting unit 320 compares the priorities of the first test response signal and at least one local request signal, and selects the highest priority signal as the highest local request signal.

The output signal determination unit 330 outputs an output signal to be transmitted to the second node according to the priority of the highest priority local request signal selected by the highest priority local request signal selecting unit 320 and the other party request signal filtered by the reception signal filtering unit 310. Determine (S430).

Recommendation G.8031 of the ITU-T defines the priority of each signal as shown in FIG.

The output signal determiner 330 includes a global priority comparison unit 331 and an output signal selector 332.

The global priority comparison unit 331 compares the priority of the counterpart request signal filtered by the reception signal filtering unit 310 with the highest priority local request signal selected by the highest priority local request signal selecting unit 320 and has the highest priority signal. Is selected as the priority global request signal.

The output signal selector 332 selects the highest priority global request signal as the output signal when the highest priority global request signal is the same as the highest priority local request signal, and otherwise selects the NR signal as the output signal.

For example, if both ends of the protection domain are set to 1: 1 bidirectional non-resilient mode, and the working forward path fails, both ends of the traffic forward and receive traffic using the protected forward path will resolve the failure of the working forward path. The case will be explained on the assumption.

The operation test apparatus and method of the APS process according to the present embodiment can be applied regardless of the above situation regardless of 1: 1/1 + 1, restoration / non-restore, one-way / two-way, and the above-described situation is the conventional method. Compared with the present invention, the signal processing procedure of the operation test apparatus under the above-described circumstances is considered.

In the above situation, both ends transmit the DNR signal to the other party to maintain the protection switching state that has already been made.

At this time, in order to test the operation of the APS process for the first node, the EXER signal is input to the APS process as one local request signal in the second node. When the EXER signal is input to the highest local request selecting unit 320, the EXER signal is selected as the highest local request signal because the priority is higher than that of the existing local request DNR. In addition, since the counterpart request signal is also DNR, the EXER signal is determined as an output signal by the output signal determination unit 330, and eventually the EXER signal is transmitted to the first node.

The signal processing in the first node that receives the EXER signal is as follows.

The reception signal filtering unit 310 filters the EXER signal from the counterpart request signal, generates an RR signal (first test response signal) as a response to the EXER signal, and selects the first local request selection unit as one of a plurality of local requests. To 320).

Since the highest priority among the local requests input to the local priority comparison unit was the DNR signal, when the RR signal (the first test response signal) is input from the reception signal filtering unit 310, the highest priority local request is the RR. Signal (first test response signal).

Since the EXER signal is filtered by the reception signal filtering unit 310, the NR signal is input to the global priority comparison unit 331 as a counterpart request signal, and the NR signal has priority over the RR signal selected as the highest priority local request signal. Therefore, since the output signal selector 332 selects the RR signal (first test response signal) as the output signal.

As such, the RR signal (first test response signal) generated by the second test response signal filtering unit 512 inside the reception signal filtering unit 310 is treated the same as other local requests, so that the APS process of the first node is processed. It is passed to the second node through the whole process.

When the EXER signal, which is the test command signal, is received from the second node, which is the counterpart, the first node does not need to investigate the operation state of the APS process through a complicated diagnosis process, and the RR generated by the second test response signal filtering unit 512 is not required. Since the signal (first test response signal) is transmitted to the second node as an output signal itself, it can be a single APS process diagnosis process, so that the test apparatus and method according to the present embodiment have a separate test procedure for the operation state. Without this, it is possible to efficiently grasp the state of the APS process and provide an appropriate response to the second node as the counterpart.

The other node (the node which transmitted the EXER signal) receiving this filters the RR signal (which becomes the second test response signal from the other party's position) received by the reception signal filtering unit 310, and receives the received RR signal (the second test). Transmits the response signal) to the upper process to convey the normal operation status of the APS process.

Here, the upper process may be a management program that operates in the network equipment, and may also mean a command line interface (CLI) that allows an operator to directly send and receive commands.

In case of releasing the test instruction about the APS process of the counterpart node, it proceeds as follows.

When the EXER signal, which was the highest local request among the plurality of local requests, is released, a request having a high priority among the remaining local requests, that is, a DNR signal, is selected as the highest local request by the highest priority local request selecting government 320.

Since the reception signal filtering unit 310 previously filtered the RR signal (second test response signal) from the counterpart request signal when the RR signal was previously received in response to the test command from the counterpart node, the global priority comparison unit ( The NR signal is input to the counterpart request signal at 331.

The global priority comparison unit 331 compares the priority of the DNR signal, which is the highest priority local request selected by the highest priority local request selecting unit 320, and the NR, which is the other party request signal filtered by the reception signal filtering unit 310, and is input. The DNR signal having the highest priority is selected as the highest global request signal, and the output signal selector 332 selects the DNR signal as the output signal.

At this time, the DNR signal passes through the reception signal filtering unit 310 to reach the global priority comparison unit 332, and the reception signal filtering unit 310 does not receive the EXER signal. The first test response signal) is not provided to the priority local request selection unit 320.

Accordingly, the highest priority local request selection government 320 is the highest priority local request, and the DNR signal, which is the highest priority local request among existing local requests, is reduced. The global priority comparison unit 331 selects the DNR signal as the highest global request, and the output signal selector 332 selects the DNR signal as the output signal.

As a result, when the EXER command is released, both nodes return to an initial state, that is, a state in which a DNR signal is transmitted and received.

The concept of signal processing for the test command signal and the DNR signal according to the present embodiment can be used for a case in which a special response is required in addition to the test command signal and the DNR signal.

That is, when a request signal that requires a special response that is inconsistent with the operation principle of the existing APS process is received from the counterpart, the received request signal is filtered and processed separately, and a response signal is generated for the received request signal and localized. By implementing the processing to the request it is possible to apply the concept of signal processing for the test command signal according to this embodiment.

The invention may also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, flash memory, optical data storage device, and also carrier waves (for example, transmission over the Internet). It is also included to be implemented in the form of. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over computer systems connected over a computer network so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Also, the font ROM data structure according to the present invention can be read by a computer on a recording medium such as a computer readable ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, flash memory, optical data storage device, or the like. It can be implemented as code.

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments, but these embodiments are intended to illustrate the present invention, not to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains should be practiced without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent that various changes, modifications, or adjustments to the examples are possible. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims, and should be construed as including all such changes, modifications or adjustments.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a signal processing apparatus of a conventional APS process.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the priority of each signal indicating a request and a state of an APS process defined in ITU-T Rec. G.8031.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation test apparatus of an APS process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flow chart illustrating an operation test method of an APS process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a reception signal filtering unit of an operation test apparatus of an APS process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (20)

A test command signal for commanding an operation test of the APS process of the first node among the counterpart request signals received from the second node connected to the first node through an Ethernet network and a second indicating that the operation of the APS process of the second node is normal. A reception signal filtering unit for filtering a test response signal and generating a first test response signal indicating that an operation of the APS process of the first node is normal when the counterpart request signal is the test command signal; A highest priority local request selecting unit for selecting a highest priority local request signal according to a priority of the generated first test response signal and at least one local request signal indicating a state of an APS process of the first node; And And an output signal determiner configured to determine an output signal to be transmitted to the second node according to the priority of the highest local request signal and the filtered counterpart request signal. The method of claim 1, And the test command signal is an EXER signal. The method of claim 1, And the first test response signal and the second test response signal are RR signals. The method of claim 1, And wherein the priority is defined in Recommendation G.8031 of the ITU-T. The method of claim 1, The received signal filtering unit A test command signal filtering unit to filter the test command signal from the counterpart request signal; A second test response signal filtering unit to filter the second test response signal among the counterpart request signals; And And the first test response signal generator for generating the first test response signal when the counterpart request signal is the test command signal. The method of claim 1, And the highest priority local request selecting unit selects the highest priority local request signal having the highest priority by comparing the priority of the generated first test response signal and at least one of the local request signals. The method of claim 1, The output signal determination unit A global priority comparison unit for comparing the priorities of the filtered counterpart request signal and the selected highest priority local request signal and selecting the highest priority global request signal having the highest priority; And And an output signal selector for selecting the highest priority global request signal as the output signal when the highest priority global request signal is the same as the highest priority local request signal, and otherwise selecting an NR signal as the output signal. APS process operation test apparatus. The method of claim 1, And the reception signal filtering unit transfers the counterpart request signal to a higher process of the APS process of the first node when the counterpart request signal is the second test response signal. The method of claim 8, The upper process is an APS process operation test apparatus, characterized in that the operator can directly input a command line (CLI). The method of claim 8, And the higher process is a management program in the network equipment. A test command signal for commanding an operation test of the APS process of the first node among the counterpart request signals received from the second node connected to the first node through an Ethernet network and a second indicating that the operation of the APS process of the second node is normal. Filtering the test response signal; Generating a first test response signal indicating that an operation of the APS process of the first node is normal when the counterpart request signal is the test command signal; Selecting a highest local request signal according to a priority of the generated first test response signal and at least one local request signal representing a state of an APS process of the first node; And And determining an output signal to be transmitted to the second node according to the priority of the highest local request signal and the filtered counterpart request signal. The method of claim 11, And wherein said test command signal is an EXER signal. The method of claim 11, And the first test response signal and the second test response signal are RR signals. The method of claim 11, Said priority is defined in Recommendation G.8031 of the ITU-T. The method of claim 11, The received signal filtering step Filtering the test command signal from the counterpart request signal; And And filtering the second test response signal from the counterpart request signal. The method of claim 11, In the selecting of the highest priority local request signal, an APS process operation test comprising selecting the highest priority local request signal having the highest priority by comparing the priority of the selected first test response signal and at least one local request signal. Way. The method of claim 11, The output signal determination step Selecting the highest priority global request signal having the highest priority by comparing the priority of the filtered counterpart request signal and the selected highest priority local request signal; And Selecting the highest priority global request signal as the output signal if the highest priority global request signal is the same as the highest priority local request signal, and otherwise selecting an NR signal as the output signal. Process behavior test method. The method of claim 11, And if the counterpart request signal is a second test response signal, transferring the request signal to a higher process of the APS process of the first node. The method of claim 18, The upper process is APS process operation test method, characterized in that the operator can directly input a command line (CLI). The method of claim 18, And the higher process is a management program in the network equipment.

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