WO2015106506A1

WO2015106506A1 - Methods for setting control information and establishing communication, management controller and controller

Info

Publication number: WO2015106506A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/076687
Authority: WO
Inventors: 叶位彬
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2014-01-16
Filing date: 2014-04-30
Publication date: 2015-07-23
Also published as: CN104796269A

Abstract

The present invention provides methods for setting control information and establishing communication, a management controller and a controller, which can solve the problem of unreasonable management relationship between controllers and a forwarding device in an existing software defined network. The method for setting control information provided in the present invention specifically comprises: the management controller acquiring information of controllers and a forwarding device in a network where the management controller is located; the management controller setting control information of each controller on the forwarding device according to the information of the controllers and the forwarding device; and the management controller sending the control information to the corresponding controller.

Description

Setting control information, establishing communication method, and managing controller and controller

The present invention relates to the field of network communication technologies, and in particular, to a configuration, a connection method, a management controller, and a controller in a software-defined network. Background technique

Software Defined Network (SDN) is a new type of network architecture. It is designed to separate the control plane of the network from the data forwarding plane and implement programmable control. The typical architecture of SDN is divided into three layers, the uppermost layer is the application layer, including various services and applications; the middle control layer is mainly responsible for processing the data plane resources, maintaining network topology, state information, etc.; the lowest infrastructure The layer is responsible for data processing, forwarding, and state collection based on flowtables.

In the existing network, the control and forwarding of traffic depend on the implementation of the network device, and the operating system and dedicated hardware tightly coupled with the service characteristics are integrated in the device. These operating systems and dedicated hardware are developed and designed by each manufacturer. . In the SDN network, the forwarding device is only responsible for pure data forwarding, and its hardware architecture will tend to be unified, and its components tend to be generalized among various vendors. The original control plane responsible for routing, security, policy, QoS, traffic engineering, etc. will be implemented by a dedicated SDN controller. Service functions and features such as routing, security, policy, QoS, and traffic engineering can be implemented programmatically. The SDN controller has no fixed requirements for the hardware form. It can be a device, a virtual machine or a physical server. It can use a high-performance and low-cost general architecture like x86. The protocol for communication between the forwarding device and the SDN controller is generally the OpenFlow protocol. The forwarding device establishes a connection with the controller and transmits the information using the OpenFlow protocol.

A forwarding device can establish connections with multiple controllers. These controllers have different roles and can be classified into three types: MASTER, SLAVE, and EQUAL. MASTER has forwarding The full control authority of the device. For a forwarding device, the MASTER controller is unique. SLAVE has read-only access and can have multiple controllers for this identity. EQUAL, with full control of the forwarding device, can have multiple controllers for this identity. It can be seen that there is a management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device. The so-called management relationship includes: What identity is the controller connected with which forwarding devices in the network, that is, the connection between the forwarding device and the controller. Relationship and controller identity information. To illustrate in detail the management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device, an example is given below. See Figure 1: There are three controllers in the network, namely the first controller, the second controller and the third controller. There are also four forwarding devices in the network, which are a first forwarding device, a second forwarding device, a third forwarding device, and a fourth forwarding device. The first controller establishes a connection with the first forwarding device, and the first controller acts as the MASTER controller of the first forwarding device; the second controller establishes a connection with the second forwarding device, and the second controller acts as the second forwarding device The MASTER controller; the third controller establishes a connection with the third and fourth forwarding devices, and the third controller acts as the MASTER controller of the third and fourth forwarding devices. Then, in the network, the management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device is: the first controller establishes a connection with the first forwarding device as the MASTER controller; the second controller is the identity of the MASTER controller and the second forwarding device. A connection is established; the third controller establishes a connection with the third and fourth forwarding devices as the MASTER controller. Further, if the third controller is also the SALVE controller of the first forwarding device, the management relationship in the network further includes: the third controller establishes a connection with the first forwarding device as the identity of the SALVE controller.

In the prior art, the management relationship between each controller and the forwarding device is determined through election, and since each controller is in the same level relationship and operates independently, the management relationship between each controller and the forwarding device is mutually exclusive. Influential, this will result in an unreasonable management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device in the network. For example, a controller in the network has better performance, so most of the forwarding devices that pass the election determine the MASTER controller (here, the MASTER controller is used as an example, or other controllers of other identities). Causing the controller's load to be overloaded, The other controllers in the network may be in an idle state. Because the controllers operate independently, the management relationship between the controllers and the forwarding devices does not affect each other, so the controller in the overload state will always be overloaded. The controller that is idle is also in an idle state. Summary of the invention

In view of this, the embodiments of the present invention provide a method for setting control information, establishing a communication, and a management controller and a controller, thereby solving the problem that the management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device in the existing software-defined network is unreasonable.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for setting control information, including: a management controller acquiring information of a controller and a forwarding device in a network; and a management controller setting each controller to a forwarding device according to information of the controller and the forwarding device. Control information; The management controller sends control information to the corresponding controller.

Preferably, the control information comprises: management information of the forwarding device allocated by the controller to the controller; and control authority of the controller to the forwarding device assigned to the controller.

Preferably, before the management controller acquires the information of the controller and the forwarding device in the network, the management controller further includes: the management controller establishes communication with all forwarding devices found in the network.

Preferably, when the management controller knows at least one of the following conditions, the management controller sets or updates the control information of the corresponding controller:

New forwarding devices and/or controllers in the network;

There are controllers in the network that are idle;

The forwarding device and/or controller sends a fault.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when a new controller or a controller in the network is in an idle state, the management controller obtains information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network, including: adding a controller or being idle. Controller information; management controller setting controller control information includes: management controller adjusts existing controllers in the network according to controller and forwarding device information Control information for the forwarding device; assigning a forwarding device to the newly added controller or the controller in an idle state;

When a forwarding device is added to the network, the management controller obtains information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network, including: adding information of the forwarding device; and managing the controller to set the controller to control the forwarding device includes: The new forwarding device specifies the controller, and is set to control the newly added forwarding device by the controller specified by the new forwarding device.

When the controller in the network sends a fault, the management controller sets the controller's control information for the forwarding device to include: the management controller assigns a new controller to the forwarding device connected to the failed controller, and sets a new controller pair The control authority of the forwarding device to which the failed controller is connected.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the information of the controller in the network acquired by the management controller includes: a load condition of the controller;

The management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the controller information, including: the management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the load condition.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the information of each controller and the forwarding device in the network acquired by the management controller includes: a load condition of the controller and a network topology of the controller and the forwarding device in the network;

The management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the controller and the forwarding device information. The management controller includes: the management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the load situation and the network topology.

The present invention also provides a method for establishing communication, specifically comprising: the controller transmitting its own information to the management controller;

The controller receives control information of the controller and the forwarding device set by the controller according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The controller establishes communication with the corresponding forwarding device according to the control information. In an embodiment of the invention, the information sent to the management controller includes: a load condition of the controller.

The present invention also provides a management controller, which is applied in a software-defined network, where the management controller includes a first Ethernet port, a first memory, and a processor, where the first Ethernet port is used to acquire a controller and forward in the network. The information of the device is stored in the first memory; the first memory is further configured to set control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device; the first Ethernet port is further configured to send the control information to the corresponding Controller.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first Ethernet port is also used to establish communication with all forwarding devices found in the network during network initialization.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the processor is further configured to detect whether at least a forwarding device and/or a controller is added to the network, whether the controller is in an idle state, and whether the forwarding device and/or the controller are faulty. In one case, if yes, the control information of the corresponding controller is set or updated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the information of the controller and the forwarding device in the network acquired by the first Ethernet interface is: a load condition of the controller and a network topology of the controller and the forwarding device; the processor is configured to use the load according to the load The situation and the network topology set the controller's control information for the forwarding device.

The present invention further provides a controller, which is applied in a software-defined network, where the controller includes a second Ethernet port, and the second Ethernet port is used to send information of the controller itself to a management controller in the network; The second Ethernet port is further configured to receive, by the management controller, control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information set by the controller and the forwarding device; the second Ethernet port is further configured to use the controller information and the corresponding forwarding device. Establish communication.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the controller further includes a second memory, where the second memory is used to calculate the load condition of the controller; and the information of the controller itself sent by the second Ethernet port is: the load condition of the controller .

The invention also provides another management controller, which includes a first Ethernet port, a first memory and a processor, the first Ethernet port is configured to acquire information of the controller and the forwarding device in the network, and is stored in the first memory; the first memory is further configured to set the controller according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device Control information for the forwarding device; the first Ethernet port is further configured to send control information to the corresponding controller.

The present invention further provides another controller, the controller includes a second Ethernet port, and the second Ethernet port is configured to send information of the controller itself to a management controller in the network; the second Ethernet port further The controller is configured to receive control information of the forwarding device according to the information set by the controller and the forwarding device, and the second Ethernet port is further configured to establish communication with the corresponding forwarding device according to the controller information. The beneficial effects of the invention are:

The invention provides a method for setting control information, establishing communication, a management controller and a controller, which can solve the problem that the management relationship between the controller and the forwarding device in the existing software-defined network is unreasonable. The method provided by the present invention specifically includes: the management controller acquires information of the controller and the forwarding device in the network; the management controller sets control information of each controller to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device; the management controller controls The information is sent to the corresponding controller. The control information setting method provided by the present invention is to set the control information of each controller according to the acquired information of the controller and the forwarding device, and the control information is set from a macroscopic point of view, so that the forwarding device and the controller are The management relationship between the two is more reasonable. DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a software-defined network in the prior art;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a software definition network according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of a software definition network according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a software definition network according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a management controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a controller according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of a management controller according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention;

8 is a schematic structural diagram of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a management controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. detailed description

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1:

The embodiment provides a method for setting control information. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes the following steps: Step 201: The management controller acquires information about a controller and a forwarding device in the network; Step 202: The controller is based on the controller and the forwarding device. Information, setting control information of each of the controllers on the forwarding device;

Step 203: The management controller sends control information to the corresponding controller.

The control information includes at least: information of a forwarding device allocated by the management controller to the controller; and control authority of the controller to the forwarding device assigned to the controller.

The information of the forwarding device allocated by the management controller to the controller includes: address information of the forwarding device.

The control authority of the controller to the forwarding device assigned to it is: The controller reads and writes the right to the forwarding device. For example, when the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the MASTER controller, the controller has full control of the forwarding device. When the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the SLAVE controller, the controller has read-only access and can have multiple controllers for this identity. When the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the EQUAL controller, the controller has full control rights for the forwarding device, and multiple controllers can have this identity.

Preferably, the management controller may allocate multiple forwarding devices to the controller. When the controller communicates with multiple forwarding devices, there may be a controller that is a MASTER controller for a part of the forwarding devices. For another part of the forwarding device, the identity is SLAVE Controller. This means that the controller may have different control rights for the controller with which it communicates. In this embodiment, at least one controller may be determined as a management controller from among existing controllers in the software-defined network, and at least one new controller may be re-arranged as a management controller for the network. If the management controller is determined from an existing controller in the software-defined network, at least one controller may be set as a management controller by means of artificial setting, or at least one management controller may be elected by election. .

To explain in more detail how the management controller is elected by this embodiment, an example will be described below:

Each controller has an ID number, which can be specified manually or automatically based on its address.

The election method is that the controllers broadcast their ID numbers to each other, and the controller with the largest ID number is automatically selected. Because each controller knows how many controllers are in the network and the addresses of those controllers, it knows when all the ID numbers have been received.

In this embodiment, before the management controller acquires the information of each controller and the forwarding device in the network, the management controller first discovers the controller and the forwarding device in the network, and the forwarding device may include a switch; After the switch or controller is powered on, it will request to assign an address and send a Hello message so that the device connected to it discovers it.

If the controller and the management controller are directly connected, after the controller is powered on, the controller requests the management controller and other devices connected to the management controller to allocate an address and send a Hello message; After receiving the message, the controller discovers the controller, thereby obtaining information of the controller from the controller.

If the controller and the management controller are not directly connected, the controller may send a Hello message to the management controller through the forwarding device that has established communication with the management controller, so that the management controller discovers The controller acquires information of the controller.

In another case, such as during network initialization, the management controller is very likely Without knowing the information of other controllers in the network, the management controller must first discover all the controllers in the network. All the controllers here refer to the controllers in the network that are working normally.

The management controller establishes communication with all the forwarding devices found in the network before acquiring all the controller information in the network where the network is located, so that the information of the forwarding device can be obtained from the forwarding device, and the communication is established through the communication device. The forwarding device discovers other forwarding devices and controllers in the network.

Preferably, after the network initialization is completed, the management controller can obtain information of all controllers and forwarding devices in the network, so that the control information of the forwarding device can be set according to the information of the forwarding device and the controller in the network.

In this embodiment, when the management controller knows at least one of the following situations, the management controller configures the management relationship between the forwarding device and the controller: a new forwarding device and/or a controller in the network; There is a controller in the idle state; the forwarding device and/or controller has failed.

Correspondingly, when a new forwarding device and/or controller and/or a controller are in an idle state in the network, if the forwarding device and/or the controller are directly connected to the management controller, the hello can be directly sent to the management controller. Message; if the forwarding device and/or controller is not directly connected to the management controller, the management controller can be informed by the forwarding device and/or controller to which it is connected.

When the controller fails, the forwarding device connected to it can inform the management controller by sending "Unable to connect to the management controller" to the management controller.

In this embodiment, when a new controller or a controller in the network is in an idle state, the management controller acquires information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network, including: adding a controller or a controller in an idle state. information.

Preferably, the management controller sets the control information of the controller, including: the management controller adjusts control information of the existing controller in the network to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device; is added to the controller or is in an idle state. The controller assigns a forwarding device. Since there is only one MASTER controller for each forwarding device, if the newly added controller or the idle controller is configured as the MASTER controller to the selected forwarding device, the forwarding device must be disconnected from the previously connected MASTER controller. Communication; if the newly added controller or the idle controller is configured as a SALVE controller or an EQUAL controller to the selected forwarding device, the forwarding device can select whether to disconnect the previously connected controller according to the specific situation.

Preferably, when the forwarding device is newly added to the network, the management controller further acquires information about the newly added forwarding device. Correspondingly, the management controller setting the controller to control the forwarding device may include: The added forwarding device specifies the controller, and is set to control the newly added forwarding device by the controller specified by the new forwarding device.

Preferably, when the controller in the network sends a fault, setting the control information of the controller to the forwarding device may include: the management controller assigning a new controller to the forwarding device connected to the failed controller, and setting a new controller pair Control authority for the forwarding device that is connected to the failed controller.

When setting the controller's control right to the forwarding device, it can be set according to the control authority of the failed controller to the forwarding device. For example, the fault controller is the MASTER controller of the forwarding device, and the controller designated by the management controller for the forwarding device has all control rights to the forwarding device and is the MASTER controller of the forwarding device.

In this embodiment, the information of the controller and the forwarding device acquired by the management controller includes at least one of the following: a performance of the controller, a load condition, a network topology of the controller and the forwarding device.

When the obtained information is the performance of the controller, the management controller obtains the performance information of each controller, analyzes the performance information, calculates the number of forwarding devices most suitable for the controller, and allocates the forwarding to the controller according to the calculation result. The number of devices.

When the obtained information is the load condition of the controller, the management controller acquires the load status of each controller in the network, and sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the load condition. The management controller obtains the load status of each controller in the network, and obtains various methods. Here, two common methods are provided: Method 1. The management controller records the number of forwarding devices managed by each controller. Therefore, the load condition of each controller is known; Method 2: All controllers calculate their load conditions in real time, and periodically transmit their load conditions to the management controller.

Each controller can calculate the load by the following methods: (1) calculating the load by using the bandwidth usage of the management interface connected to the forwarding device by the controller; (2) periodically counting the number of flow tables sent by the controller to the forwarding device, Calculate the load based on the number of flow tables. After the management controller knows the load status of each controller, in setting the controller's control information for the forwarding device, the principle is set to: Ensure load balancing of each controller.

When the obtained information is the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device, the management controller can obtain the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device in the network by acquiring the addresses of the controllers and the forwarding devices in the network. When a forwarding device is added to the network, the management controller learns the connection topology of the new forwarding device based on the address of the forwarding device or controller connected to the newly added forwarding device. Correspondingly, after the management controller knows the network topology, in setting the controller's control information for the forwarding device, the setting principle is: Ensure that the connection hop between the controller establishing the communication and the forwarding device is small.

In this embodiment, the management controller can simultaneously acquire the load condition of the controller and the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device in the network, manage the integrated load situation of the controller, and the network topology information, and configure the forwarding device and the controller. When managing relationships, ensure that each controller is load balanced, and that the number of connection hops between the controller that establishes communication and the forwarding device is small.

In this embodiment, after the management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device, the management controller may notify the controller of the control information of the forwarding device by sending a message.

In this embodiment, the forwarding device includes a switch, an optical network, and the like. To describe in more detail the method for setting control information provided by the present invention, this embodiment provides how the management controller sets the control information of the controller to the forwarding device by the method provided by the present invention during the network initialization process. In this embodiment, the forwarding device is a switch.

Referring to Figure 3, the SDN network has 3 controllers and 11 switches. The controller and the switch communicate with each other through a 100M Ethernet connection to deliver openflow protocol packets. The switches are connected through 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) to transmit service packets and openflow protocol packets.

In this embodiment, the initialization process of the network firstly sets the first controller as the management controller. The management controller first discovers the second switch, specifies its MASTER controller as the first controller, and uses the openflow protocol pair. The second switch is configured to establish communication between the second switch and the controller after the configuration.

After the second switch discovers the first, third, and eighth switches, the "new access message" is notified to the management controller.

The management controller assigns its MASTER controller to the first controller, the third switch, and the eighth switch as the first controller, and configures it with the openflow protocol. After the configuration, the first, third, and eighth switches and controls are configured. Communication is established between the devices. Similarly, other switches and two other controllers were also discovered.

After the network initialization is completed, the following items are recorded in the "load statistics table" of the management controller: The number of switches responsible for the first controller is 11, the number of switches responsible for the second controller is 0, and the switch responsible for the third controller The number is 0.

The load on the controller is not balanced. Therefore, the management controller re-designates the MASTER controller of the switch, and the specific process is: (1) retaining the MASTER controllers of the first, second, eighth, and ninth switches as the first controller; (2) to the second control The device sends 4 "MASTER controller allocation messages," and the 4 messages respectively contain the addresses of the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh switches, and the second controller establishes an openflow with the four switches after receiving the message. Connect, and configure the four switches in the MASTER identity; (3) send three "MASTER controller assignment messages" to the third controller, The three messages respectively include the addresses of the sixth, tenth, and eleventh switches, and after receiving the message, the third controller establishes an openflow connection with the three switches, and configures the three switches by the MASTER identity. The "Load Statistics Table" of the management controller records the following items: The number of switches responsible for the first controller is 4, the number of switches responsible for the second controller is 4, and the number of switches responsible for the third controller is 3. At this point, the controller's load is more balanced. Embodiment 3:

To explain the method provided by the present invention in more detail, the present embodiment provides how the management controller sets the controller's control information for the forwarding device by the method provided by the present invention when a controller fails. In this embodiment, the forwarding device is a switch.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the SDN network, the MASTER controllers of the first, second, eighth, and ninth switches are the first controller, and the MASTER controllers of the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh switches are the second. The MASTER controller of the controller, the sixth, tenth, and eleventh switches is a third controller. The first controller is a management controller, and the second controller and the third controller send a "load statistics message" to the first controller every 10 seconds, and the first controller uses these messages to generate a "load statistics table". If the second controller fails to cause unreachability, the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh switches send a "MASTER controller unreachable" message to the management controller. The management controller utilizes the "load statistics table, and the network topology (assuming the load conditions of the first controller and the third controller are equivalent), and selects the first load for the third and fourth switches with a light load and a small number of connection hops. The controller acts as the MASTER controller, and selects the third controller with light load and fewer connection hops as the MASTER controller for the fifth and seventh switches. After the management controller allocates the controller for the twelfth switch, the controller The structure of the network is shown in Figure 4. Example 4:

In order to explain the method provided by the present invention in more detail, this embodiment provides how the management controller sets the controller to the forwarding device by using the method provided by the present invention when a forwarding device is newly added in the network. Control information. In this embodiment, the forwarding device is a switch.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the SDN network, the MASTER controllers of the first, second, eighth, and ninth switches are the first controller, and the MASTER controllers of the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh switches are the first The controller of the second controller, the MASTER controller of the sixth, tenth, and eleventh switches is a third controller. At this time, in the "load statistics table of the management controller, the following items are recorded: the number of switches responsible for the first controller is 4, the number of switches responsible for the second controller is 4, and the number of switches responsible for the third controller is 3. Assume that a new twelfth switch is added to the network, and the fifth switch and the sixth interaction machine send a "new access message" notification management controller to the management controller. The management controller is based on the "load statistics table" and The network topology selects the third controller with light load and fewer connection hops as the MASTER controller for the twelfth switch. At the same time, the number of switches responsible for the third controller in the management controller update "load statistics table" is 4 The management controller sends a "MASTER controller allocation message" to the third controller, the message includes the address of the twelfth switch, and after receiving the message, the third controller establishes an openflow connection with the twelfth switch, and configures the MASTER identity. Twelfth switch.

In order to improve network reliability, the second controller can be set as the standby management controller. When the first controller is unreachable, it is automatically upgraded to the primary management controller. Embodiment 5:

This embodiment provides a method for establishing a communication, as shown in FIG. 6, including:

Step 601: The controller sends its own information to the management controller in the network. Step 602: The controller receives control information sent by the management controller, where the control information is the management controller. Control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

Step 603: The controller establishes communication with the corresponding forwarding device according to the control information.

In an embodiment of the method provided by the present invention, the information of the self includes: a load condition of the controller. Example 6:

The present embodiment provides a management controller, which is configured according to the management controller in the above method. Referring to FIG. 7, the method includes: an obtaining module 71, a setting module 72, and a first sending module 73;

The obtaining module 71 is configured to obtain information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network; the setting module 72 is configured to set control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The first sending module 73 is configured to send the control information to a corresponding controller. In this embodiment, the management controller may further include a first communication module configured to establish communication with all forwarding devices found in the network.

In this embodiment, the management controller may further include a monitoring module configured to monitor whether a forwarding device and/or a controller is newly added in the network, whether the controller is in an idle state, whether the forwarding device and/or the controller are faulty. At least one of the cases, if yes, notifying the setting module to set or update the control information of the corresponding controller.

In this embodiment, the obtaining module 71 is configured to acquire the load condition of the controller in the network and the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device. The setting module 72 is configured to set the controller to control the forwarding device according to the load situation and the network topology. information.

Preferably, the information of the forwarding device allocated by the management controller to the controller includes: address information of the forwarding device.

The controller has the control permission for the forwarding device assigned to it: the controller has read and write permissions to the forwarding device. For example, when the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the MASTER controller, the controller has full control of the forwarding device. When the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the SLAVE controller, the controller has read-only access and can have multiple controllers for this identity. When the controller establishes a connection with the forwarding device as the EQUAL controller, the controller has full control rights of the forwarding device, and multiple controllers can have this identity. Preferably, the management controller may allocate multiple forwarding devices to the controller. When the controller communicates with multiple forwarding devices, there may be a controller that is a MASTER controller for a part of the forwarding devices. The identity of the other part of the forwarding device is the SLAVE controller. This means that the controller may have different control rights for the controller with which it communicates.

In this embodiment, at least one controller may be determined as a management controller from among existing controllers in the software-defined network, or at least one new controller may be re-arranged as a management controller for the network. If the management controller is determined from an existing controller in the software-defined network, at least one controller may be set as a management controller by means of artificial setting, or at least one management controller may be elected by election. .

If there is no direct connection between the controller and the management controller, the controller can pass The management controller has established a forwarding device for communication, and sends a Hello message to the management controller, so that the management controller discovers the controller and acquires information of the controller.

In another case, for example, during the network initialization process, the management controller may not know the information of other controllers in the network. In this case, the obtaining module 71 first discovers all controllers in the network, where All controllers refer to controllers that are working properly in the network.

The obtaining module 71 establishes communication with all the forwarding devices found in the network before acquiring all the controller information in the network where the network is located, so that the forwarding device information can be obtained from the forwarding device, and the established communication is established through the forwarding device. The forwarding device discovers other forwarding devices and controllers in the network.

Preferably, after the network initialization is completed, the acquiring module 71 may obtain information about all controllers and forwarding devices in the network, so that the control information of the forwarding device can be performed on each controller according to the information of the forwarding device and the controller in the network. Settings.

In this embodiment, when the setting module 72 knows at least one of the following situations, the management controller configures the management relationship between the forwarding device and the controller: a new forwarding device and/or controller is added to the network. ; The controller in the network is idle; the forwarding device and/or controller has failed.

In this embodiment, when a new controller or a controller in the network is in an idle state, the management controller acquires information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network, including: adding a controller or a controller in an idle state. information. Preferably, the management controller sets the control information of the controller, including: the management controller adjusts control information of the existing controller in the network to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device; is added to the controller or is in an idle state. The controller assigns a forwarding device.

Since there is only one MASTER controller for each forwarding device, if the newly added controller or the idle controller is configured as the MASTER controller to the selected forwarding device, the forwarding device must be disconnected from the previously connected MASTER controller. Communication; if the newly added controller or the idle controller is configured as a SALVE controller or an EQUAL controller to the selected forwarding device, the forwarding device can select whether to disconnect the previously connected controller according to the specific situation.

Preferably, when the forwarding device is added to the network, the acquiring module 71 further acquires the information of the newly added forwarding device. Correspondingly, the setting module 72 is configured to specify a controller for the newly added forwarding device, and set Controls the newly added forwarding device for the controller specified by the new forwarding device.

Preferably, the setting module 72, the forwarding device configured to connect with the failed controller, specifies a new controller, and sets a new controller to control the forwarding device connected to the failed controller.

When setting the controller's control right to the forwarding device, it can be set according to the control authority of the failed controller to the forwarding device. For example, the fault controller is a MASTER controller of the forwarding device, and the setting module 72 is configured such that the controller designated for the forwarding device has all control rights to the forwarding device and is the MASTER controller of the forwarding device.

The obtaining module 71 is configured to acquire when the acquired information is a load condition of the controller. The load status of each controller in the network, and set the controller's control information for the forwarding device according to the load.

There are several ways to obtain, and two common methods are provided here: Method 1. The management controller records the number of forwarding devices that each controller is responsible for, so as to know the load status of each controller; Method 2, all control The load is calculated in real time and its load is periodically sent to the management controller.

The obtaining module 71 is configured to obtain the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device in the network by acquiring the addresses of the controllers and the forwarding devices in the network when the acquired information is the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device. .

The obtaining module 71 is configured to learn the connection topology of the newly-added forwarding device according to the address of the forwarding device or the controller connected to the newly-added forwarding device when the forwarding device is added to the network. Correspondingly, after the management controller knows the network topology, in setting the controller's control information for the forwarding device, the setting principle is: Ensure that the number of connection hops between the controller that establishes communication and the forwarding device is small.

In this embodiment, the first sending module 73 is configured to notify the controller of the control information of the forwarding device by sending a message. In this embodiment, the forwarding device includes a switch, an optical network, and the like.

The obtaining module may be implemented by an I/O interface, a CPU or an I/O interface, and a hardware such as a DSP; the setting module may be implemented by hardware such as a CPU or a DSP; the first sending module may be an I/O interface and a CPU. Or I / O interface and DSP and other hardware combined implementation. Example 7:

The embodiment provides a controller, which is set according to the controller in the above method. For a schematic diagram of the structure of the controller, refer to FIG. 8. The controller includes: a second sending module 81, a receiving module 82, and a communication. Module 83; wherein

The second sending module 81 is configured to send information of the controller itself to a management controller in the network;

The receiving module 82 is configured to receive, by the management controller, control information of the controller and the forwarding device according to the information set by the controller and the forwarding device;

The communication module 83 is configured to establish communication with the corresponding forwarding device according to the control information. Example 8:

This embodiment provides a management controller, which is configured according to the management controller in the above method. Referring to FIG. 9, the management controller includes a first Ethernet port 91, a first memory 92, and a processor. 93; Among them,

The first Ethernet port 91 is configured to acquire information about a controller and a forwarding device in the network, and store the information in the first memory.

The first memory 92 is configured to set control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The first Ethernet port is configured to send control information to the corresponding controller.

In this embodiment, during the network initialization process, the first Ethernet port is further configured to establish communication with all forwarding devices found in the network. In this embodiment, the processor 93 is configured to detect whether at least one of the forwarding device and/or the controller is added to the network, whether the controller is in an idle state, whether the forwarding device and/or the controller are faulty. If yes, set or update the control information of the corresponding controller.

In this embodiment, the information of the controller and the forwarding device in the network acquired by the first Ethernet interface is: a load condition of the controller and a network topology of the controller and the forwarding device; the processor is configured to be based on the load situation and the network extension Pu sets the controller's control information for the forwarding device. Example 9:

The embodiment provides a controller, which is set according to the controller in the above method, the controller includes a second Ethernet port, and the second Ethernet port is used to send information of the controller itself to the network. The second Ethernet port is further configured to receive, by the management controller, control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the information set by the controller and the forwarding device; the second Ethernet port is further configured to be used according to the controller The information establishes communication with the corresponding forwarding device.

In this embodiment, the controller further includes a second memory, where the second memory is used to count the load condition of the controller; and the information of the controller itself sent by the second Ethernet port is: a load condition of the controller. The above is a further detailed description of the present invention in connection with the specific embodiments, and the specific embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the description. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

claims

1. A method of setting control information, including:

The management controller obtains information about the controllers and forwarding devices in the network;

The management controller sets the control information of each controller on the forwarding device based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The management controller sends the control information to the corresponding controller.

2. The method of setting control information according to claim 1, wherein the control information includes: information about the forwarding device assigned by the management controller to the controller; The control authority of the forwarding device of the server.

3. The method of setting control information according to claim 1, wherein during the network initialization process, before the management controller obtains the information of the controller and forwarding device in the network, the method further includes: the management control The server establishes communication with all forwarding devices discovered on the network.

4. The method of setting control information according to claim 1, wherein when the management controller learns at least one of the following situations, the management controller sets or updates the control information of the corresponding controller:

Add new forwarding devices and/or controllers to the network;

There are controllers in the network that are idle;

Forwarding device and/or controller transmit failure.

5. The method of setting control information as claimed in claim 4, wherein,

When a controller is added to the network, or a controller in the network is in an idle state, the management controller obtains information about the controllers and forwarding devices in the network, including: The newly added controller or the controller in an idle state device information;

Wherein, the management controller setting the control information of the controller includes: the management controller adjusts the control information of the existing controller on the forwarding device in the network based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device; For a new controller or it is idle The stateful controller allocates forwarding devices; When a new forwarding device is added to the network, the information obtained by the management controller about the controller and the forwarding device in the network includes: the information about the new forwarding device; the controller's control of the forwarding device assigned to the controller The permissions include: the management controller designates a controller for the newly added forwarding device, and sets the control authority of the controller designated for the newly added forwarding device over the newly added forwarding device;

When a controller in the network transmits a fault, setting the control information of each controller on the forwarding device includes: the management controller designates a new controller for the forwarding device connected to the failed controller, and sets the new controller Control of the forwarding device connected to the failed controller.

6. The method of setting control information according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network includes: the load status of the controller;

Correspondingly, the management controller setting the control information of each controller to the forwarding device based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device includes: the management controller setting the control information of the controller to the forwarding device based on the load condition. control information.

7. The method of setting control information according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network includes: the load status of the controller and the network of the controller and the forwarding device in the network. topology;

Correspondingly, the management controller, based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device, sets the control information of each controller on the forwarding device including: the management controller sets based on the load condition and the network topology. Control information from the controller to the forwarding device.

8. A method of establishing communication, including:

The controller sends its own information to the management controller in the network;

The controller receives the control information sent by the management controller, where the control information is the control information of the controller on the forwarding device that is set by the management controller based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device. ; The controller establishes communication with the corresponding forwarding device according to the control information.

9. The method of establishing communication according to claim 8, wherein the self-information includes: the load condition of the controller.

10. A management controller, the management controller includes: an acquisition module, a setting module and a first sending module; wherein,

The acquisition module is configured to obtain information about the controller and the forwarding device in the network; the setting module is configured to set the control information of the controller on the forwarding device based on the information about the controller and the forwarding device;

The first sending module is configured to send the control information to the corresponding controller.

11. The management controller as claimed in claim 10, wherein the acquisition module is configured to acquire the load status of the controller in the network and the network topology of the controller and the forwarding device;

The setting module is configured to set the control information of the controller to the forwarding device according to the load condition and the network topology.

12. A controller, the controller includes: a second sending module, a receiving module and a communication module; wherein,

The second sending module is configured to send the controller's own information to the management controller in the network;

The receiving module is configured to receive the control information of the controller on the forwarding device sent by the management controller based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The communication module is configured to establish communication with the corresponding forwarding device based on the controller information.

13. A management controller, the management controller includes: a first Ethernet port, a first memory and a processor; wherein,

The first Ethernet port is configured to obtain information about the controller and forwarding devices in the network and store it in the first memory; The first memory is configured to set the control information of the controller to the forwarding device based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device;

The processor is configured to detect at least one of the following situations: whether a new forwarding device and/or controller is added to the network, whether a controller is in an idle state, or whether the forwarding device and/or controller fails, and if so, to the corresponding control Set or update the control information of the device;

Wherein, the first Ethernet port is configured to send the control information to the corresponding controller.

14. A controller applied in a software-defined network, the controller including a second Ethernet port configured to send the controller's own information to a management controller in the network;

The second Ethernet port is configured to receive the control information of the controller to the forwarding device sent by the management controller based on the information of the controller and the forwarding device; based on the controller information and the corresponding forwarding device Establish communication.