Framework for temporal label switched path tunnel services

• US 10,715,447 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2016
• Issued: 07/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Chen, Huaimo
• Primary Examiner(s): Renner, Brandon M
• Application Number:
  US15/269,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20170111282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,394 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0897 by horizontal or vertical scaling of resources, or by migrating entities, e.g. virtual resources or entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/122 of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/18 End to end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/724 at intermediate nodes, e.g. resource reservation protocol [RSVP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/781 Centralised allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/254 Centralised controller, i.e. arbitration or scheduling

Abstract

A T-SDN controller including a T-LSP manager, a temporal path element, a T-TED, a T-LDB, a T-LSPDB, and a network interface. The T-LSP receives a path request including time intervals and a set of constraints. The temporal path element obtains traffic engineering information and computes a path satisfying time intervals and a set of constraints. The T-TED reserves bandwidth corresponding to the path during the time intervals upon request by the T-LSP manager. The T-LDB reserves labels for the links during the time intervals upon request by the T-LSP manager. The T-LSPDB stores the time intervals, the set of constraints, the labels, and the bandwidth. The network interface permits the T-LSP manager to communicate with the nodes in the network to establish a temporal LSP along the path as computed.

Claims

1. A temporal software defined network (T-SDN) controller configured to manage a network containing a plurality of nodes connected by links, comprising:

a temporal label switched path (T-LSP) manager configured to receive a path request, wherein the path request includes a time interval and a set of constraints;

a temporal path element operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the temporal path element is configured to;

receive the path request from the T-LSP manager;

obtain traffic engineering information;

compute a path satisfying the time interval and the set of constraints based on the traffic engineering information obtained; and

provide the path as computed to the T-LSP manager;

a temporal traffic engineering database (T-TED) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager and the temporal path element, wherein the T-TED is configured to;

provide the traffic engineering information to the temporal path element for use in computing the path upon request by the temporal path element; and

reserve bandwidth corresponding to the path during the time interval upon request by the T-LSP manager;

a temporal label database (T-LDB) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the T-LDB is configured to reserve labels for the links along the path during the time interval upon request by the T-LSP manager;

a temporal LSP database (T-LSPDB) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the T-LSPDB is configured to store the time interval, the set of constraints, the labels, and the bandwidth; and

a network interface operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the network interface permits the T-LSP manager to communicate with an ingress node in the network to establish a temporal LSP at a start of the time interval along the path as computed, and delete the temporal LSP at an end of the time interval.

2. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the path request is received from one of an application and a network administrator.

3. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the temporal path element is a temporal constrained shortest path first (T-CSPF) element.

4. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the temporal path element is a temporal path computation element (T-PCE), and wherein the T-PCE communicates with a second T-PCE in a second network to compute an end-to-end path satisfying the time interval and the set of constraints and establish an end-to-end temporal LSP along the path through the network and the second network.

5. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the traffic engineering information comprises a bandwidth for each link in the network corresponding to the time interval.

6. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the temporal LSP is set up prior to or at a start of a first time interval, and the temporal LSP is deleted at an end of a last time interval.

7. The T-SDN controller of claim 1, wherein the network interface utilizes a Path Computation Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP).

8. A temporal software defined network (T-SDN) controller configured to manage a network containing a plurality of nodes connected by links, comprising:

a temporal label switched path (T-LSP) manager configured to receive a path request, wherein the path request includes time intervals and a set of constraints;

a temporal path element operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the temporal path element is configured to;

receive the path request from the T-LSP manager;

obtain traffic engineering information;

compute a path satisfying the time intervals and the set of constraints based on the traffic engineering information obtained; and

provide the path as computed to the T-LSP manager;

a temporal traffic engineering database (T-TED) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager and the temporal path element, wherein the T-TED is configured to;

provide the traffic engineering information to the temporal path element for use in computing the path upon request by the temporal path element; and

reserve bandwidth corresponding to the path during the time intervals upon request by the T-LSP manager;

a temporal LSP database (T-LSPDB) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the T-LSPDB is configured to store the time intervals, the set of constraints, and the bandwidth; and

a network interface operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the network interface permits the T-LSP manager to instruct an ingress node in the network to establish a temporal LSP along the path as computed, wherein the T-SDN controller instructs the ingress node in the network to signal the temporal LSP in the network along the path computed prior to or at a start of a first of the time intervals and to tear down the temporal LSP at an end of a last of the time intervals.

9. The T-SDN controller of claim 8, wherein the T-SDN controller further comprises an LSP manager configured to establish an LSP without the time intervals corresponding to the path as computed.

10. The T-SDN controller of claim 9, wherein the temporal path element is a temporal constrained shortest path first (T-CSPF) element, and wherein the T-SDN controller further comprises at least one of a CSPF, a TED, and a LSPDB.

11. The T-SDN controller of claim 10, wherein a first portion of network resources is configured on the T-SDN controller for an LSP with time intervals and stored in the T-TED and a second portion of the network resources is configured on the T-SDN controller for an LSP without any time intervals and stored in the TED.

12. The T-SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the first portion of the network resources is a portion of a link bandwidth of every link and the second portion of the network resources is a rest portion of the link bandwidth of every link.

13. The T-SDN controller of claim 9, wherein the T-LSP manager instructs at least one intermediate node in the network to establish the temporal LSP along the path as computed, and wherein the T-SDN controller further comprises a temporal label database (T-LDB) operably coupled to the T-LSP manager, wherein the T-LDB is configured to reserve labels for the links during the time intervals upon request by the T-LSP manager.

14. The T-SDN controller of claim 13, wherein a range of a label space for every node is configured on the T-SDN controller for an LSP with time intervals and stored in the T-LDB and the same range of the label space for the node is configured on the node and a rest range of the label space for the node is used for an LSP without any time intervals.

15. The T-SDN controller of claim 8, wherein the temporal path element is a temporal path computation element (T-PCE), and wherein the T-PCE communicates with a second T-PCE in a second network to compute an end-to-end path satisfying the time intervals and the set of constraints and establish an end-to-end temporal LSP along the path through the network and the second network.