Network switching apparatus, route management server, network interface apparatus, control method therefor, computer program for route management server, and computer-readable storage medium

• US 20050089034A1
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Noboru, Nakamura, Kenji, Yamamoto, Mitsuru, Sakata, Tsuguhide, Yatsu, Hiroyuki, Niwa, Yukichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,782,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/25 Routing or path finding in a switch fabric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches

Abstract

This invention constructs within the LAN a private area network (PAN) which is configured by terminal devices (personal computers and the like) of a specific group, is hardly influenced by the LAN traffic, and has high security. For this purpose, a PAN server which manages the communication route between specific terminals is installed within the LAN. The PAN server sets the communication route of each terminal device as label information, and causes switches and terminals to set pieces of label information generated for them. When the frame of data from a given port of each connection switch contains information representing PAN communication, the connection switch outputs the data to only a port specified by routing label information described in the frame.

Claims

1. A switching apparatus having a plurality of connection ports for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to a network, comprising:

label information storage means for storing information indicative connection between ports for transmitting information, as routing label information; and

port connection control means for detecting label information contained in data when the data is received from one of the plurality of ports, acquiring routing label information corresponding to the detected label information from said label information storage means, and connecting corresponding ports in accordance with the acquired routing label information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when routing label registration instruction data is received, the routing label is stored and held on an assumption that a server which manages the routing label exists on an extension of the port that has received the data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising registration means for registering the routing label information in said label information storage means by receiving the routing label information from the server.

12. A network interface apparatus for connecting a switching apparatus defined in claim 1 and a terminal device, comprising:

MAC address storage means for storing a MAC address;

externally writable routing label member information storage means for storing information representing a network member using a routing label; and

communication frame creation means for creating a communication frame by selecting one of said MAC address storage means and said routing label member information storage means for information which specifies a transmission source in constructing the communication frame.

16. A route management server which manages a communication route of a network device connected to a switching apparatus defined in claim 1, comprising:

assignment means for assigning identification information unique to each of terminal devices on the basis of terminal device information notified from notification means;

creation means for creating a connection tree of terminal devices connected to a network;

setting means for setting, on the basis of connection tree information created by said creation means, network identification information for identifying a logical network using routing label information and authentication information for authenticating the terminal devices serving as members of the network;

labeling means for assigning, as label information in association with the network identification information, a communication route between the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information; and

notification means for notifying the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information of label information of all routes within the logical network represented by the network identification information, while setting in the authenticated terminal devices the network identification information for participation in the network and unique terminal device identification information in the network identification information.

17. The server according to claim 16, wherein the route management server further comprises label management means for managing a label assigned by said labeling means to the communication route between the terminal devices, and

in assigning the label information to the communication route, a label which is not identical to a label that has already been assigned to another communication route is assigned.

18. A route management server which manages a communication route of a network device connected to a switching apparatus defined in claim 1, comprising:

assignment means for assigning identification information unique to each of terminal devices on the basis of terminal device information notified from notification means;

creation means for creating a connection tree of terminal devices connected to a network;

information setting means for setting, on the basis of connection tree information created by said creation means, network identification information for identifying a logical network and authentication information for authenticating the terminal devices serving as members of the network;

terminal device setting means for setting, for each of the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information, the network identification information for participation in the network and unique terminal device identification information in the network identification information;

communication start detection means for detecting start of communication from a first terminal device authenticated by the authentication information with a second terminal device authenticated by the authentication information in association with the network identification information;

labeling means for assigning, as label information, a communication route between the first terminal device and the second terminal device when said communication start detection means detects the start of communication; and

notification means for notifying, of the label information assigned by said labeling means, the first terminal device and the second terminal device within the logical network represented by the network identification information, and all switching apparatuses on a communication route between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

19. The server according to claim 18, further comprises label management means for managing a label assigned by said labeling means to the communication route between the terminal devices, and

in assigning the label information to the communication route, a label which is not identical to a label that has already been assigned to another communication route is assigned.

20. A method of controlling a route management server which manages a communication route of a network device connected to a switching apparatus defined in claim 1, comprising:

an assignment step of assigning identification information unique to each of terminal devices on the basis of terminal device information notified from notification means;

a creation step of creating a connection tree of terminal devices connected to a network;

a setting step of setting, on the basis of connection tree information created in the creation step, network identification information for identifying a logical network using routing label information and authentication information for authenticating the terminal devices serving as members of the network;

a labeling step of assigning, as label information in association with the network identification information, a communication route between the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information; and

a notification step of notifying the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information of label information of all routes within the logical network represented by the network identification information, while setting in the authenticated terminal devices the network identification information for participation in the network and unique terminal device identification information in the network identification information.

21. A method of controlling a route management server which manages a communication route of a network device connected to a switching apparatus defined in claim 1, comprising:

an assignment step of assigning identification information unique to each of terminal devices on the basis of terminal device information notified from notification means;

a creation step of creating a connection tree of terminal devices connected to a network;

an information setting step of setting, on the basis of connection tree information created in the creation step, network identification information for identifying a logical network and authentication information for authenticating the terminal devices serving as members of the network;

a terminal device setting step of setting, for each of the terminal devices authenticated by the authentication information, the network identification information for participation in the network and unique terminal device identification information in the network identification information;

a communication start detection step of detecting start of communication from a first terminal device authenticated by the authentication information with a second terminal device authenticated by the authentication information in association with the network identification information;

a labeling step of assigning, as label information, a communication route between the first terminal device and the second terminal when the start of communication is detected in the communication start detection step; and

a notification step of notifying, of the label information assigned in the labeling step, the first terminal device and the second terminal device within the logical network represented by the network identification information, and all switching apparatuses on a communication route between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

23. A computer program which is loaded and executed by a computer and functions as a route management server that manages a communication route of a network device connected to a switching apparatus defined in claim 1, functioning as:

setting means for setting network identification information for identifying a logical network using routing label information and authentication information for authenticating devices serving as members of the network;

labeling means for assigning, as label information in association with the network identification information, a communication route between the devices authenticated by the authentication information; and

notification means for notifying the devices authenticated by the authentication information of label information of all routes within the logical network represented by the network identification information, while setting in the authenticated devices the network identification information for participation in the network and unique device identification information in the network identification information.

24. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program defined in claim 23.

4. A switching apparatus having a plurality of connection ports for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to a network, comprising:

first storage means for storing information indicative connection between ports for transmitting information, as routing label information;

second storage means for storing, in correspondence with each other, network address information and port information which specifies a port;

determination means for, when data is received from one of the plurality of ports, determining whether a frame of the data is an address communication frame or a route communication frame;

address communication relay means for, when data having the address communication frame is received, connecting a port corresponding to a destination address described in the address communication frame and a port corresponding to an originating address on the basis of information registered in said second storage means; and

routing label communication relay means for, when said determination means determines that data having the route communication frame has been received, acquiring, from said first storage means, port information specified by the routing label information described in the frame, and connecting an acquired port.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising search means for, when search for a terminal device connected to each port is requested by the route communication frame from the server, searching for the terminal device connected to each port by using the address communication frame, and notification means for, when the terminal device is confirmed, notifying the server by the route communication frame of information on the terminal device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising address registration means for, when said determination means determines that a communication frame received from the port is an address communication frame, and originating address information in the frame has not been registered in said second storage means, registering in correspondence with each other the originating address and information which specifies the port which has received the communication frame, and when a destination address has not been registered in said second storage means, specifying a port at which a terminal device having the destination address exists, and registering the destination address in said second storage means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising routing label registration means for, when the routing label information and a registration request for information which specifies ports to be connected are received in a predetermined format, registering the received routing label information and the information on the ports to be connected in said first storage means.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the route communication frame contains ID information unique to a network using a routing label, and said first storage means stores the routing label in association with the ID information.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the route communication frame is relayed preferentially to the address communication frame.

10. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said address registration means specifies a port at which a terminal device having a destination address exists, by broadcasting from all ports a request to confirm the destination address.

11. A switching apparatus having a plurality of connection ports for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to a network, comprising:

first storage means for storing information indicative connection between ports for transmitting information, as routing label information;

second storage means for storing, in correspondence with each other, network address information and port information which specifies a port;

determination means for determining a type of data received from the port; and

switching means for selectively performing, in accordance with determination by said determination means, a switching process based on information stored in said second storage means and a destination address contained in the received data, or a switching process based on information stored in said first storage means and routing label information contained in the received data.

13. A network interface apparatus which performs communication via a switching apparatus that performs label switching on the basis of label information representing a connection relationship between a plurality of connection ports, comprising:

first storage means for storing identification information for specifying the network interface in a first network;

second storage means for storing identification information for specifying communication using the network interface in a second network virtually constructed within the first network; and

communication means for performing communication selectively using the identification information stored in said first storage means or the identification information stored in said second storage means, in accordance with whether to perform label switching in the second network.

14. A method of controlling a switching apparatus having a plurality of connection ports for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to a network, comprising:

a label information storage step of storing, in predetermined storage means, information indicative connection between ports for transmitting information as routing label information; and

a port connection control step of detecting label information contained in data when the data is received from one of the plurality of ports, acquiring routing label information corresponding to the detected label information from said label information storage means, and connecting corresponding ports in accordance with the acquired routing label information.

15. A method of controlling a switching apparatus having a plurality of connection ports for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to a network, comprising:

a first storage step of storing, in first storage means, information indicative connection between ports for transmitting information, as routing label information;

a second storage step of storing network address information and port information which specifies a port, in second storage means, in correspondence with each other;

a determination step of, when data is received from the plurality of ports, determining whether a frame of the data is an address communication frame or a route communication frame;

an address registration step of, when the frame is determined in the determination step to be an address communication frame, and originating address information in the frame has not been registered in the second storage means, registering the originating address and information which specifies the port which has received the communication frame, in the second storage means in correspondence with each other, and when a destination address has not been registered in the second storage means, specifying a port at which a terminal device having the destination address exists, and registering the destination address in the second storage means;

an address communication relay step of, when data having the address communication frame is received, connecting a port corresponding to a destination address described in the address communication frame and a port corresponding to an originating address on the basis of information registered in the second storage means;

a routing label registration step of, when the routing label information and a registration request for information which specifies ports to be connected are received in a predetermined format, registering the received routing label information and the information on the ports to be connected in the first storage means; and

a routing label communication relay step of, when data having the route communication frame is determined in the determination step to have been received, acquiring, from the first storage means, port information specified by the routing label information described in the frame, and connecting an acquired port.

22. A server apparatus capable of communicating with a switching apparatus which performs label switching on the basis of label information representing a connection relationship between a plurality of connection ports, comprising:

determination means for determining a connection relationship between member apparatuses which virtually construct a second network within the first network;

creation means for creating, on the basis of the connection relationship between member apparatuses that is determined by said determination means, label information for performing label switching by the switching apparatus; and

notification means for notifying the switching apparatus of the label information created by said creation means.