Open service discovery and routing mechanism for configuring cross-domain telecommunication services

• US 20050259655A1
• Filed: 07/30/2004
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Guingo, Pierrick Jacques, Sim, Michel, Cuervo, J. Fernando, Jansen, Arnoldus Joannes Jacobus
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,852 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/025 Updating only a limited number of routers, e.g. fish-eye update
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing

Abstract

Apparatus and method are provided for distributing service domain reachability information across domain boundaries, thereby allowing domain management systems to determine routing for cross-domain services even when the domains have different technologies or administrators. A Service Domain Manager within each domain advertises to neighbouring domains which services it supports. A domain which receives such advertisements forwards the advertisement on to other domains. Each SDM builds a routing information table which specifies the service, the domain, the next hop, and optionally user defined metrics. The routing information table does not include end-point addresses, in order to keep the size of the table manageable. In this way, the NMS of each domain obtains an end-to-end view of service routes.

Claims

1. A method of distributing service domain reachability information across domain boundaries in a communication network, the domains differing in at least one of administrator, technology, and vendor, the method comprising:

transmitting an advertisement identifying a service supported within a domain to at least one peer domain;

monitoring for receipt of advertisements from peer domains; and

upon receipt of an advertisement from a peer domain;

adding to a routing information table an identification of the service, an identification of an originating domain of the advertisement, and an identification of the peer domain; and

propagating the advertisement to other peer domains.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, upon receipt of an advertisement, adding to the routing information table at least one metric to be associated with the service, with the originating domain, and with the peer domain.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting an advertisement comprises transmitting the advertisement over an out-of-path channel.

4. A network element within a first domain of a network, the network including at least one other domain differing from the first domain in at least one of administrator, technology, and vendor, at least one of the other domain being a peer domain of the first domain, the network element comprising:

a routing information table; and

a service domain manager, comprising;

means for transmitting to at least one peer domain an advertisement identifying a service supported within the first domain and identifying the first domain;

means for monitoring for receipt of received advertisements from the at least one peer domain;

means for, upon receipt of a received advertisement, adding to the routing information table an identification of the service specified by the received advertisement, an identification of an originating domain specified by the received advertisement, and an identification of the peer domain from which the received advertisement was received; and

means for, upon receipt of a received advertisement, propagating the received advertisement to other peer domains.

5. The network element of claim 4 further comprising:

means for, upon receipt of a received advertisement, computing at least one new metric value associated with the service specified by the received advertisement, the originating domain specified by the received advertisement, and the peer domain specified by the received advertisement; and

means for associating within the routing information table the at least one metric value.

6. The network element of claim 5 wherein the means for propagating the received advertisement comprise means for propagating the at least one metric value along with the advertisement.

7. The network element of claim 4 wherein the means for transmitting an advertisement comprise transmitting the advertisement over an out-of-path channel.

8. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for use in a network element within a first domain of a network, the network including at least one other domain differing from the first domain in at least one of administrator, technology, and vendor, at least one of the other domain being a peer domain of the first domain, the instructions comprising:

instructions for maintaining a routing information table;

instructions for transmitting to at least one peer domain an advertisement identifying a service supported within the first domain and identifying the first domain;

instructions for monitoring for receipt of received advertisements from the at least one peer domain;

instructions for, upon receipt of a received advertisement, adding to the routing information table an identification of the service specified by the received advertisement, an identification of an originating domain specified by the received advertisement, and an identification of the peer domain from which the received advertisement was received; and

instructions for, upon receipt of a received advertisement, propagating the received advertisement to other peer domains.