Softrouter dynamic binding protocol

• US 20060092857A1
• Filed: 06/08/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Woo, Thomas Y., Lakshman, Tirunell V., Nandagopal, Thyagarajan, Ramjee, Ramachandran, Ansari, Furquan Ahmed, Havemann, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 8,953,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/26 Route discovery packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/60 Router architectures

Abstract

A dynamic binding protocol has three tasks that run in parallel: discovery, association, and operation. During discovery, control elements (CEs) and forwarding elements (FEs) learn about immediate neighbors and CEs in a SoftRouter network that has separate control and data planes. During association, FEs associate with CEs and are configured with basic parameters, such as IP interface addresses, hostnames, and the like. During operation, failover and packet tunneling between CEs and FEs is handled.

Claims

1. A dynamic binding protocol process, comprising:

dynamically establishing forwarding element (FE) to control element (CE) communication paths; and

controlling traffic transport for a network, the network including a data plane and a control plane that are physically and logically separate, the data plane including a plurality of FEs for packet forwarding, the control plane including a plurality of CEs for configuring, controlling, and providing routing information to the FEs via a protocol.

2. The dynamic binding protocol process of claim 1, wherein dynamically establishing FE to CE communication paths includes:

discovering, by FEs, primary and backup CEs to control the FEs through CE advertisements;

monitoring the FE to CE communication paths; and

switching to backup CEs when primary CEs fail.

3. The dynamic binding protocol process of claim 1, wherein controlling traffic transport includes allowing FE to CE control communication, when a routing failure leaves a FE unreachable.

4. A network architecture, comprising:

a data plane including a plurality of forwarding elements (FEs) for packet forwarding;

at least one control element (CEs) for configuring, controlling, and providing routing information to the FEs via a standard protocol;

a dynamic binding protocol for establishing FE-to-CE communication paths and controlling traffic transport, the dynamic binding protocol having a discovery task, an association task, and an operation task;

a control plane that is physically and logically separate from the data plane, the control plane including the CEs.

5. The network architecture of claim 4, wherein the dynamic binding protocol has protocol messages that are independent from transport.

6. The network architecture of claim 4, wherein the discovery task, the association task, and the operation task run in parallel.

7. The network architecture of claim 4, wherein the operation task includes performing protocol failovers and transport.

8. A dynamic binding protocol process, comprising:

sending, by forwarding elements (FEs) and control elements (CEs), periodic hello neighbor messages;

sending, by FEs and CEs, periodic solicitation messages;

sending, by CEs, advertisement messages in response to the solicitations messages;

sending, by FEs, reachability messages in response to the solicitation messages;

aggregating and propagating, by FEs, the advertisement and reachability messages;

associating FEs with CEs so that each FE has associated CEs controlling that FE;

configuring, by CEs, the controlled FEs;

9. The dynamic binding protocol process of claim 8, further comprising:

performing a protocol failover from one CE to another CE for a particular FE.

10. A dynamic binding protocol process, comprising:

booting a control element (CE) to bring it from a down state to an up state;

receiving, by the CE, solicitation messages;

propagating, by the CE, its identity through advertisement messages;

determining whether the CE is associated with any forwarding elements (FEs); and

controlling, by the CE, the associated FEs.

11. A dynamic binding protocol process, comprising:

receiving solicitation messages;

responding to the solicitation messages by propagating CEs in reachability messages and by requesting an association, after collecting a set of CEs;

receiving an association acceptance from a CE and being controlled by the CE;

responding to the association acceptance by requesting an activation;

receiving an activation response from the CE;

sending an activation request to a backup CE, upon failure of the associated CE; and

receiving an activation acknowledgement from the backup CE and being controlled by the backup CE.

12. The dynamic binding protocol process of claim 11, further comprising:

sending heartbeat message to the associated CE; and

receiving heartbeat acknowledgement messages from the associated CE.

13. A storage medium storing instructions for performing a dynamic binding protocol process, the process comprising:

dynamically establishing forwarding element (FE) to control element (CE) communication paths; and

controlling traffic transport for a network, the network including a data plane and a control plane that are physically and logically separate, the data plane including a plurality of FEs for packet forwarding, the control plane including a plurality of CEs for configuring, controlling, and providing routing information to the FEs via a standard protocol.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein dynamically establishing FE to CE communication paths includes:

discovering, by FEs, primary CEs to control the FEs through CE advertisements;

monitoring the FE to CE communication paths; and

switching to backup CEs when primary CEs fail.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein controlling traffic transport includes allowing FE to CE control communication, when a routing failure leaves a FE unreachable.