Virtual routers for GMPLS networks

• US 20060221981A1
• Filed: 01/23/2006
• Published: 10/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Ashwood-Smith, Peter, Swinkels, Gerard, Miedema, David, Skalecki, Darek
• Granted Patent: US 7,995,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/400
• 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 45/586 of virtual routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/76 Routing in software-defined topologies, e.g. routing between virtual machines

Abstract

Virtual routers that abstract photonic sub-domains are provided for GMPLS networks. A virtual router uses a link viability matrix to keep track of the set of viable connections between inputs and outputs of a photonic sub-domains. A virtual router may receive RSVP-TE signaling messages and either allocate a working input to output link pair or, if explicitly signaled, verify that the requested link is currently viable. A virtual router also advertises, in its link state updates, the current set of possible outputs for any input link. Shortest path computations can be implemented utilizing virtual routers by modifying a topology graph in accordance with the link viability matrix of the virtual router.

Claims

1. A virtual router, comprising:

a photonic sub-domain;

a link viability matrix for the photonic sub-domain; and

operable logic adapted to create and update the link viability matrix.

2. A virtual router according to claim 1, wherein the link viability matrix indicates the costs for each viable connection in the link viability matrix.

3. A virtual router according to claim 1, further comprising operable logic adapted to advertise link viabilities to GMPLS networks.

4. A virtual router according to claim 1, wherein the virtual router is compatible with a GMPLS network.

5. A method of abstracting a photonic sub-domain, comprising:

creating a link viability matrix for the photonic sub-domain.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising updating the link viability matrix.

7. A method according to claim 5, further comprising advertising link viabilities to GMPLS networks.

8. A method for computing a shortest path in a GMPLS network, comprising modifying a GMPLS topology graph in accordance with a link viability matrix of a virtual router.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein modifying the topology graph includes adding a node to the topology graph for each I/O connection in of the virtual router having a viable link to another I/O connection in the virtual router.