Method and system for protecting a sub-domain within a broadcast domain

• US 20070268817A1
• Filed: 10/11/2006
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Mohan, Dinesh, Holness, Marc, Ellis, Donald, Bashford, Adrian, Smallegange, Gerald, Charbonneau, Martin
• Application Number:
  US11/546,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20070268817A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1863 comprising mechanisms for improved reliability, e.g. status reports arrangements for detecting or preventing errors by carrying supervisory signal the return channel H04L1/16
• 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 41/0677 Localisation of faults

Abstract

A method and system for protecting a service available on a broadcast domain. A sub-domain is established within the broadcast domain. The sub-domain includes a group of nodes used to provide a communication path to the service. A primary sub-domain maintenance association and a back-up sub-domain maintenance association are monitored. The primary and sub-domain maintenance associations are a set of primary and back-up paths, respectively, representing connectivity between nodes acting as edge nodes in the sub-domain. A fault is detected within the primary sub-domain maintenance association and a switch to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association occurs.

Claims

1. A method for protecting a service available on a broadcast domain, the method comprising:

establishing a sub-domain within the broadcast domain, the sub-domain including a group of nodes used to provide a communication path to the service;

monitoring a primary sub-domain maintenance association and a back-up sub-domain maintenance association, the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations being a set of primary and back-up paths, respectively, representing connectivity between nodes acting as edge nodes in the sub-domain;

detecting a fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association; and

switching to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sub-domain is established based on a physical relationship between the group of nodes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sub-domain is established based on a logical relationship between the group of nodes such that access to a service is self-contained within the sub-domain.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising switching packet routing from a primary sub-domain corresponding to the primary sub-domain maintenance association to a sub-domain corresponding to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association when a failure occurs on at least one of a link and a node on a path within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising associating services to be managed with a sub-domain protection group, wherein the switching is managed using the sub-domain protection group.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating one or more remote node end points (“

RMEPs”

) with the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations, wherein a state of communication with the RMEPs is monitored to detect the fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs is monitored using unicast continuity check messages.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs are monitored using multicast and unicast continuity check messages indicating remote defect identification (“

RDI”

), the unicast messages indicating RDI being sent to an RMEP having a detected communications failure.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs are monitored using multicast continuity check messages, at least a portion of the multicast continuity check messages indicating remote defect identification (“

RDI”

), the multicast messages indicating RDI and including a list of RMEP having a detected communications failure.

10. The method of claim 1, further including monitoring the domain maintenance association, wherein monitoring the domain maintenance association and monitoring the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations are performed by a same set of MEPs.

11. The method of claim 1, further including monitoring the domain maintenance association, wherein monitoring the domain maintenance association and monitoring the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations are performed by a first set and a second set of MEPs, respectively.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein monitoring of the domain maintenance association is performed at a first rate and monitoring of the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations are performed at a second rate, the second rate being faster than the first rate.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein switching to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association includes switching traffic between a primary path and a back-up path across a sub-domain NNI interface by switching an incoming VLAN to an active VLAN path value and restoring the VLAN value upon egress from the sub-domain.

14. A system for providing a service available on a broadcast domain, the system comprising:

a plurality of nodes, the plurality of nodes being arranged as a sub-domain which provide a communication path to the service, each of the nodes including;

a storage device arranged to store data corresponding to a primary sub-domain maintenance association and a back-up sub-domain maintenance association, the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations being a set of primary and back-up paths, respectively, representing connectivity between nodes acting as edge nodes in the sub-domain; and

a central processing unit, the central processing unit operating to;

detect a fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association; and

switch to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the sub-domain is based on a physical relationship between the group of nodes.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the sub-domain is based on a logical relationship between the group of nodes such that access to a service is self-contained within the sub-domain.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the central processing unit further switches packet routing from a primary sub-domain corresponding to the primary sub-domain maintenance association to a sub-domain corresponding to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association when a failure occurs on at least one of a link and a node on a path within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.

18. The system of claim 17, services to be managed and the sub-domain maintenance associations are associated with a sub-domain protection group, wherein the switching is managed based on a state of the sub-domain maintenance associations.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising associating one or more remote node end points (“

RMEPs”

) with the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations, wherein a state of communication with the RMEPs is monitored by the central processing unit to detect the fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs is monitored using unicast continuity check messages.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs are monitored using multicast and unicast continuity check messages indicating remote defect identification (“

RDI”

), the unicast messages indicating RDI being sent to an RMEP having a detected communications failure.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the state of communications with the one or more RMEPs are monitored using multicast continuity check messages, at least a portion of the multicast continuity check messages indicating remote defect identification (“

RDI”

), the multicast messages indicating RDI and including a list of RMEP having a detected communications failure.

23. A storage medium storing a computer program which when executed performs method for protecting a service available on a broadcast domain, the method comprising:

establishing a sub-domain within the broadcast domain, the sub-domain including a group of nodes used to provide a communication path to the service;

monitoring a primary sub-domain maintenance association and a back-up sub-domain maintenance association, the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations being a set of primary and back-up paths, respectively, representing connectivity between nodes acting as edge nodes in the sub-domain;

detecting a fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association; and

switching to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising switching packet routing from a primary sub-domain corresponding to the primary sub-domain maintenance association to a sub-domain corresponding to the back-up sub-domain maintenance association when a failure occurs on at least one of a link and a node on a link on a path within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising associating services to be managed with a sub-domain protection group, wherein the switching is managed using the sub-domain protection group.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising associating one or more remote node end points (“

RMEPs”

) with the primary and back-up sub-domain maintenance associations, wherein a state of communication with the RMEPs is monitored to detect the fault within the primary sub-domain maintenance association.