Border gateway protocol (BGP) routing policy manager, relay, and monitor

• US 20080013551A1
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Original Assignee: SBC Knowledge Ventures LP
• Inventors: Scholl, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,551,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/56 Routing software

Abstract

A system monitors signaling data transmitted between routers. The system includes at least one router that communicates signaling data via a session with at least one other router. The system also includes a network element that receives a copy of the signaling data via a control session established with the at least one router. The sessions, including the control session, can be border gateway protocol (BGP) sessions. The network element can also operate as a BGP control server or a centralized policy manager.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring signaling data transmitted between routers, comprising:

at least one router that communicates signaling data via a session with at least one other router; and

a network element that receives a copy of the signaling data via a control session established with the at least one router.

2. The system of claim 1, in which the signaling data comprises border gateway protocol (BGP) data, the session comprises a BGP session, and the control session comprises a BGP control session.

3. The system of claim 2, in which the network element comprises a control server that performs processing on behalf of the at least one router and forwards control information to the at least one router based upon the processing.

4. The system of claim 3, in which the control server performs centralized route policy control.

5. The system of claim 3, in which the BGP session is associated with an identifier that indicates an address of the control server and an identifier that indicates whether the data from the BGP session will be transmitted to the control server.

6. The system of claim 2, in which the network element comprises a monitor server that receives a copy of all BGP data via the BGP control session.

7. The system of claim 6, in which the BGP session is associated with a monitor group identifier that designates a class of the session.

8. The system of claim 7, in which the class comprises either a settlement free peer class, a transit network class, or a customer class.

9. A centralized routing policy management device for use in a network including routers that communicate using border gateway protocol (BGP), the device comprising:

a receiver that receives BGP data from a plurality of routers via BGP control sessions;

a policy analysis section that applies policy to the received BGP data; and

a transmitter that transmits routes back to the routers via the BGP control session, based upon the applied policy.

10. A computer readable medium storing a program for monitoring border gateway protocol (BGP) data via a BGP control session established between a monitor server and a router, the program comprising:

a mirror code segment that transmits BGP data, sent between routers, to the BGP control session.

11. A router that enables monitoring of border gateway protocol (BGP) data via a BGP control session established between a monitor server and the router, the router comprising:

a session establishment section that establishes BGP sessions with other routers for communicating BGP data, and establishes the BGP control session with the monitor server;

a mirror section that mirrors BGP data communicated via the BGP sessions, the mirroring comprising transmitting a copy of the BGP data to the monitor server via the BGP control session.

12. The router of claim 11, further comprising a class designator that associates each BGP session with a class identifier that indicates whether the BGP session is established with a settlement free peer, a transit network, or a customer.

13. The router of claim 11, in which the BGP control session is designated as export only when established, so that the BGP control session receives monitored data.

14. The router of claim 11, in which the BGP control session is designated as disabled when established, so that the BGP control session does not receive monitored data.

15. A border gateway protocol (BGP) network element for use with routers, the network element comprising:

a processor that performs best path processing on behalf of the routers;

a receiving system that receives BGP data from the routers; and

a transmitter that transmits control information to the routers based upon the received BGP data and the processing.

16. The network element of claim 15, in which the processor performs processing for inbound policy of the routers.

17. The network element of claim 15, in which the receiving system receives indicators along with the received data, the indicators indicating a class of the received BGP data.

18. A computer readable medium storing a program for controlling external processing executed on behalf of routers, the program comprising:

a receiving code segment that receives border gateway protocol (BGP) data from the routers;

a processing code segment that performs best path processing on behalf of the routers based upon the received BGP data; and

a transmitting code segment that transmits control information to the routers based upon the received BGP data and the processing.

19. A computer readable medium storing a program for externally controlling processing of routers, the program comprising:

a transmitting code segment that transmits a copy of border gateway protocol (BGP) data to an external processor via a control session; and

a receiving code segment that receives control information from the external processor via the control session, the control information being calculated by external processing of the transmitted BGP data.

20. A computer readable medium storing a program for execution within a centralized routing policy management system comprising a network including routers that communicate using border gateway protocol (BGP), the program comprising:

a session establishment code segment that establishes BGP sessions amongst routers for communicating BGP data, and establishes a BGP control session with an external processor;

a mirror code segment that mirrors BGP data communicated via the BGP sessions, the mirroring comprising transmitting a copy of the BGP data to the external processor via the BGP control session;

a receiving code segment that receives BGP data via the BGP control session;

a policy analysis code segment that applies policy to the received BGP data;

a transmitting code segment that transmits routes via the BGP control session, based upon the applied policy; and

a receiving code segment that receives routes from the external processor via the BGP control session, the control information being calculated by external processing of the transmitted BGP data.