Technique for automatically configuring a communication network element

• US 20080082142A1
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Diguglielmo, Philip, Yang, Xiong, Zhou, Xiaoyu, Kraml, Mark H., Clark, Andrew C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,026,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An automatically provisioned network element (26) has the ability to detect a heartbeat message interval used by a remote network element (22, 24) and to automatically adjust a heartbeat interval timer value that it uses for sending subsequent heartbeat messages. The adjustment is responsive to the interval used by the remote network element 50 that they correspond to each other. By automatically configuring the heartbeat timer interval value so that there is correspondence between the intervals used by the end points on a link over which Cisco HDLC SLARP communications occur, for example, the chance of a link being considered to have failed is decreased. In a disclosed example, the heartbeat interval timer value is initially set to a value that is expected to be higher than that used by the remote network element and only automatic reductions in the heartbeat message interval timer value are permitted.

Claims

1. A method of communicating, comprising:

automatically adjusting a first timing interval used by a first network element for sending heartbeat messages over a link responsive to an indication of a second timing interval used by a second network element for sending heartbeat messages over the link.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising

determining if the second timing interval is less than the first timing interval;

and

automatically reducing the first timing interval if the second timing interval is less than the first timing interval.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising

determining a difference between the first timing interval and the second timing interval;

and

automatically reducing the first timing interval only if the determined difference is greater than a preselected threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising

determining whether at least one of the first or second network elements is communicating over the link;

initializing the first timing interval to a preselected value; and

sending a heartbeat message from the first network element with an initial sequence number.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising

Using the first timing interval for sending a subsequent heartbeat message from the first network element with an incremented sequence number;

determining whether the second timing interval is known at the first network element;

automatically adjusting the first timing interval to correspond to the second timing interval when the second timing interval is known; and

using the adjusted first timing interval for sending any next subsequent heartbeat messages from the first network element.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising

determining a status of the link based on whether at least one of the first or second network elements is sending the heartbeat messages at a corresponding one of the intervals;

and

automatically adjusting the first timing interval for any link having an active status.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising

determining the status of the link to be one of

started when at least the first network element has started a serial link address resolution protocol on the link;

stopped when the link is not active;

up when the link is active;

or

down when traffic is expected over the link but there has been a failure in communicating the heartbeat messages between the first and second network elements.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising

allowing ingress and egress traffic on the link according to a preset policy when the determined link status is started;

preventing egress traffic on the link and allowing ingress traffic according to a preset policy when the determined link status is stopped;

allowing ingress and egress traffic on the link when the determined link status is up; and

preventing egress traffic on the link and allowing ingress traffic according to a preset policy when the determined link status is down.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising

reducing the first timing interval to correspond to the second timing interval.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising using a serial link address resolution protocol for communicating over the link.

11. A communication network element, comprising

a message sending portion that sends a plurality of heartbeat messages over a link, the heartbeat messages being separated from each other in time by a first timing interval;

and

a control that automatically adjusts the first timing interval responsive to an indication of a second timing interval used by a second network element for sending heartbeat messages over the link.

12. The communication network element of claim 11, wherein the control automatically reduces the first timing interval to correspond to the second timing interval.

13. The communication network element of claim 11, wherein the control

determines if the second timing interval is less than the first timing interval;

and

automatically reduces the first timing interval if the second timing interval is less than the first timing interval.

14. The communication network element of claim 13, wherein the control

determines a difference between the first timing interval and the second timing interval;

and

automatically reduces the first timing interval only if the determined difference is greater than a preselected threshold.

15. The communication network element of claim 11, wherein the control

determines whether at least one of the first or second network elements is communicating over the link;

initializes the first timing interval to a preselected value; and

the message sending portion sends a heartbeat message from the first network element with an initial sequence number.

16. The communication network element of claim 15, wherein

the message sending portion uses the first timing interval for sending a subsequent heartbeat message from the first network element with an incremented sequence number;

the control determines whether the second timing interval is known by the control;

the control automatically adjusts the first timing interval to correspond to the second timing interval when the second timing interval is known; and

the message sending portion uses the adjusted first timing interval for sending any next subsequent heartbeat messages from the communication network element.

17. The communication network element of claim 11, wherein the control

determines a status of the link based on whether at least one of the first or second network elements is sending the heartbeat messages at a corresponding one of the intervals;

and

automatically adjusts the first timing interval for any link having an active status.

18. The communication network element of claim 17, wherein the control

determines the status of the link to be one of

started when at least the first network element has started the SLARP protocol on the link;

stopped when the link is not active;

up when the link is active;

or

down when traffic is expected over the link but there has been a failure in communicating the heartbeat messages between the first and second network elements.

19. The communication network element of claim 18, wherein the control controls traffic on the link by

allowing ingress and egress traffic on the link according to a preset policy when the determined link status is started;

preventing egress traffic on the link and allowing ingress traffic according to a preset policy when the determined link status is stopped;

allowing ingress and egress traffic on the link when the determined link status is up; and

preventing egress traffic on the link and allowing ingress traffic according to a preset policy when the determined link status is down.