PACKET RELAY DEVICE

• US 20110211585A1
• Filed: 01/12/2011
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alaxala Networks Corporation (Fortinet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alaxala Networks Corporation (Fortinet Inc.)
• Inventors: KODAKA, Hideo, Miyajima, Kengo
• Granted Patent: US 8,971,337 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• 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 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A packet relay device determines a port to be placed on standby in a link aggregation, determines whether there is an active port among ports belonging to redundant network interfaces, and, if a network interface has no active port, places the network interface on standby. The packet relay device monitors whether a failure has occurred in an active network interface and, if a failure is detected, activates a standby network interface and places the failed network interface on standby.

Claims

1. A packet relay device connected to a plurality of networks, comprising:

a plurality of network interfaces that transmit or receive packets to or from the networks;

a plurality of ports connected to physical network lines in the network interfaces;

a packet transfer unit that determines a transfer destination of a packet received via one of the network interfaces on the basis of header information of the packet and transfers the packet to one of the network interfaces; and

a device control unit that stores a program for controlling the packet relay device, the device control unit including;

a command analysis unit that analyzes a device configuration command;

an operation control unit that incorporates a command analysis result and determines an appropriate power state on the basis of the state of hardware; and

a hardware control unit that controls power supply to the hardware and detects statistic information and a failure,

wherein a plurality of link aggregations that make the network interfaces redundant and handle ports of the redundant network interfaces as a single organized virtual line are used,

the operation control unit determines a port to be placed on standby in the link aggregations, determines whether there is any active port among the ports belonging to the redundant network interfaces, and, if a first network interface of the redundant network interfaces has no active port, places the first network interface on standby,

the hardware control unit monitors whether a failure has occurred in an active second network interface of the redundant network interfaces and, if a failure is detected, notifies the operation control unit of the failure, and

the operation control unit activates the standby first network interface and places on standby the failed second network interface or a failed port thereof.

2. The packet relay device according to claim 1,

wherein the operation control unit calculates a traffic volume upper limit in accordance with the number of ports belonging to each of the link aggregations on the basis of a threshold, compares the sum of traffic volumes of ports belonging to each link aggregation with the upper limit, the sum of traffic volumes being measured in a predetermined period, selects an optimum port count according to the measured sum of traffic volumes, and changes power supply to the ports belonging to the link aggregations so that the number of active ports is equal to the optimum port count.

3. The packet relay device according to claim 1,

wherein the hardware control unit performs a check on the quality of the ports in a given period on the basis of a normal value range and an allowable occurrence frequency, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur, the normal value range and the allowable occurrence frequency being criteria of check items, the check items being check items with which the quality of the ports included in the link aggregations is checked, and

if the check reveals that a port belonging to an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the hardware control unit activates a standby network interface and then places the active network interface on standby.

4. The packet relay device according to claim 3, further comprising:

means for changing the normal value range and the allowable occurrence frequency.

5. The packet relay device according claim 1,

wherein activation and deactivation of the redundant network interfaces are controlled on a specified date and time.

6. The packet relay device according claim 2,

wherein activation and deactivation of the redundant network interfaces are controlled on a specified date and time.

7. The packet relay device according claim 3,

wherein activation and deactivation of the redundant network interfaces are controlled on a specified date and time.

8. The packet relay device according to claim 1,

wherein in the case where the packet relay device comprises a plurality of packet relay devices and where a network configuration is employed where a connection state of the link aggregations connecting the packet relay devices is monitored using a protocol, the operation control unit checks that a port of an active redundant network interface is linked up and that communications can be performed using the protocol and then places the active network interface on standby.

9. The packet relay device according to claim 8,

wherein when the operation control unit receives a packet for checking the connection state of the link aggregations using the protocol from the opposite packet relay device so that the connection state is changed to a state where communications can be performed, the operation control unit places the active network interface on standby.

10. The packet relay device according to claim 1,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

11. The packet relay device according to claim 2,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

12. The packet relay device according to claim 3,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

13. The packet relay device according to claim 4,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

14. The packet relay device according to claim 5,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

15. The packet relay device according to claim 6,

wherein the operation control unit determines the quality of the network interfaces on the basis of a criterion value and an allowable occurrence frequency, the criterion value representing the maximum frequency with which a recovery process is performed when a failure occurs in a redundant network interface, the allowable occurrence frequency being the frequency with which an abnormality is allowed to occur in a network interface, and

when determining that an active redundant network interface is abnormal, the operation control unit activates a standby network interface among network interfaces other than the active redundant network interface and places the active redundant network interface on standby.

16. The packet relay device according to claim 3, further comprising:

means for, when the frequency with which an abnormality has occurred in a port exceeds the allowable occurrence frequency, handling a network interface to which the port belongs, as an abnormal network interface.

17. The packet relay device according to claim 10, further comprising:

means for, when the frequency with which an abnormality has occurred in a port exceeds the allowable occurrence frequency, handling a network interface to which the port belongs, as an abnormal network interface.

18. The packet relay device according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for, when the frequency with which an abnormality has occurred in a port exceeds the allowable occurrence frequency, handling a network interface to which the port belongs, as an abnormal network interface.

19. The packet relay device according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for, when the frequency with which an abnormality has occurred in a port exceeds the allowable occurrence frequency, handling a network interface to which the port belongs, as an abnormal network interface.

20. The packet relay device according to claim 13, further comprising:

means for, when the frequency with which an abnormality has occurred in a port exceeds the allowable occurrence frequency, handling a network interface to which the port belongs, as an abnormal network interface.