VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK TO LABEL SWITCHED PATH MAPPING

• US 20140160925A1
• Filed: 12/10/2012
• Published: 06/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Xu, Fengman, Copeland, William F., Elshatali, Khalid M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,036,477 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/235
• 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 47/17 Interaction among intermediate nodes, e.g. hop by hop

Abstract

A method, a device, and a storage medium provide for storing an extended forwarding information base that includes path values that indicate paths to route traffic, wherein the paths include optimal and sub-optimal paths based on a shortest path metric; receiving a traffic flow; inspecting the traffic flow; selecting a next hop and one of the path values associated with the next hop based on the inspecting; identifying one or more paths to route the traffic flow in accordance with one or more paths indicated by the one of the path values; and transmitting the traffic flow along the one or more paths toward a destination.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing, by a network device, an extended label forwarding information base that includes label switched path values that indicate paths to route traffic, wherein the paths include optimal and sub-optimal paths based on a shortest path metric;

receiving, by the network device, a traffic flow;

inspecting, by the network device, the traffic flow;

selecting, by the network device, a next hop and one of the label switched path values associated with the next hop based on the inspecting;

identifying, by the network device, one or more paths to route the traffic flow in accordance with one or more paths indicated by the one of the label switched path values; and

transmitting, by the network device, the traffic flow along the one or more paths toward a destination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of the label switched path values indicates at least one sub-optimal path.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of the label switched path values indicates multiple paths including at least one sub-optimal path, and the method further comprising:

load-balancing the traffic flow along the multiple paths.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interpreting the one of the label switched path values based on a byte format, wherein the one of the label switched path values is represented in a byte having a zero bit position to a seventh bit position, and a one in any of the zero through seventh bit positions indicates a path such that a one in the zero bit position indicates an optimal path, a one in a second bit position represents a second best optimal path, a one in a third bit position represents a third best optimal path, a one in a fourth bit position indicates a fourth best optimal path, a one in a fifth bit position indicates a fifth best optimal path, a one in a sixth bit position indicates a sixth best optimal path, and a one in seventh bit position indicates a seventh best optimal path.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a label forwarding information base;

determining whether congestion exits;

using the extended label forwarding information base to route the traffic flow in response to determining that congestion exists; and

using the label forwarding information base to route the traffic flow in response to determining that congestion does not exist.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating, by the network device, in a liberal label retention mode.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device includes a provider edge device of a Multiprotocol Label Switching-based Virtual Private Network, the method further comprising:

adding, to the traffic flow, one or more labels associated with the one of label switched path values.

8. A network device comprising:

line interfaces;

a memory to store an extended label forwarding information base that includes label switched path values that indicate paths to route traffic, wherein the paths include optimal and sub-optimal paths based on a shortest path metric; and

a controller configured to;

receive a traffic flow;

select a next hop and one of the label switched path values associated with the next hop;

identify one or more paths to route the traffic flow in accordance with one or more paths indicated by the one of the label switched path values; and

transmit the traffic flow along the one or more paths toward a destination.

9. The network device of claim 8, wherein the one of the label switched path values indicates at least one sub-optimal path.

10. The network device of claim 8, wherein the one of the label switched path values indicates multiple paths including at least one sub-optimal path, and the network device further comprises:

a load balancer to load-balance the traffic flow along the multiple paths.

11. The network device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

interpret the one of the label switched path values based on a byte format, wherein the one of the label switched path values is represented in a byte having a zero bit position to a seventh bit position, and a one in any of the zero through seventh bit positions indicates a path such that a one in the zero bit position indicates an optimal path, a one in a second bit position represents a second best optimal path, a one in a third bit position represents a third best optimal path, a one in a fourth bit position indicates a fourth best optimal path, a one in a fifth bit position indicates a fifth best optimal path, a one in a sixth bit position indicates a sixth best optimal path, and a one in seventh bit position indicates a seventh best optimal path.

12. The network device of claim 8, wherein the memory stores a label forwarding information base, and the controller is further configured to:

determine whether congestion exits;

use the extended label forwarding information base to route the traffic flow in response to a determination that congestion exists; and

use the label forwarding information base to route the traffic flow in response to a determination that congestion does not exist.

13. The network device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

operate in a liberal label retention mode

14. The network device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

add, to the traffic flow, one or more labels associated with the one of label switched path values

15. The network device of claim 8, wherein the network device is a provider edge router of a Multiprotocol Label Switching-based Virtual Private Network.

16. A method comprising:

storing, by a network device, an extended forwarding information base that includes path values that indicate paths to route traffic, wherein the paths include optimal and sub-optimal paths based on a path metric;

receiving, by the network device, a traffic flow;

inspecting, by the network device, the traffic flow;

selecting, by the network device, a next hop and one of the path values associated with the next hop based on the inspecting;

identifying, by the network device, one or more paths to route the traffic flow in accordance with one or more paths indicated by the one of the path values; and

transmitting, by the network device, the traffic flow along the one or more paths toward a destination.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the network device is of one of a Provider Backbone Bridge Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE)-based network, a Generalized MPLS (GMPLS)-based network, or a Q-in-Q-based network, and wherein the one of the path values indicates multiple paths including at least one sub-optimal path, and the method further comprising:

load-balancing the traffic flow along the multiple paths.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

interpreting the one of the path values based on a byte format, wherein the one of the path values is represented in a byte having a zero bit position to a seventh bit position, and a one in the zero bit position indicates an optimal path, a one in a second bit position represents a second best optimal path, a one in a third bit position represents a third best optimal path, a one in a fourth bit position indicates a fourth best optimal path, a one in a fifth bit position indicates a fifth best optimal path, a one in a sixth bit position indicates a sixth best optimal path, and a one in seventh bit position indicates a seventh best optimal path, wherein the path metric includes a shortest path metric.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether congestion exits; and

using the extended forwarding information base to route the traffic flow in response to determining that congestion exists.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one of the label switched path values indicates an optimal path and wherein the traffic flow includes virtual private network traffic.