OAM and Time Slot Control in a Deterministic ARC Chain Topology Network

• US 20150023328A1
• Filed: 09/09/2013
• Published: 01/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thubert, Pascal, Vasseur, Jean-Philippe, Wetterwald, Patrick
• Granted Patent: US 9,456,444 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1694 Allocation of channels in TDM/TDMA networks, e.g. distributed multiplexers Passive Optical Networks H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/32 Flooding denial of service attacks H04L63/1458
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/023 Limited or focused flooding to selected areas of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames

Abstract

In one embodiment, a network of nodes is configured to communicate according to a configuration of Available Routing Construct (ARC) chains as well as monitoring communication in the network, and/or selectively controls whether or not provisioned particular links will be used. One embodiment colors nodes of the network (e.g., a wireless deterministic network) along different paths through the network and marks packets with the color of each traversed node to track a path taken by a packet. One embodiment sends a particular packet through the network and marks over which links the packet traverses and aggregates these traversed links of other copies of the particular packet. One embodiment controls whether or not the provisioned time slots are used based on flooding a control packet through the network with enable or disable information for each of these links.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending a particular packet through an Available Routing Construct (ARC) chain topology deterministic network, with said sending including communicating the particular packet through the network using a plurality of time slots for sending and receiving the particular packet between nodes of the network, with each of the plurality of time slots associated with a unique identifier; and

tracking said unique identifiers of which of the plurality of time slots are successfully or not successfully used to communicate the particular packet through the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said tracking said unique identifiers includes modifying the particular packet as it traverses nodes of the network to represent successfully used time slots used to communicate the particular packet between nodes in the network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the particular packet includes a bitmap to said represent the successfully used time slot.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the bitmap represents successfully used and not used plurality of times slots to communicate copies of the particular packet through the network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network;

and wherein the method includes adjusting time slots used to communicate the particular packet through the wireless deterministic network in response to information acquired by said tracking said unique identifiers of which of the plurality of time slots are successfully or not successfully used to communicate the particular packet through the network.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said representation of successfully used time slots used to communicate the particular packet between nodes in the network includes a reflection of successfully used times slots to communicate copies of the particular packet through the network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said tracking said unique identifiers of which of the plurality of time slots are successfully or not successfully used to communicate the particular packet through the network includes a reflection of successfully used times slots to communicate copies of the particular packet through the network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising adjusting time slots used to communicate the particular packet through the wireless deterministic network in response to information acquired by said tracking said unique identifiers of which of the plurality of time slots are successfully or not successfully used to communicate the particular packet through the network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network;

and wherein the particular packet is said sent through the ARC chain topology deterministic network prior in verifying the integrity of the network prior to sending data packets though the network using the same timeslots as used to send the particular packet.

11. A method comprising:

sending a particular packet through an Available Routing Construct (ARC) chain topology network, wherein nodes of a first path to a destination through the network are configured to mark a packet with a first color and nodes of a second path to the destination through the network are configured to mark a packet with a second color; and

determining, based on the particular packet received at the destination being marked with the first color, the second color or both the first and second colors, whether the received particular packet traversed the first path, the second path or portions of both the first and second path.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each first particular node on the first path is configured to forward the particular packet not marked with the second color and not the particular packet marked with the second color when two copies of the particular packet are received by said first particular node including the particular packet not marked with the second color.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each second particular node on the second path is configured to forward the particular packet not marked with the first color and not the particular packet marked with the first color when two copies of the particular packet are received by said second particular node including the particular packet not marked with the first color.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising adjusting time slots used to communicate the particular packet through the wireless deterministic network in response to said determination of whether the received particular packet traversed the first path, the second path or portions of both the first and second path.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising adjusting time slots used to communicate the particular packet through the wireless deterministic network in response to said determination of whether the received particular packet traversed the first path, the second path or portions of both the first and second path.

18. A method, comprising:

sending a particular packet through an Available Routing Construct (ARC) chain topology deterministic network, with said sending including communicating the particular packet through the network using a plurality of time slots for sending and receiving the particular packet between nodes of the network, with each of the plurality of time slots associated with an identifier of a plurality of identifiers, wherein the packet includes enable or disable information for each of the plurality of identifiers; and

updating said at least one of the plurality of time slots by the respective sending and receiving nodes of the network according to said enable or disable information of a particular identifier associated with said at least one of the plurality of time slots.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of time slots is associated with a different identifier of the plurality of identifiers.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the network is a wireless deterministic network.