METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING SERVICE CHAIN, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM

• US 20180102919A1
• Filed: 12/08/2017
• Published: 04/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hao, Weiguo, Liang, Qiandeng, Huang, Shibi
• Granted Patent: US 10,700,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/38 Flow based routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/64 using an overlay routing layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]

Abstract

A method of implementing a service chain in a service chain-enabled domain network includes: receiving, by an intermediate service node (SN), an extended first Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) packet from a downstream SN that is on a service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN, the extended first BGP packet including a service chain path identifier identifying the service chain path and a first service chain path including a service chain path from an ingress SN to the intermediate SN, determining an upstream SN that is on the first service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN, and sending an extended second BGP packet to the upstream SN, the extended second BGP packet including the service chain path identifier and a second service chain path including a service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method of implementing a service chain in a service chain-enabled domain network, wherein service nodes (SNs) and a service chain path are configured to be deployed in the service chain-enabled domain network, the SNs comprise an ingress SN, an intermediate SN, and an egress SN, and the service chain path comprises a path from the ingress SN to the egress SN through the intermediate SN, the method comprising:

receiving, by the intermediate SN, an extended first Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) packet sent by a downstream SN that is on the service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN, wherein the extended first BGP packet comprises a service chain path identifier and a first service chain path, the service chain path identifier identifies the service chain path, and the first service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the intermediate SN;

determining, by the intermediate SN, an upstream SN that is on the first service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN; and

sending, by the intermediate SN, an extended second BGP packet to the upstream SN, wherein the extended second BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a second service chain path, and the second service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein after the receiving, by the intermediate SN, the extended first BGP packet sent by the downstream SN, the method further comprises:

establishing, by the intermediate SN, a first tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN, and linking the first tunnel to a second tunnel to form one tunnel according to the service chain path identifier, wherein the second tunnel is from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN and established by the upstream SN with the intermediate SN.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the extended first BGP packet further comprises a tunnel type, the tunnel type being a label switched path (LSP) tunnel, and

wherein the establishing, by the intermediate SN, the first tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN, and linking the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form one tunnel according to the service chain path identifier comprises:

obtaining, by the intermediate SN, a first label from the extended first BGP packet, wherein the first label is allocated by the downstream SN to the service chain path identifier, and establishing, by the intermediate SN, the first tunnel with the downstream SN, wherein the first tunnel is an LSP tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN;

allocating, by the intermediate SN, a second label to the service chain path identifier, and adding the second label to the extended second BGP packet, wherein the second label is used by the upstream SN to establish the second tunnel with the intermediate SN, and the second tunnel is an LSP tunnel from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN; and

associating, by the intermediate SN, the second label with the first label according to the service chain path identifier, and generating a label forwarding table to link the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form the one tunnel, wherein the second label is configured to be an incoming label and the first label is configured to be an outgoing label in the label forwarding table.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the extended first BGP packet comprises a tunnel type, the tunnel type being a network virtualization over layer 3 (NVO3) tunnel, and

wherein the establishing, by the intermediate SN, the first tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN, and linking the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form one tunnel according to the service chain path identifier comprises:

obtaining, by the intermediate SN, a first tunnel destination identifier from the extended first BGP packet, wherein the first tunnel destination identifier comprises an IP address of the downstream SN and a first local service chain path identifier allocated by the downstream SN to the service chain path, and establishing, by the intermediate SN, the first tunnel with the downstream SN, wherein the first tunnel is an NVO3 tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN;

allocating, by the intermediate SN, a second local service chain path identifier to the service chain path, generating a second tunnel destination identifier according to the second local service chain path identifier, and adding the second tunnel destination identifier to the extended second BGP packet, wherein the second tunnel destination identifier comprises an IP address of the intermediate SN and the second local service chain path identifier, the second tunnel destination identifier is used by the upstream SN to establish the second tunnel with the intermediate SN, and the second tunnel is an NVO3 tunnel from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN; and

associating, by the intermediate SN, the second tunnel destination identifier with the first tunnel destination identifier according to the service chain path identifier, and generating a forwarding information table to link the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form the one tunnel.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the NVO3 tunnel is a virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN) tunnel or a network virtualization using generic routing encapsulation (NVGRE) tunnel, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the intermediate SN, a service data packet of the service chain that is sent by the upstream SN, terminating a tunnel encapsulation header of the second tunnel in the service data packet, and reencapsulating a tunnel encapsulation header of the first tunnel, wherein a specific field of the tunnel encapsulation header of the first tunnel is filled with the first local service chain path identifier,

wherein, when the tunnel type is the VXLAN tunnel, the filled specific field is a VXLAN network identifier (VNI) field of a VXLAN header, and when the tunnel type is an NVGRE tunnel, the filled specific field is a virtual subnet identifier (VSI) field of an NVGRE header.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the extended first BGP packet carries extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) including a length field, a tunnel destination identifier field, and a service chain policy field,

wherein the tunnel destination identifier field comprises at least a local service chain identifier field carrying the first local service chain path identifier and a destination IP address field carrying the IP address of the downstream SN, and

wherein the service chain policy field comprises a service chain path identifier field carrying the service chain path identifier and a service chain path sequence field carrying the first service chain path.

27. A service node (SN) in a service chain-enabled domain network, wherein SNs and a service chain path are configured to be deployed in the service chain-enabled domain network, the SNs comprises the SN as an intermediate SN, an ingress SN, and an egress SN, and the service chain path comprises a path from the ingress SN to the egress SN through the intermediate SN, the intermediate SN comprising:

a communications interface configured to receive an extended first Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) packet sent by a downstream SN that is on the service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN, wherein the extended first BGP packet comprises a service chain path identifier and a first service chain path, the service chain path identifier identifies the service chain path, and the first service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the intermediate SN;

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor, wherein the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to;

determine an upstream SN that is on the first service chain path and immediately adjacent to the SN,

wherein the communications interface is configured to send an extended second BGP packet to the upstream SN, and wherein the extended second BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a second service chain path, and the second service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN.

28. The service node according to claim 27, wherein the first service chain path is the service chain path from the ingress SN to the intermediate SN, and the second service chain path is the service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN.

29. The service node according to claim 27, wherein the first service chain path is a service chain path from the ingress SN to the egress SN, and the second service chain path is the service chain path from the ingress SN to the egress SN.

30. The service node according to claim 27, wherein the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to:

after the communications interface receives the extended first BGP packet, establish a first tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN, and link the first tunnel to a second tunnel to form one tunnel according to the service chain path identifier, wherein the second tunnel is from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN and established by the upstream SN with the intermediate SN.

31. The service node according to claim 30, wherein the extended first BGP packet further comprises a tunnel type, the tunnel type being a label switched path (LSP) tunnel, and

wherein the programming instructions instruct at least one processor to:

obtain a first label from the extended first BGP packet, wherein the first label is allocated by the downstream SN to the service chain path identifier;

establish the first tunnel with the downstream SN, wherein the first tunnel is an LSP tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN;

allocate a second label to the service chain path identifier and add the second label to the extended second BGP packet, wherein the second label is used by the upstream SN to establish the second tunnel with the intermediate SN, and the second tunnel is an LSP tunnel from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN; and

associate the second label with the first label according to the service chain path identifier and generate a label forwarding table to link the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form the one channel, wherein the second label is configured to be an incoming label and the first label is configured to be an outgoing label in the label forwarding table.

32. The service node according to claim 30, wherein the extended first BGP packet further comprises a tunnel type, the tunnel type being a network virtualization over layer 3 NVO3 tunnel, and

wherein the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to:

obtain a first tunnel destination identifier from the extended first BGP packet, wherein the first tunnel destination identifier comprises an IP address of the downstream SN and a first local service chain path identifier allocated by the downstream SN to the service chain path;

establish the first tunnel with the downstream SN, wherein the first tunnel is an NVO3 tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN;

allocate a second local service chain path identifier to the service chain path, generate a second tunnel destination identifier according to the second local service chain path identifier, and add the second tunnel destination identifier to the extended second BGP packet, wherein the second tunnel destination identifier comprises an IP address of the intermediate SN and the second local service chain path identifier, the second tunnel destination identifier is used by the upstream SN to establish the second tunnel with the intermediate SN, and the second tunnel is an NVO3 tunnel from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN; and

associate the second tunnel destination identifier with the first tunnel destination identifier according to the service chain path identifier and generate a forwarding information table to link the first tunnel to the second tunnel to form the one tunnel.

33. The service node according to claim 32, wherein the NVO3 tunnel is one of a virtual extensible local area network VXLAN tunnel or a network virtualization using generic routing encapsulation NVGRE tunnel,

wherein the communications interface is configured to receive a service data packet of the service chain that is sent by the upstream SN, terminate a tunnel encapsulation header of the second tunnel in the service data packet, and reencapsulate a tunnel encapsulation header of the first tunnel, wherein a specific field of the tunnel encapsulation header of the first tunnel is filled with the first local service chain path identifier, and

wherein, when the tunnel type is a VXLAN tunnel, the filled specific field is a VXLAN network identifier (VNI) field of a VXLAN header, and when the tunnel type is an NVGRE tunnel, the filled specific field is a virtual subnet identifier (VSI) field of an NVGRE header.

34. A service chain policy decision point in a service chain-enabled domain network, comprising:

at least one processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor, wherein the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to;

orchestrate a service chain according to a requirement of a service chain service, and

generate a service chain policy of the service chain,

wherein the service chain policy indicates information for establishing a tunnel from an ingress SN of the service chain to an egress SN of the service chain and service processing, and wherein the service chain policy comprises a service chain path identifier of the service chain and a service chain path of the service chain, and the service chain path indicates a chain path from the ingress SN to the egress SN on the service chain; and

a communications interface configured to send the service chain policy to the egress SN of the service chain according to the service chain path.

35. The service chain policy decision point according to claim 34, wherein the communications interface is configured to:

receive a notification message that is sent by the ingress SN and indicates that the tunnel is established successfully, wherein the notification message carries the service chain path identifier.

36. The service chain policy decision point according to claim 35, wherein the service chain-enabled domain network further comprises a flow classifier, and

wherein, after the communications interface receives the notification message, the communications interface is further configured to send flow entry information to the ingress SN, wherein the flow entry information comprises information about the flow classifier and is forwarded by the ingress SN to the flow classifier and used to establish a pull-in tunnel from the flow classifier to the ingress SN.

37. The service chain policy decision point according to claim 35, wherein the service chain-enabled domain network further comprises a flow classifier, and the flow classifier is integrated with the ingress SN, and

wherein, after the communications interface receives the notification message, the communications interface is further configured to send an association message to the ingress SN, wherein the association message comprises an association relationship between the service chain path identifier and a flow steering rule, and the association message is used by the ingress SN to steer a flow of the service chain to the service chain path.

38. A service chain-enabled domain network system, comprising:

a service chain policy decision point configured to;

orchestrate a service chain according to a requirement of a service chain service and generate a service chain policy of the service chain, wherein the service chain policy indicates information for establishing a tunnel from an ingress service node (SN) of the service chain to an egress SN of the service chain and service processing, wherein the service chain policy comprises a service chain path identifier of the service chain and a first service chain path of the service chain, and wherein the first service chain path indicates a chain path from the ingress SN to the egress SN on the service chain; and

send the service chain policy to the egress SN of the service chain according to the service chain path;

the egress SN configured to;

obtain the service chain path identifier and the first service chain path, wherein the service chain path identifier identifies the first service chain path;

determine an upstream SN that is on the first service chain path and immediately adjacent to the egress SN; and

send an extended first Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) packet to the upstream SN, wherein the extended first BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a second service chain path, and the second service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN;

the ingress SN configured to;

receive an extended second BGP packet sent by a downstream SN that is on the service chain path and immediately adjacent to the ingress SN, wherein the extended second BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a third service chain path, the third service chain path comprises the ingress SN;

establish a tunnel from the ingress SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN; and

send a notification message to the service chain policy decision point after the tunnel from the ingress SN to the downstream SN is established successfully, wherein the notification message carries the service chain path identifier.

39. The service chain-enabled domain network system according to claim 38, further comprising an intermediate SN configured to:

receive an extended third Border Gateway Protocol BGP packet sent by a downstream SN that is on the service chain path and immediately adjacent to the intermediate SN, wherein the extended third BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a fourth service chain path, and the fourth service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the intermediate SN;

determine an upstream SN that is on the first service chain path and immediately adjacent to the SN; and

send an extended fourth BGP packet to the upstream SN, wherein the extended fourth BGP packet comprises the service chain path identifier and a fifth service chain path, and the fifth service chain path comprises a service chain path from the ingress SN to the upstream SN.

40. The service chain-enabled domain network system according to claim 39, wherein the intermediate SN is configured to:

after receiving the extended third BGP packet, establish a first tunnel from the intermediate SN to the downstream SN with the downstream SN and link the first tunnel to a second tunnel to form one tunnel according to the service chain path identifier, wherein the second tunnel is from the upstream SN to the intermediate SN and established by the upstream SN with the intermediate SN.