System and method for application object transport

• US 6,515,966 B1
• Filed: 06/06/2000
• Issued: 02/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Network Communications Incorporated (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Jaber, Abed M., Bardalai, Snigdho C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang Bin
• Application Number:
  US09/588,637
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: 370/360, 370/384, 370/395.21, 370/395.3, 370/395.31, 370/395.32, 370/400, 370/410, 370/229, 370/235, 370/236, 370/252, 370/230, 370/230.1, 370/231, 370/389, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/232, 709/234
• US Class Current: 370/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5627 Fault tolerance and recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0663 Performing the actions predefined by failover planning, e.g. switching to standby network elements
• 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 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/502 Frame based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/18 End to end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/724 at intermediate nodes, e.g. resource reservation protocol [RSVP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/728 for backup paths
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

A method of facilitating traffic engineering services by communicating application objects over soft state process messages includes receiving an external soft state process initiating message at an ingress node to a core cloud, the core cloud comprising a plurality of nodes associated with a central processor, and generating an internal soft state process initiating message including an appended first application object. The method further includes communicating the internal soft state process initiating message to an egress node of the core cloud, receiving at the ingress node an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object, and providing a traffic engineering service based, at least in part, on the first or second application data.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating traffic engineering services by communicating application objects over soft state process messages, comprising:

receiving an external soft state process initiating message at an ingress node to a core cloud, the core cloud comprising a plurality of nodes associated with a central processor;

generating an internal soft state process initiating message including an appended first application object;

communicating the internal soft state process initiating message to an egress node of the core cloud;

receiving at the ingress node an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object; and

providing a traffic engineering service based, at least in part, on the first or second application object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the internal soft state process initiating message at the ingress node to the core cloud comprises:

identifying a first traffic flow from the ingress node to the egress node of the core cloud;

determining whether the traffic flow shares a common characteristic with a second traffic flow associated with an existing first traffic trunk;

associating the first traffic flow with the first traffic trunk if the first and second traffic flows share a common characteristic.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the common characteristic between the first and second traffic flows comprises a common ingress node to the core cloud, a common egress node from the core cloud, or a common ingress and a common egress node of the core cloud.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the internal soft state process initiating message comprises a soft state refresh, and wherein communicating the soft state refresh message to the egress node comprises:

determining that the traffic flow associated with the soft state refresh message has been aggregated with a second traffic flow on a common traffic trunk; and

communicating toward the egress node a single soft state refresh message for all traffic flows associated with the aggregated traffic trunk.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein associating the first traffic flow with the second traffic flow comprises:

creating a first traffic flow software object representing the first traffic flow; and

linking the first traffic flow software object to a traffic trunk software object representing the first traffic trunk.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the internal soft state process initiating message to an egress node comprises communicating the internal soft state process initiating message through an intermediate node, and wherein the appended first application object is transparent to the intermediate node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the soft state process comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), and wherein the external soft state process initiating message comprises an RSVP path message originated at a network element external to the core cloud.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating an internal soft state process initiating message comprises generating an RSVP path message at the ingress node to the core cloud.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein providing a traffic engineering service comprises:

identifying a primary traffic flow from the ingress node to the egress node; and

generating a protection traffic flow from the ingress node to the egress node, the primary traffic flow and the protection traffic flow associated with the same RSVP reservation request.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the protection traffic flow and the primary traffic flow have no overlapping segments.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the soft state process comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) process and wherein the internal soft state confirming message comprises an RSVP reservation message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the RSVP reservation message at the ingress node comprises receiving an RSVP reservation message indicating a failure of a reservation request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein providing a traffic engineering service comprises identifying an alternate traffic flow for the reservation request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the RSVP reservation message or the appended second application object comprises an identification of a link associated with a failed reservation request, and wherein identifying an alternate traffic flow comprises identifying an alternate traffic flow that avoids the link identified with the failed reservation request.

15. A method of facilitating traffic engineering services by communicating application objects over soft state process messages, comprising:

receiving at an egress node of a core cloud an internal soft state process initiating message including an appended first application object, the core cloud comprising a plurality of nodes associated with a central processor;

generating an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object;

communicating the internal soft state process confirming message to an ingress node of the core cloud to facilitate provision of a traffic engineering service based, at least in part, on the first or second application object.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the internal soft state process initiating message corresponds to a first traffic trunk associated with multiple traffic flows sharing a common characteristic.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the common characteristic between the multiple traffic flows comprises a common ingress node to the core cloud, a common egress node from the core cloud, or a common ingress and a common egress node of the core cloud.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the internal soft state process confirming message comprises a soft state refresh, and wherein communicating the soft state refresh message to the ingress node comprises:

determining that the traffic flow associated with the soft state refresh message has been aggregated with a second traffic flow on a common traffic trunk; and

communicating to the ingress node a single soft state refresh message for all traffic flows associated with the aggregated traffic trunk.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein communicating the internal soft state process confirming message to the ingress node comprises communicating the internal soft state process confirming message through an intermediate node, and wherein the appended second application object is transparent to the intermediate node.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the soft state process comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) process and wherein the internal soft state confirming message comprises an RSVP reservation message.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein communicating the RSVP reservation message to the ingress node comprises communicating an RSVP reservation message indicating a failure of a reservation request.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the traffic engineering service comprises facilitating identification of an alternate traffic flow for the reservation request.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the RSVP reservation message or the appended second application object comprises an identification of a link associated with a failed reservation request, and wherein the alternate traffic flow avoids the link identified with the failed reservation request.

24. An ingress node of a core cloud operable to facilitate traffic engineering services by communicating application objects over soft state process messages, comprising:

an internal soft state process operable to receive an external soft state process initiating message and to generate an internal soft state process initiating message including an appended first application object, the internal soft state process further operable to communicate the internal soft state process initiating message to an egress node of the core cloud, and to receive an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object; and

an application protocol operating over the soft state process, the application protocol operable to generate the first application object, and to provide a traffic engineering service based, at least in part, on the first or second application object.

25. The ingress node of claim 24, wherein the first application object comprises:

an identification of a first traffic flow from the ingress node to the egress node of the core cloud; and

an identification of a traffic trunk associated with the first traffic flow; and

wherein the traffic trunk is further associated with a second traffic flow having a common characteristic with the first traffic flow.

26. The ingress node of claim 25, wherein the common characteristic between the first and second traffic flows comprises a common ingress node to the core cloud, a common egress node from the core cloud, or a common ingress and a common egress node of the core cloud.

27. The ingress node of claim 24, wherein the internal soft state process initiating message comprises a soft state refresh, and wherein the ingress node is further operable to:

determine that the traffic flow associated with the soft state refresh message has been aggregated with a second traffic flow on a common traffic trunk; and

communicate toward the egress node a single soft state refresh message for all traffic flows associated with the aggregated traffic trunk.

28. The ingress node of claim 25, further comprising:

a first traffic flow object representing the first traffic flow; and

a traffic trunk object representing a plurality of traffic flows and linked to the first traffic flow object.

29. The ingress node of claim 24, wherein the first application object comprises a type length value object capable of being communicated transparently through a node intermediate the ingress node and the egress node.

30. The ingress node of claim 24, wherein the soft state process comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), and wherein the external soft state process initiating message comprises an RSVP path message originated at a network element external to the core cloud.

31. The ingress node of claim 30, wherein the internal soft state process initiating message comprises an RSVP path message.

32. The ingress node of claim 31, wherein the RSVP path message includes a control path comprising addresses of each node along the traffic flow from the ingress node to the egress node.

33. The ingress node of claim 30, wherein the traffic engineering service comprises creation of a primary traffic flow and a protection traffic flow for the RSVP path message.

34. The ingress node of claim 33, wherein the protection traffic flow and the primary traffic flow have no overlapping segments.

35. The ingress node of claim 24, wherein the soft state process comprises a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) process and wherein the internal soft state confirming message comprises an RSVP reservation message.

36. The ingress node of claim 35, wherein the RSVP reservation message comprises an identification of a failure of a reservation request.

37. The ingress node of claim 36, wherein the traffic engineering service comprises an identification of an alternate traffic flow for the reservation request.

38. The ingress node of claim 37, wherein the RSVP reservation message or the appended second application object comprises an identification of a link associated with a failed reservation request, and wherein the alternate traffic flow comprises a traffic flow that avoids the link identified with the failed reservation request.

39. A system operable to facilitate traffic engineering services by communicating application objects over soft state process messages, comprising:

an ingress node comprising;

an ingress soft state process operable to receive an external soft state process initiating message and to generate an internal soft state process initiating message including an appended first application object, the internal soft state process further operable to communicate the internal soft state process initiating message to an egress node of the core cloud, and to receive an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object; and

an ingress application protocol operating over the ingress soft state process, the ingress application protocol operable to generate the first application object, and to provide a traffic engineering service based, at least in part, on the first or second application object;

the egress node comprising;

an egress soft state process operable to receive the internal soft state process initiating message and to generate an internal soft state process confirming message including an appended second application object, the egress soft state process further operable to communicate the internal soft state process confirming message to the ingress node; and

an egress application protocol operating over the egress soft state process, the ingress application protocol operable to generate the second application object; and

an intermediate node operable to receive and process the internal soft state process initiating and confirming messages, and to ignore the first and second application objects.