Control and distribution protocol for a portable router framework

• US 6,977,924 B1
• Filed: 12/22/1999
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Skoog, Frederick H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US09/469,670
• Time in Patent Office: 2,190 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395.41, 370/419, 370/463, 370/493, 370/397, 370/352, 370/400, 370/401, 370/238, 370/359, 370/551, 370/389, 370/392, 370/396, 370/398, 370/395.31, 370/395.5, 370/395.52, 370/422, 370464-469, 709/250, 709/203, 709/201, 709/321, 709/328
• US Class Current: 370/359
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery

Abstract

A control and distribution protocol (CDP) is implemented for transport across a backplane bus, through a high-speed serial link or through a switching fabric connection. The protocol includes an intra-system transport of dynamic routing protocol (DRP) IP messages, the distribution of routing information within the router, the transport of control and maintenance messages, and the transport of IP and multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) traffic between ingress and egress ports. The protocol further includes a dynamic routing and control driver which interacts with dynamic routing control applications to exchange messages that are to be transmitted to packet flow processors and to handoff messages received from packet flow processors. A packet flow processor driver which services messages carried between the dynamic routing control and packet flow processors. An IP traffic interface provides transfer of IP L3/L2 protocol data unit (PDU) header primitive from the packet flow processors. Both the DRC driver and PFP driver include a framework transport interface.

Claims

1. A router for providing transportation of messages between a main Dynamic Routing and Control (DRC) processor and packet flow processors, the messages transported via a system transport media, the router comprising:

a Dynamic Routing and Control (DRC) driver including a plurality of Application Program Interfaces (API) for interfacing to the main DRC processor;

a transport interface for interfacing between said DRC driver APIs and the system transport media, wherein said DRC driver translates message format and routing information between a first protocol used by the main DRC processor and a second protocol used by the transport media;

a Packet Flow Processor driver (PFP driver) including a plurality of Application Program Interfaces (API) for interfacing to the packet flow processors and designated DRC driver;

a transport interface for interfacing between said PFP driver APIs and the transport media, wherein the transport interface routes messages from the transport media to the appropriate PFP driver API in response to a type of message; and

said DRC driver and said PFP driver transport messages between the main DRC processor and the packet flow processors.

2. The router of claim 1 wherein said messages transported between the main processor and the packet flow processors include internet protocol, routing table distribution and control and maintenance messages.

3. The router of claim 1 wherein said PFP driver transports traffic messages between ingress and egress ports of one or more of the packet flow processors via the transport media.

4. The router of claim 3 wherein said traffic includes internet protocol and multi-protocol labels(MPLS) traffic.

5. The router of claim 1 wherein said DRC driver includes a routing table including addresses of the packet flow processors.

6. A system for control and distribution of routing messages that supports communications over a system transport media among multiple components in a router, comprising:

a Packet Flow Processor (PFP) driver including a plurality of PFP Application Program Interfaces (API) for interfacing to packet flow processors;

a framework transport interface for interfacing between said PFP driver APIs and a system transport media, wherein the framework transport interface can be configured to support system transport media having a number of different transport protocols and media;

a Dynamic Routing and Control (DRC) driver including a plurality of DRC Application Program Interfaces (API) for interfacing to a routing processor; and

a transport interface for interfacing between said DRC driver APIs and the system transport media.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein one of the plurality of DRC APIs is a routing table API that allows the DRC driver to communicate routing table information to the PFP API in the PFP driver to update routing tables in the packet flow processors.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein one of the plurality of DRC APIs is an internet protocol API that allows the DRC driver to communicate IP messages through the PFP API in the PFP driver to and from packet flow processors that service IP network traffic.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein one of the plurality of DRC APIs is a control and network management API that allows the DRC driver to communicate configuration and performance monitoring messages through the PFP API in the PFP driver to and from packet flow processors.