Dense virtual router packet switching
First Claim
1. A virtual routing system, comprising:
- a memory divided into a configurable number of context areas for a corresponding set of virtual private routed networks (VPRNs), each context area including a routing table and associated routing protocol state information for the corresponding VPRN, each VPRN employing a respective routing protocol and network address space;
a set of one or more routing tasks, the set including at least one routing task for each different type of routing protocol employed in the set of VPRNs, each routing task being operable only with a separate routing table and with separate routing protocol state information to realize a corresponding virtual router to carry out associated routing operations in a VPRN; and
context selection logic operative to selectively couple the routing tasks to the different context areas of the memory to realize a set of virtual routers, each virtual router being associated with a corresponding one of the VPRNs.
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Abstract
A dense virtual router packet switching system includes a memory divided into context areas for a set of virtual private routed networks (VPRNs). Each context area includes a routing table and routing protocol state information for a corresponding VPRN. Each of a set of different routing tasks operates with a separate routing table and separate routing protocol state information to realize a corresponding virtual router. Context selection logic selectively couples the routing tasks to the different context areas of the memory to realize a set of virtual routers for all the VPRNs. The system supports a large number of routes by exploiting the segmentation of the VPRNs. Rather than having a single large routing table and associated routing process, which can load hardware resources in proportion to the square of the number of routes in the routing table, routes are distributed among a number of VPRNs having generally smaller tables and correspondingly less processing demand.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A virtual routing system, comprising:
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a memory divided into a configurable number of context areas for a corresponding set of virtual private routed networks (VPRNs), each context area including a routing table and associated routing protocol state information for the corresponding VPRN, each VPRN employing a respective routing protocol and network address space; a set of one or more routing tasks, the set including at least one routing task for each different type of routing protocol employed in the set of VPRNs, each routing task being operable only with a separate routing table and with separate routing protocol state information to realize a corresponding virtual router to carry out associated routing operations in a VPRN; and context selection logic operative to selectively couple the routing tasks to the different context areas of the memory to realize a set of virtual routers, each virtual router being associated with a corresponding one of the VPRNs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of operating a routing system, comprising:
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maintaining a number of context areas in a memory for a corresponding set of virtual private routed networks (VPRNs) each context area including a routing table and associated routing protocol state information for the corresponding VPRN, each VPRN employing a respective routing protocol and network address space; executing a set of one or more routing tasks, the set including at least one routing task for each different type of routing protocol employed in the set of VPRNs, each routing task being operable only with a separate routing table and with separate routing protocol state information to realize a corresponding virtual router to carry out associated routing operations in a VPRN; and selectively coupling the routing tasks to the different context areas of the memory to realize a set of virtual routers, each virtual router being associated with a corresponding one of the VPRNs. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification