Apparatus and method for interworking between MPLS network and non-MPLS network

• US 7,633,954 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2005
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alaxala Networks Corporation (Fortinet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Takahisa, Aimoto, Takeshi, Sakamoto, Kenichi, Wakayama, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Jr.; Michael J
• Application Number:
  US11/245,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20060034292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/401
• 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 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/602 Multilayer or multiprotocol switching, e.g. IP switching

Abstract

In a device that interworks a VLAN network and an MPLS network, a VLAN ID is associated with an MPLS label. In a device that performs interworking from a VLAN network to an MPLS network, an output MPLS label is determined from a pair of a VLAN ID and the information in the layer 3 or layer 4 header of a packet. The output MPLS label is assigned an independent value for each VLAN. In a device that performs interworking from the MPLS network to another VLAN network, the input MPLS label is associated with a VLAN ID.

Claims

1. A packet transfer device that interworks a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network which uses a MPLS protocol, and a network that does not use said MPLS protocol,

wherein in said MPLS network, packet switching is performed by a MPLS header which is added before a header of a layer corresponding to layer 3 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model,

wherein, in a network which does not use said MPLS protocol, packet switching is performed by a header of the layer corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model, which is different from said MPLS header and is added before said layer 3 header, and

wherein said packet transfer device comprises:

a first physical port which receives a packet that is transmitted from the network which does not use said MPLS protocol,

a second physical port for connecting with said MPLS network,

a memory that stores header transformation information that shows correspondence between a pair of information in said layer 2 header and information in said layer 3 header in correspondence with information in said MPLS header, and

a processor that searches said header transformation information and adds said MPLS header corresponding to said layer 2 header to the packet.

2. The packet transfer device recited in claim 1, wherein the information in said layer 2 header is information that identifies groups to which a transmission source and destination of a packet is transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong, and

wherein the information in said MPLS header is a label value in said MPLS header.

3. A packet transfer device that interworks a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network which uses a MPLS protocol, and a network that does not use said MPLS protocol,

wherein in said MPLS network, packet switching is performed by a MPLS header which is added before a header of a layer corresponding to layer 3 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model (layer 3 header),

wherein, in the network which does not use said MPLS protocol, packet switching is performed by a header of a layer corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model (layer 2 header), which is different from said MPLS header and is added before said layer 3 header, and

wherein said packet transfer device comprises:

a first physical port which receives a packet that is transmitted from the network which does not use said MPLS protocol,

a second physical port for connecting with said MPLS network,

a memory that stores header transformation information that shows correspondence between a pair of information in said layer 2 header and information in said layer 3 header in correspondence with information in said MPLS header, and

a processor that searches said header transformation information and adds said MPLS header corresponding to said layer 2 header to the packet,

wherein the information in said layer 2 header is information that identifies groups to which a transmission source and destination of a packet that is transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belongs, and the information in said MPLS header is a label value in said MPLS header,

wherein a physical port number is assigned to said first physical port, and

wherein said header transformation information shows correspondence between a group of said physical port number, the information that identifies the groups to which the transmission source and destination of a packet transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong and the information in said layer 3 header, and said label value.

4. A packet transfer device that interworks a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network which uses a MPLS protocol, and a network that does not use said MPLS protocol,

wherein in said MPLS network, packet switching is performed by a MPLS header which is added before a header of a layer corresponding to layer 3 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model (layer 3 header),

wherein, in the network which does not use said MPLS protocol, packet switching is performed by a header of a layer corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model (layer 2 header), which is different from said MPLS header and is added before said layer 3 header, and

wherein said packet transfer device comprises:

a first physical port which receives a packet that is transmitted from the network which does not use said MPLS protocol,

a second physical port for connecting with said MPLS network,

a memory that stores header transformation information that shows correspondence between a pair of information in said layer 2 header and information in said layer 3 header in correspondence with information in said MPLS header, and

a processor that searches said header transformation information and adds said MPLS header corresponding to said layer 2 header to the packet,

wherein said layer 2 header and said MPLS header each contain packet priority information, and

a packet that is transferred in said MPLS network and a packet that is transferred in the network which does not use said MPLS protocol have, after said layer 3 header, a header of a layer that corresponds to layer 4 of the OSI model,

wherein said packet transfer device comprises;

a second memory that stores a pair of packet priority information in said layer 2 header and the information in said layer 3 header, a pair of packet priority information in said layer 2 header and the information in said layer 4 header or a group of the packet priority information in said layer 2 header and the information in said layer 3 header, and the information in said layer 4 header in correspondence with said priority information in said MPLS header,

wherein said processor searches said priority transformation information and adds said priority information in said MPLS header corresponding to said priority information in said layer 2 header to the packet.

5. A packet transfer device that interworks a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network which uses a multiprotocol label switching protocol and a network that does not use said MPLS protocol,

wherein in said MPLS network, packet switching is performed by a MPLS header which is added before a header of the layer corresponding to layer 3 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model,

wherein, in the network which does not use said MPLS protocol, packet switching is performed by a header of the layer corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model, which is different from said MPLS header and is added before a header of the layer corresponding to layer 3 of the OSI model,

wherein said packet transfer device comprises:

a first physical port which receives a packet that is transmitted from said MPLS network,

a second physical port for connecting with the network which does not use said MPLS protocol,

a memory that stores header transformation information that shows correspondence between a pair of information of said MPLS header and the information in said layer 3 header in correspondence with information in said layer 2 header; and

a processor that searches said header transformation information and adds said MPLS header corresponding to said layer 2 header to the packet.

6. The packet transfer device recited in claim 5, wherein the information in said MPLS header is a label value in said MPLS header, and

wherein the information in said layer 2 header is information that identifies groups to which a transmission source and destination of a packet that is transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong.

8. The packet transfer device recited in claim 5, wherein said layer 2 header and said MPLS header each contain packet priority information, and

wherein a packet that is transferred in said MPLS network and a packet that is transferred in a network which does not use said MPLS protocol have, after said layer 3 header, a header of a layer corresponding to layer 4 of the OSI model,

wherein said packet transfer device further comprises:

a second memory that stores a pair of packet priority information in said MPLS header and the information in said layer 3 header, a pair of packet priority information in said layer 2 header and the information in said layer 4 header, a group of packet priority information in said MPLS header, and the information in said layer 3 header, and the information in said layer 4 header in correspondence with said priority information in said layer 2 header,

wherein said processor searches said priority transformation information and deletes said priority information in said MPLS header contained in a packet received from said first physical port.

9. The packet transfer device received in claim 8, wherein said MPLS header is a shim header, and

wherein the priority information used in said MPLS network is set to a 3-bit Exp field defined in said shim header.

10. The packet transfer device received in claim 8, wherein said MPLS header is an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cell header, and

wherein the priority information used in said MPLS network is set to a cell loss priority bit (CLP) field defined in said ATM cell header.

11. The packet transfer device recited in claim 6, wherein a tag control information field defined by IEEE 802.1Q is set in said layer 2 header, and

wherein the information that identifies groups to which the transmission source and destination of a packet transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong is a VLAN ID that is set in said tag control information field.

12. The packet transfer device recited in claim 6, wherein a tag control information field defined by IEEE 802.1Q is set in said layer 2 header, and

wherein the packet priority information in said layer 2 header is a user priority that is set in said tag control information field.

7. A packet transfer device that interworks a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network which uses a MPLS protocol and a network that does not use said MPLS protocol,

wherein in said MPLS network, packet switching is performed by a MPLS header which is added before a header of the layer corresponding to layer 3 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model,

wherein, in a network which does not use said MPLS protocol, packet switching is performed by the header of the layer corresponding to layer 2 of the OSI model (layer 2 header), which is different from said MPLS header and is added before the header of the layer corresponding to layer 3 of the OSI model (layer 3 header),

wherein said packet transfer device comprises:

a first physical port which receives a packet that is transmitted from said MPLS network,

a second physical port for connecting with a network which does not use said MPLS protocol,

a memory that stores header transformation information that shows correspondence between a pair of information in said MPLS header and information in said layer 3 header in correspondence with information in said layer 2 header, and

a processor that searches said header transformation information and adds said MPLS header corresponding to said layer 2 header to the packet,

wherein the information in said MPLS header is a label value in said MPLS header, and

wherein the information in said layer 2 header is information that identifies the groups to which a transmission source and destination of a packet that is transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong,

wherein a physical port number is assigned to said first physical port, and

wherein said header transformation information shows the correspondence between a group of said physical port number, the value of said label and the information in said layer 3 header, and the information that identifies the group to which the transmission source and destination of a packet transmitted from a network which does not use said MPLS protocol belong.