Method and system for implementing virtual circuit status consistency

• US 7,778,256 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2005
• 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: Wen, Yuangui, Zhou, Peng, Hu, Chunzhe
• Primary Examiner(s): ABELSON, RONALD B
• Application Number:
  US12/109,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20080205404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 370/397, 370/399
• US Class Current: 370/397
• 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 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/10 Routing in connection-oriented networks, e.g. X.25 or ATM

Abstract

A method and a system for implementing virtual circuit status consistency. A transmitting provider edge router (PE) send an extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) message to a remote PE; the remote PE updates the status of the virtual circuit from the remote PE to the transmitting PE, according to the received extended NLRI message, so as to make the status of the virtual circuits between the transmitting PE and the remote PE consistent. A system for implementing virtual circuit status consistency, the first provider edge router (PE1) in the system sending an extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) message to a second provider edge router (PE2); the PE2 updates the status of the virtual circuit from the PE2 to the PE1 according to the received extended NLRI message, so as to make the status of the bidirectional virtual circuits between the PE1 and the PE2 consistent.

Claims

1. A method for implementing virtual circuit status consistency, comprising:

receiving, by a second provider edge router, a first extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) message from a first provider edge router, wherein the NLRI includes a circuit status vector (CSV) property;

when a first value included in the CSV property represents that a station of the first provider edge router is available, establishing, by the second provider edge router, a virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router;

determining, by the second provider edge router, a status of a virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router, according to a second extended NLRI message received from the first provider edge router, wherein a second value included in the CSV property represents the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router; and

updating, by the second provider edge router, a status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router, so as to make the status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router consistent with that of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein establishing, by the second provider edge router, a virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router comprising:

acquiring, by the second provider edge router, a first value of the CSV property in the first extended NLRI message, when the first provider edge router sends the extended NLRI message comprising local information to the second provider edge router, determining the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router, according to the first value of the CSV property, and establishing the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router, the status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router being consistent with the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router.

3. A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer program codes which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit to perform the method according to claim 2.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining, by the second provider edge router, a status of a virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router, according to a second extended NLRI message received from the first provider edge router comprising:

acquiring, by the second provider edge router, a second NLRI message comprising the CSV property, wherein the CSV property set as unavailable by the first provider edge router when the first provider edge router detects that the status of the virtual circuit to the second provider edge router is unavailable;

parsing, by the second provider edge router, the CSV property to acquire a second value of the CSV property, and setting the status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router as unavailable when determining that the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router is unavailable.

5. A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer program codes which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit to perform the method according to claim 4.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual circuit is a virtual circuit in virtual private LAN service (VPLS) or virtual leased line (VLL).

7. A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer program codes which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit to perform the method according to claim 6.

8. A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer program codes which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit to perform the method according to claim 1.

9. A computer program product, characterized by comprising computer program codes which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit to perform the method according to claim 1.

10. A system for implementing virtual circuit status consistency, comprising a first provider edge router and a second provider edge router, wherein,

the first provider edge router is adapted to send an extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) message, wherein the NLRI includes a circuit status vector (CSV) property;

the second provider edge router is adapted to establish a virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router when a first value included in the CSV property of a first NLRI message represent that a station of the first provider edge router is available;

the second provider edge router is further adapted to determine a status of a virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router according to a second extended NLRI message received from the first provider edge router, and update a status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router, so as to make the status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router consistent with that from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router, wherein a second value included in the CSV property represents the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the second provider edge router comprises:

a status determining module adapted to determine the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router according to the received extended NLRI message;

a status updating module adapted to update the status of the virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the status determining module comprises:

a message parsing unit adapted to parse the extended NLRI message sent by the first provider edge router to acquire a value of a circuit status vector (CSV) property in the extended NLRI message.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the status updating module comprises:

a status setting unit adapted to set the status of virtual circuit from the second provider edge router to the first provider edge router according to the CSV property acquired by the message parsing unit.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the first provider edge router further comprises:

a detecting module adapted to detect the status of the virtual circuit from the first provider edge router to the second provider edge router.

15. A router, comprising:

a module adapted to receive an extended network layer reachability information (NLRI) message, wherein the NLRI includes a circuit status vector (CSV) property;

a module adapted to establish a virtual circuit from the present router to another router when a first value included in the CSV property of a first NLRI message represents that a station of the another router is available;

a status determining module adapted to determine a status of a virtual circuit from the another router to the present router according to a second extended NLRI message received from the another router; and

a status updating module adapted to update a status of the virtual circuit from the present router to the other router, so as to make the status of the virtual circuit from the present router to the another router consistent with the status of the virtual circuit from the another router to the present router.

16. The router according to claim 15, wherein the status determining module comprises:

a message parsing unit adapted to parse the extended NLRI message sent by the another router to acquire a value of a circuit status vector (CSV) property in the extended NLRI message.

17. The router according to claim 16, wherein the status updating module comprises:

a status setting unit adapted to set the status of the virtual circuit from the present router to the another router according to the CSV property acquired by the message parsing unit.