Discovering configured tunnels between nodes on a path in a data communications network

• US 8,111,627 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: McCallum, Gavin, Monaghan, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Huy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beyen, Zewdu A
• Application Number:
  US11/771,551
• Publication Number:
  US 20090003223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/344 Out-of-band transfers
• 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 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]

Abstract

An apparatus and method are described for discovering a configured tunnel between nodes on a path in a data communications network. In an embodiment, an apparatus is arranged to remotely access at least one node on the path, identify whether a tunnel is configured on the access node and, if so, identify whether the identified tunnel has a fault.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors;

first logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution and when executed operable for discovering, without prior knowledge of an existence of tunnels in a data communications network and without prior knowledge of a topology of the data communications network, whether for a pair of nodes in the data communication network one or more configured tunnels have been already established, and remotely accessing each node in a plurality of nodes in the data communications network;

second logic which when executed is operable to identify, for every accessed node of the plurality of nodes, whether a tunnel is configured on the accessed node; and

third logic which when executed is operable, when the identified tunnel is configured on the accessed node, to determine whether the identified tunnel is a load balancing tunnel, and in response to determining that the identified tunnel is not a load balancing tunnel, determining whether the identified tunnel is a backup-path-fast-reroute tunnel, and whether the identified tunnel has a fault.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to generate a fault report on a graphical user interface.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to discover tunnel components in the identified tunnel.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to determine if multiple tunnels are identified as configured on the accessed node, and further comprising logic which when executed is operable to identify whether each of the identified tunnels has a fault.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to first access an ingress node to a label switched path and to subsequently access at least one node downstream of the ingress node in the label switched path.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to obtain additional information relating to one or more of the nodes in an identified tunnel, in which the additional information includes at least one of tunnel identification, interface identification, and tunnel source and destination identification.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the node comprises one of a bridge, switch or router.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the tunnel comprises a multi-protocol label switching traffic engineered (MPLS TE) tunnel.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to identify whether the identified tunnel has a fault using a connectivity check across the tunnel.

10. A computer-implemented method of discovering a configured tunnel between nodes on a path in a data communications network, the method comprising:

discovering, without prior knowledge of an existence of tunnels in a data communications network and without prior knowledge of a topology of the data communications network, whether for a pair of nodes in the data communication network one or more configured tunnels have been already established, and remotely accessing each node in a plurality of nodes in the data communications network;

identifying, for every accessed node of the plurality of nodes, whether a tunnel is configured on the accessed node; and

determining whether the identified tunnel is a load balancing tunnel, and in response to determining that the identified tunnel is not a load balancing tunnel, determining whether the identified tunnel is a backup-path-fast-reroute tunnel, and whether the identified tunnel has a fault;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising determining if multiple tunnels are identified as configured on the accessed node, and identifying whether each of the identified tunnels has a fault.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising accessing an ingress node to a label switched path and subsequently accessing at least one node downstream of the ingress node in the label switched path.

13. A method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising obtaining additional information relating to one or more of the nodes in the identified tunnel, in which the additional information includes at least one of tunnel identification, interface identification, and tunnel source and destination identification.

14. A data processing apparatus configured for discovering a configured tunnel between nodes on a path in a data communications network, and comprising:

one or more processors;

means for discovering, without prior knowledge of an existence of tunnels in a data communications network and without prior knowledge of a topology of the data communications network, whether for a pair of nodes in the data communication network one or more configured tunnels have been already established, and remotely accessing each node in a plurality of nodes in the data communications network;

means for identifying for every accessed node of the plurality of nodes, whether a tunnel is configured on the accessed node; and

means for determining whether the identified tunnel is a load balancing tunnel, and in response to determining that the identified tunnel is not a load balancing tunnel, determining whether the identified tunnel is a backup-path-fast-reroute tunnel, and whether the identified tunnel has a fault when the identified tunnel is configured on the accessed node.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 further comprising means for determining if multiple tunnels are identified as configured on the accessed node, and means for identifying whether each of the identified tunnels has a fault.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 further comprising means for accessing an ingress node to a label switched path and means for subsequently accessing at least one node downstream of the ingress node in the label switched path.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 further comprising means for obtaining additional information relating to one or more of the nodes in the identified tunnel, in which the additional information includes at least one of tunnel identification, interface identification, and tunnel source and destination identification.

18. A non-transitory computer readable volatile or non-volatile storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for discovering a configured tunnel between nodes on a path in a data communications network and which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the more or more processors to perform:

discovering, without prior knowledge of an existence of tunnels in a data communications network and without prior knowledge of a topology of the data communications network, whether for a pair of nodes in the data communication network one or more configured tunnels have been already established, and remotely accessing each node in a plurality of nodes in the data communications network;

identifying, for every accessed node of the plurality of nodes, whether a tunnel is configured on the accessed node; and

determining whether the identified tunnel has been already configured as a load balancing tunnel, and in response to determining that the identified tunnel is not a load balancing tunnel, determining whether the identified tunnel is a backup-path-fast-reroute tunnel, and whether the identified tunnel has a fault.

19. A computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 18 further comprising instructions which when executed cause determining if multiple tunnels are identified as configured on the accessed node, and instructions which when executed cause identifying whether each of the identified tunnels has a fault.

20. A computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 18 further comprising instructions which when executed cause accessing an ingress node to a label switched path and instructions which when executed cause subsequently accessing at least one node downstream of the ingress node in the label switched path.

21. A computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 18 further comprising instructions which when executed cause obtaining additional information relating to one or more of the nodes in the identified tunnel, in which the additional information includes at least one of tunnel identification, interface identification, and tunnel source and destination identification.