Data transport system, transmission method, and transport apparatus

• US 9,491,000 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Kiyotaka, Ashi, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jae Y
• Application Number:
  US14/323,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20150010009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0879 Manual configuration through operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/10 Routing in connection-oriented networks, e.g. X.25 or ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/586 of virtual routers

Abstract

A data transport system comprises transport apparatus and at least one computer. The transport apparatus construct a second network coupled to a first network which is constructed by a communication apparatus. A logical path is built between a first transport apparatus and the computer. The first transport apparatus is configured to: hold management information, which associates identification information of a port with logical path identification information; refer to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received; and assign the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmit the control information over the logical path. The computer assigns the logical path identification information assigned to the control information to response information, and transmits the response information to the second network.

Claims

1. A data transport system comprising:

transport apparatus, which are used to construct a second network coupled to a first network; and

at least one computer, which is coupled to the transport apparatus in the second network,

wherein, in order to cause the second network to seem like a single virtual communication apparatus to a communication apparatus used to construct the first network, the at least one computer is configured to execute processing that corresponds to control information of the first network transmitted from the communication apparatus,

wherein the transport apparatus include a first transport apparatus, which is coupled to the communication apparatus used to construct the first network, and a logical path is built between the first transport apparatus and the at least one computer,

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to;

have at least one port coupled to the communication apparatus;

hold management information, which associates identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus with logical path identification information for identifying a logical path that is used to transmit, to the at least one computer, control information received via the port;

refer to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received; and

assign the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmit the control information over the logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information,

wherein the at least one computer is configured to;

execute processing that corresponds to the received control information; and

assign the logical path identification information that has been assigned to the control information to response information that is a response to the control information, and transmit the response information to the second network, and

wherein the transport apparatus include a second transport apparatus, which is coupled to the at least one computer, and the second transport apparatus is configured to receive the response information and then transmit the response information over the logical path that is identified by the logical path identification information assigned to the received response information.

2. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein address information of the communication apparatus is assigned to the control information, and the control information is transmitted from the communication apparatus to the first transport apparatus,

wherein the management information associates the identification information of the port with intra-second network transmission identification information, which is identification information of the logical path unique in the first network, as the logical path identification information,

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to assign, as the logical path identification information, the intra-second network transmission identification information that is associated with a port through which the control information has been received to the control information, and then transmit the control information,

wherein the at least one computer is configured to assign, as the logical path identification information, address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the received control information to the response information, and then transmit the response information to the second network, and

wherein the second transport apparatus is configured to:

hold response information management information, which associates address information of the communication apparatus with the intra-second network transmission identification information that is unique identification information of a logical path to be used in transmission of the response information that is assigned the address information of the communication apparatus;

refer to the response information management information to identify the intra-second network transmission identification information that is associated with the address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the response information received from the at least one computer; and

assign, as the logical path identification information, the identified intra-second network transmission identification information to the response information, and then transmit the response information.

3. The data transport system according to claim 2, wherein the second transport apparatus is configured to register, in the response information management information, the address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the control information received from the first transport apparatus and the intra-second network transmission identification information that is assigned to the received control information in association with each other.

4. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein the logical path between the first transport apparatus and the at least one computer is provided with redundancy by a plurality of logical paths,

wherein the management information includes association between identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, the logical path identification information, and redundancy information, which indicates whether the logical path identified by the logical path identification information is an active path or a standby path, and

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to:

refer to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received and that is associated with the redundancy information indicative of the active path; and

assign the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmit the control information over the logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information.

5. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one computer includes a plurality of computers,

wherein logical paths are built between the first transport apparatus and the plurality of computers,

wherein each of the plurality of computers is configured to execute processing that corresponds to a different protocol type of the control information,

wherein the management information includes association between identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, a protocol type of the control information, and the logical path identification information for identifying a logical path to be used in transmission of the control information to one of the plurality of computers that executes processing corresponding to the protocol type of the control information, and

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to:

refer to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with identification information of the port through which the control information has been received and that is associated with the protocol type of the control information; and

assign the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmit the control information over the logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information.

6. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one computer includes a first computer and a second computer,

wherein a first logical path is built between the first transport apparatus and the first computer, and a second logical path is built between the first transport apparatus and the second computer,

wherein the management information includes association between the identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, first logical path identification information for identifying the first logical path, and second logical path identification information for identifying the second logical path,

wherein the first logical path identification information and the second logical path identification information are associated with redundancy information that indicates which computer is an active server and which computer is a standby server, and

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to:

make a plurality of copies of the received control information;

assign, as the logical path identification information, the first logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received to one of the plurality of copies of the control information, and transmit the control information over the first logical path;

assign, as the logical path identification information, the second logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received to another of the plurality of copies of the control information, and transmit the control information over the second logical path;

refer, in a case where response information is received from one of the first computer and the second computer, to the management information to determine whether the redundancy information that is associated with the logical path identification information assigned to the received response information indicates the active server or the standby server;

discard the received response information in a case where it is determined that the redundancy information indicates the standby server; and

transmit the received response information to the communication apparatus in a case where it is determined that the redundancy information indicates the active server.

7. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein the second network includes a second network management apparatus for building a logical path,

wherein the second network management apparatus is configured to:

receive an input of information to be registered in the management information of the first transport apparatus; and

transmit to the first transport apparatus a management information registration instruction, which includes the information input to be registered in the management information, and

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to hold, as the management information, the information included in the received management information registration instruction to be registered in the management information, in a case where the first transport apparatus receives the management information registration instruction.

8. The data transport system according to claim 1,

wherein the first network includes one of an IP MPLS network and an IP network, and

wherein the second network includes one of an MPLS-TP network and a PBB-TE network.

9. A transmission method for transmitting control information of a first network in a data transport system in which the first network is coupled to a second network, which includes a transport apparatus, wherein the transmission method comprises:

referring, by a first transport apparatus of the transport apparatus, to management information to identify logical path identification information that is associated with a port through which the control information has been received;

assigning, by the first transport apparatus of the transport apparatus, identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmitting the control information over a logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information;

executing, by at least one computer, processing that corresponds to received control information;

assigning, by the at least one computer, the logical path identification information that has been assigned to the control information, response information that is a response to the control information, and transmitting the response information to the second network; and

receiving, by a second transport apparatus coupled to the at least one computer, the response information and then transmitting the response information over the logical path that is identified by the logical path identification information assigned to received response information,

wherein the data transport system has at least one computer, which is coupled to the transport apparatus in the second network,

wherein the at least one computer is configured to execute, in order to cause the second network to seem like a single virtual communication apparatus to a communication apparatus used to construct the first network, processing that corresponds to control information of the first network transmitted from the communication apparatus, and

wherein the transport apparatus includes the first transport apparatus, which is coupled to the communication apparatus used to construct the first network, and the logical path built between the first transport apparatus and the at least one computer,

wherein the first transport apparatus is configured to;

have at least one port coupled to the communication apparatus; and

hold the management information, which associates identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus with the logical path identification information for identifying the logical path that is used to transmit the control information received via the port to the at least one computer.

10. The transmission method according to claim 9,

wherein the transmission method further comprises:

assigning, by the first transport apparatus, in a case where the first transport apparatus receives the control information, as the logical path identification information, intra-second network transmission identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received, and then transmitting the control information to which the logical path identification information has been assigned;

assigning, by the at least one computer, as the logical path identification information, address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the received control information to the response information, and then transmitting the response information;

referring, by the second transport apparatus, to a response information management information to identify the intra-second network transmission identification information that is associated with the address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the received response information; and

assigning, by the second transport apparatus, as the logical path identification information, the intra-second network transmission identification information, which has been identified, to the response information, and then transmitting the response information,

wherein the address information of the communication apparatus is assigned to the control information, and the control information is transmitted from the communication apparatus to the first transport apparatus,

wherein the management information associates port identification information with the intra-second network transmission identification information, which is the identification information of the logical path unique throughout the first network, as the logical path identification information,

wherein the second transport apparatus is configured to hold the response information management information, which associates the address information of the communication apparatus with the intra-second network transmission identification information that is unique identification information of the logical path to be used in transmission of the response information that is assigned the address information of the communication apparatus.

11. The transmission method according to claim 10, further comprising registering, by the second transport apparatus, in the response information management information, the address information of the communication apparatus that is included in the control information received from the first transport apparatus and the intra-second network transmission identification information that is assigned to the received control information in association with each other.

12. The transmission method according to claim 9,

wherein the transmission method further comprises:

referring, by the first transport apparatus, to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received and that is associated with redundancy information indicative of an active path; and

assigning, by the first transport apparatus, the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmitting the control information over the logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information,

wherein the logical path between the first transport apparatus and the at least one computer is provided with redundancy by a plurality of logical paths,

wherein the management information includes association between identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, the logical path identification information, and the redundancy information, which indicates whether the logical path identified by the logical path identification information is the active path or a standby path.

13. The transmission method according to claim 9,

wherein the transmission method further comprises:

referring, by the first transport apparatus, to the management information to identify the logical path identification information that is associated with the identification information of the port through which the control information has been received and that is associated with a protocol type of the control information; and

assigning, by the first transport apparatus, the identified logical path identification information to the control information, and transmitting the control information over the logical path that is identified by the identified logical path identification information,

wherein the at least one computer includes a plurality of computers,

wherein a plurality of logical paths are built between the first transport apparatus and the plurality of computers,

wherein each of the plurality of computers executes processing that corresponds to a different protocol type of the control information,

wherein the management information includes association between the identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, the protocol type of the control information, and the logical path identification information for identifying the logical path to be used in transmission of the control information to one of the plurality of computers that executes processing corresponding to the protocol type of the control information.

14. The transmission method according to claim 9,

wherein the transmission method further comprises:

making, by the first transport apparatus, a plurality of copies of the received control information;

assigning, by the first transport apparatus, as the logical path identification information, a first logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received to one of the plurality of copies of the control information, and transmitting the control information over a first logical path;

assigning, by the first transport apparatus, as the logical path identification information, a second logical path identification information that is associated with the port through which the control information has been received to another of the plurality of copies of the control information, and transmitting the control information over a second logical path;

referring, by the first transport apparatus, in a case where response information is received from one of a first computer and a second computer, to the management information to determine whether redundancy information provided by a plurality of logical paths is associated with the logical path identification information assigned to received response information indicates an active server or a standby server;

discarding, by the first transport apparatus, the received response information in a case where it is determined that the redundancy information indicates the standby server; and

transmitting, by the first transport apparatus, the received response information to the communication apparatus in a case where it is determined that the redundancy information indicates the active server,

wherein the at least one computer includes the first computer and the second computer,

wherein the first logical path is built between the first transport apparatus and the first computer, and the second logical path is built between the first transport apparatus and the second computer,

wherein the management information includes association between the identification information of the port coupled to the communication apparatus, the first logical path identification information for identifying the first logical path, and the second logical path identification information for identifying the second logical path,

wherein the first logical path identification information and the second logical path identification information are associated with the redundancy information that indicates which computer is the active server and which computer is the standby server.