Transmitting packet label contexts within computer networks
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, with a first network device intermediately positioned along a label-switched path (LSP) through a network between an ingress network device acting as an ingress to the LSP and an egress network device acting as an egress from the LSP, a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) data unit from a second network device of the network in accordance with a label switching protocol,wherein the data unit includes a label stack affixed to a payload, wherein the label stack includes one or more MPLS labels for transporting the data unit along the LSP and additional context information associated with at least one of the labels of the label stack, and wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to the egress network device;
forwarding the data unit out an output interface of the first network device in accordance with the one or more MPLS labels of the label stack;
when forwarding the data unit, parsing, with the first network device, the data unit to determine the additional context information; and
recording, with the first network device, the forwarding of the data unit and the determined additional context information.
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Abstract
In general, techniques are described for transmitting context information defining contexts for packet labels in a network. More specifically, a network device, e.g., a router, implements the context transmission techniques to facilitate debugging or troubleshooting of the network. The network device may comprise an interface card that receives a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) data unit from another network device in accordance with a label switching protocol. The data unit may include a label stack affixed to a payload. The label stack may include one or more MPLS labels and context information associated with at least one of these labels, The interface card may, when forwarding the data unit, parse the data unit to determine the context information and then forward the data unit in accordance with these MPLS labels. A control unit included within the network device may record the forwarding of the data unit and the determined context information.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, with a first network device intermediately positioned along a label-switched path (LSP) through a network between an ingress network device acting as an ingress to the LSP and an egress network device acting as an egress from the LSP, a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) data unit from a second network device of the network in accordance with a label switching protocol, wherein the data unit includes a label stack affixed to a payload, wherein the label stack includes one or more MPLS labels for transporting the data unit along the LSP and additional context information associated with at least one of the labels of the label stack, and wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to the egress network device; forwarding the data unit out an output interface of the first network device in accordance with the one or more MPLS labels of the label stack; when forwarding the data unit, parsing, with the first network device, the data unit to determine the additional context information; and recording, with the first network device, the forwarding of the data unit and the determined additional context information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A first network device intermediately positioned along a label-switched path (LSP) through a network between an ingress network device acting as an ingress to the LSP and an egress network device acting as an egress from the LSP, the first network device comprising:
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an interface card that receives a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) data unit from a second network device of the network in accordance with a label switching protocol, wherein the data unit includes a label stack affixed to a payload, wherein the label stack includes one or more MPLS labels for transporting the data unit along the LSP and additional context information associated with at least one of the labels of the label stack, and wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to the egress network device, forwards the data unit in accordance with the one or more MPLS labels of the label stack and, when forwarding the data unit, parses the data unit to determine the additional context information; and
a control unit that records the forwarding of the data unit and the determined additional context information. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A network system comprising:
- an ingress Label Switching Router (LSR) of a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network;
an egress LSR of the MPLS network; and
at least one intermediate LSR positioned between the ingress LSR and egress LSR of the MPLS network,wherein the ingress LSR acts as the ingress to a Label Switched Path (LSP) through the MPLS network, the egress LSR acts as the egress from the LSP, and the at least one intermediate LSR is positioned along the LSP between the ingress LSR and the egress LSR, wherein the ingress LSR, the egress LSR and the at least one intermediate LSR exchange one or more signaling messages in accordance with a label distribution protocol (LDP) to negotiate establishment of the LSP, wherein the one or more signaling messages each specifies additional context information to be included within the label stack for at least one of the one or more labels when forwarding MPLS packets along the LSP, and wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to the egress network device.
- an ingress Label Switching Router (LSR) of a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network;
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27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed cause one or more processors of a first network device to:
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receive, along a label-switched path (LSP) through a network, a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) data unit from a second network device of the network in accordance with a label switching protocol, wherein the data unit includes a label stack affixed to a payload, wherein the label stack includes one or more MPLS labels for transporting the data unit along the LSP and additional context information associated with at least one of the labels of the label stack, and wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to the egress network device; forward the data unit out an output interface of the first network device in accordance with the one or more MPLS labels of the label stack; when forwarding the data unit, parse, with the first network device, the data unit to determine the additional context information; and
record the forwarding of the data unit and the determined context information.
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28. A method comprising:
- receiving, with an ingress network device acting as an ingress to a label-switched path (LSP) through a first network, a data unit from a second network device of a second network,
wherein the data unit includes a header and a payload, but does not include a label stack; inspecting, with the first ingress network device, the header and payload of the data unit to determine a forwarding equivalence class (FEC); determining, with the first ingress network device, a label entry within a forwarding table based on the determined FEC, wherein the label entry defines a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) label and a scope of additional context information associated with the MPLS label to affix to the data unit, wherein the additional context information includes an ingress network address assigned to the ingress network device and an egress network address assigned to an egress network device acting as an egress from the LSP; determining, with the first ingress network device, additional context information in accordance with the scope of the additional context information defined by the label entry; affixing, with the first ingress network device, a label stack to the data unit in accordance with an MPLS protocol to generate an MPLS packet, wherein the label stack includes the MPLS label defined by the label entry and the determined additional context information; and forwarding, with the first ingress network device, the MPLS packet out an output interface of the first ingress network device in accordance with the MPLS label of the label stack to a transit network device intermediately positioned between the ingress network device and the egress network device of the LSP so as to enable the transit network device to record the additional context information included in the label stack.
- receiving, with an ingress network device acting as an ingress to a label-switched path (LSP) through a first network, a data unit from a second network device of a second network,
Specification