Packet forwarding method, controller, forwarding device, and network system

• US 10,015,085 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2016
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2013
• 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: Li, Zhenbin
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor, Brian
• Application Number:
  US15/099,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20160234106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• 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 12/465 wherein a single frame includes a plurality of VLAN tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/026 Details of "hello" or keep-alive messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/507 Label distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering

Abstract

A network system includes one controller and a plurality of forwarding devices, where the forwarding devices form a plurality of virtual network topologies; the controller is configured to allocate a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, and send a binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies to the forwarding devices, where global labels allocated to different virtual network topologies are different; the forwarding devices are configured to receiving the binding relationship, and generate label forwarding entries including a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases; and when a packet received by the forwarding device carries a global label, the forwarding device searches according to the global label, a forwarding information base of a virtual network topology corresponding to the global label, and determines that the packet is to be forwarded by using the forwarding information base.

Claims

1. A network system, comprising:

at least one controller and a plurality of forwarding devices, wherein the plurality of forwarding devices forms a plurality of virtual network topologies;

wherein the at least one controller is configured to allocate a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, and send a binding relationship between the global labels and the plurality of virtual network topologies to the plurality of forwarding devices, wherein global labels allocated by the controller to different virtual network topologies of the plurality of virtual network topologies are different; and

the plurality of forwarding devices is configured to;

receive the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies from the at least one controller,

generate, according to the binding relationship, label forwarding entries comprising a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases of the virtual network topologies, and

when a first packet received by one forwarding device of the plurality of forwarding devices carries a first global label, the forwarding device finds, by searching according to the first global label, a forwarding information base of a first virtual network topology corresponding to the first global label, and determines that the first packet is to be forwarded by using the forwarding information base of the first virtual network topology, wherein the first virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the plurality of forwarding devices is further configured to;

when a second packet received by the forwarding device does not carry a global label, and the second packet is to be forwarded from a second virtual network topology, add encapsulation of the second global label to the second packet according to a second global label corresponding to the second virtual network topology, wherein, on a next hop node, the second global label is indexed to a forwarding information base corresponding to the second virtual network topology; and

the second virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

3. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one controller comprises:

a label allocating module configured to allocate a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, wherein labels allocated to different virtual network topologies of the plurality of virtual network topologies are different; and

a label sending module configured to send, to the plurality of forwarding devices, the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels.

4. The network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the forwarding devices comprises:

a receiving module configured to receive the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels that is sent by the at least one controller;

a label forwarding entry generating module configured to generate, according to the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies, label forwarding entries comprising a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases of the virtual network topologies; and

a forwarding module configured to determine, according to the first global label carried in the received first packet, a first label forwarding entry corresponding to the first global label, to determine that the first packet is to be forwarded from the forwarding information base of the first virtual network topology corresponding to the first global label.

5. The network system according to claim 4, wherein:

the forwarding device further comprises;

a label adding module configured to, when a second packet received by the receiving module does not carry a global label, and the second packet is to be forwarded from a second virtual network topology, add a second global label to the second packet according to the second global label corresponding to a topology ID of the second virtual network topology, wherein, on a next hop node, the second global label is indexed to a forwarding information base corresponding to the second virtual network topology; and

the second virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

6. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one controller comprises:

a first processor configured to allocate a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, wherein global labels allocated to different virtual network topologies of the plurality of virtual network topologies are different; and

a first interface configured to send, to the plurality of forwarding devices, the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels.

7. The network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the forwarding devices comprises:

a second interface configured to receive the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels that is sent by the controller;

a second processor configured to generate, according to the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies, label forwarding entries comprising a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases of the virtual network topologies; and

a third processor configured to determine, according to the first global label carried in the received first packet, a first label forwarding entry corresponding to the first global label, to determine that the first packet is to be forwarded from the forwarding information base of the first virtual network topology corresponding to the first global label.

8. The network system according to claim 7, wherein:

the forwarding device further comprises a fourth processor configured to, when a second packet received by the second interface does not carry a global label, and the second packet needs to be forwarded from a second virtual network topology, add a second global label to the second packet by using the fourth processor and according to the second global label corresponding to a topology ID of the second virtual network topology, wherein, on a next hop node, the second global label is indexed to a forwarding information base corresponding to the second virtual network topology; and

the second virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

9. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) server.

10. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the global label comprises two or more labels.

11. A controller, wherein the controller is applied to a network system comprising the controller and a plurality of forwarding devices forming a plurality of virtual network topologies, the controller comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to;

allocate a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, wherein labels allocated to different virtual network topologies of the plurality of virtual network topologies are different; and

send, to the plurality of forwarding devices, a binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels.

12. The controller according to claim 11, wherein the global label comprises two or more labels.

13. A forwarding device, wherein the forwarding device is applied to a network system comprising a plurality of forwarding devices and at least one controller, and the plurality of forwarding devices forms a plurality of virtual network topologies, the forwarding device comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to;

receive a binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels that is sent by the controller;

generate, according to the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies, label forwarding entries comprising a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases of the virtual network topologies; and

determine, according to a first global label carried in a received first packet, a first label forwarding entry corresponding to the first global label, to determine that the first packet is to be forwarded from a forwarding information base of a first virtual network topology corresponding to the first global label.

14. The forwarding device according to claim 13, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the forwarding device to:

when a second packet received by the receiving module does not carry a global label, and the second packet is to be forwarded from a second virtual network topology, add a second global label to the second packet according to the second global label corresponding to a topology ID of the second virtual network topology, wherein, on a next hop node, the second global label is indexed to a forwarding information base corresponding to the second virtual network topology; and

the second virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

15. The forwarding device according to claim 13, wherein the global label comprises two or more labels.

16. A packet forwarding method applied to a network system comprising at least one controller and a plurality of forwarding devices, and the plurality of forwarding devices forms a plurality of virtual network topologies, the method comprising:

receiving a binding relationship between global labels and the virtual network topologies, and generating, according to the binding relationship, label forwarding entries comprising a mapping relationship between the global labels and forwarding information bases of the virtual network topologies, wherein the binding relationship is that the controller allocates a global label to each of the plurality of virtual network topologies, and sends, to the plurality of forwarding devices, the binding relationship between the global labels and the virtual network topologies corresponding to the global labels, wherein global labels allocated by the controller to different virtual network topologies of the virtual network topologies are different; and

when a first packet received by a forwarding device carries a first global label, finding, by the forwarding device by searching according to the first global label, a first label forwarding entry corresponding to the first global label, to determine that the first packet is to be forwarded from the first label forwarding entry of a first virtual network topology corresponding to the first global label, wherein

the first virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

sending, by the at least one controller, the binding relationship to forwarding devices within an IGP domain by extending an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP).

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

when a second packet received by a forwarding device does not carry a global label, and the second packet is to be forwarded from a second virtual network topology, adding, by the forwarding device according to a second global label corresponding to a topology ID of the second virtual network topology, the second global label to the second packet, wherein, on a next hop node, the second global label is indexed to a forwarding information base corresponding to the second virtual network topology; and

wherein the second virtual network topology is one of the plurality of virtual network topologies.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the global label comprises two or more labels.