Data packet processing method, network traffic management method, apparatus, and system

• US 10,313,962 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2013
• 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: Tu, Yi, Zeng, Yulong, Huang, Xihua
• Primary Examiner(s): Crutchfield, Christopher M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Thinh D
• Application Number:
  US15/082,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20160212696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0933 based on load-splitting ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A data packet processing method includes acquiring, by a terminal, an aggregation flow table, where the aggregation flow table includes a management policy for managing network traffic of a first network and network traffic of a second network, determining, by the terminal, according to the aggregation flow table, a transmission network used for transmitting a first uplink data packet, and when the terminal determines to transmit the first uplink data packet using the first network, sending the first uplink data packet to the first network using a first network interface card, and forwarding the first uplink data packet to a gateway, and when the terminal determines to transmit the first uplink data packet using the second network, sending, by the terminal, the first uplink data packet to the second network using a second network interface card, and forwarding the first uplink data packet to a gateway.

Claims

1. A data packet processing method, comprising:

acquiring, by a terminal, an aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table reflecting a management policy for managing network traffic of a first network and network traffic of a second network, the aggregation flow table comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network;

determining, by the terminal, from the first network and the second network and according to the aggregation flow table, a transmission network used for transmitting a first uplink data packet, the terminal determining which one of the first network and the second network to use as the transmission network based at least in part on the network traffic offloading ratio, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a first network interface card that is in the terminal being a first address, an IP address of a second network interface card that is in the terminal being a second address, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing the first network interface card and the second network interface card, and a source IP address of the first uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge;

transmitting, through the first network, the first uplink data packet to a gateway using the first network interface card when the terminal determines to transmit the first uplink data packet using the first network, the source IP address of the first uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to the first address before the first uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network; and

transmitting, through the second network, the first uplink data packet to the gateway using the second network interface card when the terminal determines to transmit the first uplink data packet using the second network, the source IP address of the first uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to the second address before the first uplink data packet is being transmitted using the second network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before acquiring, by the terminal, the aggregation flow table, the method further comprises:

acquiring, by the terminal, network load of the first network and network load of the second network using the first network interface card and the second network interface card, or using an application program installed on the terminal; and

determining, by the terminal according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and a configured aggregation policy, whether to transmit data packets through both the first network with the second network, and

acquiring, by the terminal, the aggregation flow table comprising;

sending, by the terminal, an aggregation request to an aggregation controller when the terminal determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network, a communication connection being between the aggregation controller and the terminal;

receiving, by the terminal, the aggregation flow table returned after the aggregation controller receives the aggregation request;

generating, by the terminal, the aggregation flow table when the terminal determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

sending, by the terminal, the aggregation request to the gateway when the terminal determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

receiving the aggregation flow table returned after the gateway receives the aggregation request.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein after sending the first uplink data packet to the first network using the first network interface card corresponding to the first network or sending the first uplink data packet to the second network using the second network interface card corresponding to the second network, the method further comprises:

acquiring, by the terminal, the network load of the first network and the network load of the second network using the first network interface card and the second network interface card, or using the application program installed on the terminal;

determining, by the terminal according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and the aggregation policy, whether to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

sending, by the terminal using a network interface card that is in the terminal and that is corresponding to a transmission network configured using the aggregation policy, a to-be-transmitted second uplink data packet to the transmission network configured using the aggregation policy when the terminal determines to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network and when there is the second uplink data packet, the source IP address carried by the second uplink data packet being an IP address of the network interface card that is in the terminal and that is corresponding to the transmission network configured using the aggregation policy.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the aggregation policy comprises:

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when a load ratio of the first network is greater than a third threshold and a load ratio of the second network is less than a fourth threshold;

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when the network traffic of the first network is greater than a fifth threshold and the network traffic of the second network is less than a sixth threshold; and

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when a transmission delay of the first network is greater than a seventh threshold and a transmission delay of the second network is less than an eighth threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregation flow table further comprises:

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the first network when the network traffic of the first network is less than a first threshold; and

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the second network when the network traffic of the second network is less than a second threshold.

6. A data packet processing method, comprising:

receiving, by a gateway, a second uplink data packet from a first network or a second network;

acquiring a host identifier and a source port number that are of the second uplink data packet from the second uplink data packet, the second uplink data packet being a data packet that is from a terminal using the first network or the second network determined according to an aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network, which one of the first network and the second network that is used as a transmission network being determined based at least in part on the network traffic offloading ratio, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing a first network interface card and a second network interface card, a source IP address of the second uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge, the source IP address of the second uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a first address of the first network interface card before the second uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network, and the source IP address of the second unlink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a second address of the second network interface card before the second uplink data packet is being transmitted the second network;

encapsulating, by the gateway, the second uplink data packet and a first uplink data packet into a third uplink data packet, the first uplink data packet being a data packet that is received by the gateway from the first network or the second network and that has a same host identifier and a same source port number as the second uplink data packet;

sending, by the gateway, the third uplink data packet to the Internet; and

sending the third uplink data packet to the target server using the Internet, a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the third uplink data packet is a third address, and the third address being an IP address that is allocated by the Internet to the gateway and that is used to receive data from the Internet and send data to the Internet.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein before receiving, by the gateway, the second uplink data packet from the first network or the second network, the method further comprises:

receiving, by the gateway, an aggregation request, the aggregation request destined for the gateway after the terminal determines to use a network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

learning, by the gateway according to the aggregation request, that the terminal determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

generating the aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table comprising a management policy for managing network traffic of the first network and network traffic of the second network; and

returning, by the gateway to the terminal, the aggregation flow table requested in the aggregation request.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the aggregation flow table further comprises:

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the first network when the network traffic of the first network is less than a first threshold; and

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the second network when the network traffic of the second network is less than a second threshold.

9. A network traffic management method, comprising:

receiving, by an aggregation controller, a network load from a first network and a network load from a second network;

determining, by the aggregation controller according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and a configured aggregation policy, whether to use a network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

generating, by the aggregation controller, an aggregation flow table when the aggregation controller determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network, the aggregation flow table reflecting a management policy for managing network traffic of the first network and network traffic of the second network, the aggregation flow table comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network; and

separately sending, by the aggregation controller, the aggregation flow table to a terminal and a gateway, a communication connection being between the aggregation controller and each of the terminal and the gateway, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing a first network interface card and a second network interface card, a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of a to-be-transmitted uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge, the source IP address of the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a first address of the first network interface card before the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network, and the source IP address of the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a second address of the second network interface card before the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is being transmitted using the second network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein after separately sending, by the aggregation controller, the aggregation flow table to the terminal and the gateway, the method further comprises:

receiving, by the aggregation controller, the respective network load from the first network and the second network;

determining, by the aggregation controller according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and the configured aggregation policy, whether to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

instructing, by the aggregation controller, the terminal and the gateway to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when the aggregation controller determines to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the aggregation policy comprises:

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when a load ratio of the first network is greater than a third threshold and a load ratio of the second network is less than a fourth threshold;

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when the network traffic of the first network is greater than a fifth threshold and the network traffic of the second network is less than a sixth threshold; and

using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when a transmission delay of the first network is greater than a seventh threshold and a transmission delay of the second network is less than an eighth threshold.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the aggregation flow table further comprises:

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the first network when the network traffic of the first network is less than a first threshold; and

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the second network when the network traffic of the second network is less than a second threshold.

13. A terminal, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute operation instructions stored in the memory in order to;

acquire an aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table reflecting a management policy for managing network traffic of a first network and network traffic of a second network, the aggregation flow table further comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network;

determine, from the first network and the second network and according to the aggregation flow table, a transmission network used for transmitting a first uplink data packet, the terminal determining which one of the first network and the second network to use as the transmission network based at least in part on the network traffic offloading ratio, an internetworking Internet Protocol (IP) address of a first network interface card that is in the terminal being a first address, an IP address of a second network interface card that is in the terminal being a second address, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing the first network interface card and the second network interface card, and a source IP address of the first uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge;

transmit the first uplink data packet to a getaway through the first network using the first network interface card when it is determined to transmit the first uplink data packet using the first network, the source IP address of the first uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to the first address before the first uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network; and

transmit the first uplink data packet to the getaway through the second network using the second network interface card when it is determined to transmit the first uplink data packet using the second network, the source IP address of the first uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to the second address before the first uplink data packet is being transmitted using the second network.

14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the operation instructions stored in the memory in order to:

acquire network load of the first network and network load of the second network using the first network interface card and the second network interface card, or using an application program installed on the terminal;

determine, according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and a configured aggregation policy, whether to transmit data packets through both the first network with the second network;

send an aggregation request to an aggregation controller when it is determined to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network, a communication connection being between the aggregation controller and the terminal;

receive the aggregation flow table returned after the aggregation controller receives the aggregation request when it is determined to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

generate the aggregation flow table when it is determined to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

send the aggregation request to the gateway when it is determined to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

receive the aggregation flow table returned after the gateway receives the aggregation request.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the operation instructions stored in the memory in order to:

acquire the network load of the first network and the network load of the second network using the first network interface card and the second network interface card, or the application program installed on the terminal;

determine, according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and the configured aggregation policy, whether to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

send, using a network interface card that is in the terminal and that is corresponding to a transmission network configured using the configured aggregation policy, a to-be-transmitted second uplink data packet to the transmission network configured using the configured aggregation policy when it is determined to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network and when there is the second uplink data packet, the source IP address carried by the second uplink data packet being an IP address of the network interface card that is in the terminal and that is corresponding to the transmission network configured using the configured aggregation policy.

16. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the aggregation flow table further comprises:

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the first network when the network traffic of the first network is less than a first threshold; and

a policy used to indicate that the data packet is sent using the second network when the network traffic of the second network is less than a second threshold.

17. A gateway, comprising:

a processor, and

a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute operation instructions stored in the memory in order to;

receive a second uplink data packet from a first network or a second network;

acquire a host identifier and a source port number that are of the second uplink data packet from the second uplink data packet, the second uplink data packet being a data packet that is from a terminal using the first network or the second network determined according to an aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network, which one of the first network and the second network that is used as a transmission network being determined based at least in part on the network traffic offloading ratio, ratio, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing a first network interface card and a second network interface card, a source IP address of the second uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge, the source IP address of the second uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a first address of the first network interface card before the second uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network, and the source IP address of the second uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a second address of the second network interface card before the second uplink data packet is being transmitted the second network;

encapsulate the second uplink data packet and a first uplink data packet into a third uplink data packet, the first uplink data packet being a data packet that is received by the gateway from the first network or the second network and that has a same host identifier and a same source port number as the second uplink data packet;

send the third uplink data packet to the Internet; and

send the third uplink data packet to the target server using the Internet, a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of the third uplink data packet being a third address, and the third address being an IP address that is allocated by the Internet to the gateway and that is used to receive data from the Internet and send data to the Internet.

18. The gateway of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the operation instructions stored in the memory in order to:

receive an aggregation request, the aggregation request being sent to the gateway after the terminal determines to use a network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

learn, according to the aggregation request, that the terminal determines to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

generate the aggregation flow table, the aggregation flow table comprising a management policy for managing network traffic of the first network and network traffic of the second network; and

return, to the terminal, the aggregation flow table requested in the aggregation request.

19. An aggregation controller, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute operation instructions stored in the memory in order to;

receive a network load from a first network and a network load from a second network;

determine, according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and a configured aggregation policy, whether to use a network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network;

generate an aggregation flow table when it is determined to use the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network, the aggregation flow table comprising a management policy for managing network traffic of the first network and network traffic of the second network, the aggregation flow table further comprising a network traffic offloading ratio indicating a ratio of a number of data packets sent using the first network to a number of data packets sent using the second network; and

separately send the aggregation flow table to a terminal and a gateway, a communication connection being between the aggregation controller and each of the terminal and the gateway, the terminal comprising a virtual bridge for managing a first network interface card and a second network interface card, a source Internet Protocol (IP) address of a to-be-transmitted uplink data packet in the terminal is an IP address of the virtual bridge, the source IP address of the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a first address of the first network interface card before the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is being transmitted using the first network, and the source IP address of the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is changed from the IP address of the virtual bridge to a second address of the second network interface card before the to-be-transmitted uplink data packet is being transmitted using the second network.

20. The aggregation controller of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the operation instructions stored in the memory in order to:

receive the respective network load from the first network and the second network;

determine, according to the network load of the first network, the network load of the second network, and the configured aggregation policy, whether to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network; and

instruct the terminal and the gateway to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network when it is determined to stop using the network transmission manner of aggregating the first network with the second network.