INTEREST MESSAGES WITH A PAYLOAD FOR A NAMED DATA NETWORK

• US 20150117253A1
• Filed: 10/30/2013
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Mahadevan, Priya, Scott, Glenn C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,276,840 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/34 Source routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A network device can process a payload in an Interest packet. During operation, the network device can receive an Interest packet that includes a name or a name prefix associated with one or more target entities for the Interest. If the network device determines that the Interest packet includes a payload, the network node can analyze the Interest'"'"'s name and/or payload to determine an operation to perform for processing the payload. The network device then proceeds to process the payload by performing the determined operation.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an Interest packet by a network node, wherein the Interest packet includes a name or a name prefix associated with one or more target entities for the Interest;

determining that the Interest packet includes a payload;

determining an operation to perform for processing the payload; and

processing the payload by performing the determined operation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the payload includes data for a target entity that is to consume the Interest packet.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is not an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload;

wherein processing the payload involves one or more of;

storing the Interest'"'"'s payload in a local content store in association with the Interest'"'"'s name; and

forwarding the Interest packet via an interface or a virtual interface associated with the Interest packet'"'"'s name or name prefix.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload;

wherein determining the operation to perform involves determining a local application associated with the Interest'"'"'s name or name prefix; and

wherein processing the Interest'"'"'s payload involves using the application to process the payload.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the payload includes instructions or data for configuring a network node, and wherein the instructions or data includes one or more of:

program instructions;

a binary executable file;

a virtual machine executable file;

a script; and

a configuration file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the Interest packet includes access control information, and wherein processing the Interest'"'"'s payload involves:

determining whether the access control information grants the Interest packet permission to reconfigure the network node; and

responsive to determining that the access control information grants permission to the Interest packet, executing the instructions to reconfigure the network node.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the instructions or data configure routing information at the local computing device.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the instructions or data configure a maximum bandwidth for an interface of the local computing device.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving an Interest packet that includes a name or a name prefix associated with one or more target entities for the Interest;

determining that the Interest packet includes a payload;

determining an operation to perform for processing the payload; and

processing the payload by performing the determined operation.

10. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein the payload includes data for a target entity that is to consume the Interest packet.

11. The storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

determining, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is not an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload;

wherein processing the payload involves one or more of;

storing the Interest'"'"'s payload in a local content store in association with the Interest'"'"'s name; and

forwarding the Interest packet via an interface or a virtual interface associated with the Interest packet'"'"'s name or name prefix.

12. The storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

determining, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload;

wherein determining the operation to perform involves determining a local application associated with the Interest'"'"'s name or name prefix; and

wherein processing the Interest'"'"'s payload involves using the application to process the payload.

13. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein the payload includes instructions or data for configuring a network node, and wherein the instructions or data includes one or more of:

program instructions;

a binary executable file;

a virtual machine executable file;

a script; and

a configuration file.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the Interest packet includes access control information, and wherein processing the Interest'"'"'s payload involves:

determining whether the access control information grants the Interest packet permission to reconfigure the network node; and

responsive to determining that the access control information grants permission to the Interest packet, executing the instructions to reconfigure the network node.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions or data configure routing information at the local computing device.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions or data configure a maximum bandwidth for an interface of the local computing device.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

a communication module to receive an Interest packet that includes a name or a name prefix associated with one or more target entities for the Interest;

an Interest-processing module to determining that the Interest packet includes a payload;

an operation-determining module to determine a payload-processing operation to perform to process the payload; and

a payload-processing module to process the payload by performing the determined operation.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the payload includes data for a target entity that is to consume the Interest packet.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein while determining the payload-processing operation, the operation-determining module is further configured to:

determine, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is not an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload; and

determine that the payload-processing operation involves storing the Interest'"'"'s payload; and

wherein while processing the payload, the payload-processing module is further configured to perform one or more of;

storing the Interest'"'"'s payload in a local content store in association with the Interest'"'"'s name; and

forwarding the Interest packet via an interface or a virtual interface associated with the Interest packet'"'"'s name or name prefix.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein while determining the payload-processing operation, the operation-determining module is further configured to:

determine, based on the Interest'"'"'s name, that the local network node is an intended recipient of the Interest'"'"'s payload; and

determine that the operation involves determining a local application associated with the Interest'"'"'s name or name prefix; and

wherein while processing the payload, the payload-processing module is further configured to use the application to process the payload.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the payload includes instructions or data for configuring a network node, and wherein the instructions or data includes one or more of:

program instructions;

a binary executable file;

a virtual machine executable file;

a script; and

a configuration file.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the Interest packet includes access control information, and wherein while processing the Interest'"'"'s payload, the payload-processing module is further configured to:

determine whether the access control information grants the Interest packet permission to reconfigure the network node; and

execute the instructions to reconfigure the network node in response to determining that the access control information grants permission to the Interest packet.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions or data configure routing information at the local computing device.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions or data configure a maximum bandwidth for an interface of the local computing device.