SDN network system, controller, and controlling method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10498607-B2
Application number	US-201615338712-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2016
Priority date	Apr 29, 2014
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

A software defined network (SDN) system, controller, and controlling method, where the SDN system includes at least one Nth level controller and at least two (N+1)th level controllers belonging to the Nth level controller, where the (N+1)th level controller is configured to receive a first message sent by a node belonging to the (N+1)th level controller, and when the first message is a cross-domain message according to status information of each node that is managed by the (N+1)th level controller, forward the first message to the Nth level controller to which the (N+1)th level controller belongs, and the Nth level controller receives the first message, and perform decision processing according to status information of the (N+1)th level controller that is managed by and belongs to the Nth level controller and status information of boundary nodes of the (N+1)th level controller belonging to the Nth level controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A software defined network (SDN) system, comprising at least one N th level controller and at least two (N+1) th level controllers, wherein each (N+1) th level controller belongs to a N th level controller, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein a first (N+1) th level controller is configured to:
receive a first message from a node belonging to the first (N+1) th level controller, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the node sending the first message;
send a second message to a first N th level controller to which the first (N+1) th level controller belongs in response to determining that the first message is a cross-domain message comprising an identifier of a node belonging to a second (N+1) th level controller; wherein the first N th level controller is configured to:
receive the second message from the first (N+1) th level controller; and
perform decision processing based on status information of the first (N+1) th level controller and status information of boundary nodes of the first (N+1) th level controller in response to the second message, wherein a boundary node of the first (N+1) th level controller belongs to the first (N+1) th level controller and couples to a node belonging to a different (N+1) th level controller.

2. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to:
add an identifier of the first (N+1) th level controller to the first message to obtain a third message in response to the received first message comprising an identifier of a third (N+1) th level controller; and
send the third message to the first N th level controller, and
wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to:
receive a plurality of third messages from each (N+1) th level controller belonging to the first N th level controller; and
determine a backbone topology of the SDN system based on the plurality of third messages to determine a backbone transmission path of data in the SDN system based on the backbone topology.

3. The SDN system of claim 2 , further comprising a (N−1) th level controller, wherein the first N th level controller belongs to the (N−1) th level controller, wherein N is an integer greater than 1, wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to:
replace the identifier of the third (N+1) th level controller in the third message with an identifier of the first N th level controller to obtain a fourth message in response to the third message comprising the identifier of the third (N+1) th level controller not belonging to the first N th level controller; and
send the fourth message to the (N−1) th level controller, and wherein the (N−1) th level controller is configured to:
receive the fourth message from the first N th level controller; and
determine the backbone topology of the SDN system based on the fourth message to determine the backbone transmission path of the data in the SDN system based on the backbone topology of the SDN system.

4. The SDN system of claim 2 , wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to separately send a fifth message to the first N th level controller and a node belonging to the first (N+1) th level controller, wherein the fifth message comprises an identifier of the node to which the fifth message is sent and the identifier of the first (N+1) th level controller, and wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to:
receive the fifth message from the first (N+1) th level controller;
determine the backbone topology of the SDN system based on the third message and the fifth message that comprise an identifier of a same node; and
determine the backbone transmission path of the data in the SDN system based on the backbone topology of the SDN system.

5. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to:
update the status information of the node based on the first message, wherein the status information is comprised in the first message; and
send the first message to the first N th level controller in response to the received first message comprising status information of the node, wherein the node is a boundary node of the first (N+1) th level controller, and
wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to update the status information of the boundary node of the first (N+1) th level controller based on the first message.

6. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to send a sixth message to the first N th level controller in response to the received first message being a data transmission request message and comprising an identifier of a node not belonging to the first (N+1) th level controller, wherein the sixth message comprises each of an identifier of the first (N+1) th level controller, an identifier of a target node, and a first transmission path, wherein the first transmission path comprises a source node and a first boundary node belonging to the first (N+1) th level controller, wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to:
receive the sixth message from the first (N+1) th level controller;
send a message for acquiring a second transmission path to a third (N+1) th level controller belonging to the first N th level controller, wherein the second transmission path comprises the target node and a second boundary node belonging to the third (N+1) th level target controller;
determine a first backbone transmission path in response to the first boundary node and the second boundary node being coupled, wherein the first backbone transmission path comprises the source node, the first boundary node, the second boundary node, and the target node, and
wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to:
receive the first backbone transmission path from the first N th level controller;
determine a sub-transmission path of the first backbone transmission path; and
instruct each node in the sub-transmission path to sequentially transmit the data from the source node to the target node.

7. The SDN system of claim 6 , wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to:
determine a third boundary node coupled to the first boundary node and a fourth boundary node coupled to the second boundary node in response to the second boundary node and the first boundary node not being connected; and
determine a second primary backbone transmission path, wherein the second primary backbone transmission path comprises each of the source node, the first boundary node, the second boundary node, the target node, the third boundary node, and the fourth boundary node in response to the third boundary node and the fourth boundary node belonging to a fourth (N+1) th level controller.

8. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first N th level controller is further configured to send a first broadcast message to the first (N+1) th level controller, wherein the first broadcast message is used to acquire the status information of the first (N+1) th level controller and the status information of the boundary node of the first (N+1) th level controller, and wherein the first (N+1) th level controller is further configured to:
return, based on the first broadcast message, the status information of the first (N+1) th level controller to the first N th level controller;
send the first broadcast message to boundary nodes belonging to the first (N+1) th level controller to permit the first (N+1) th level controller to receive status information of the boundary nodes; and
send the received status information of the bound

Assignees

• Huawei Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wang Donghui
• Li Jinming

Classifications

• H04L12/4641

  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 title

• H04L41/12 Primary

  Discovery or management of network topologies · CPC title

• H04L41/044 Primary

  comprising hierarchical management structures · CPC title

• H04L41/122

  of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV] · CPC title

• H04L41/342

  between virtual entities, e.g. orchestrators, SDN or NFV entities · CPC title