SDN network system, controller, and controlling method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10972357-B2
Application number	US-201916665773-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2019
Priority date	Apr 29, 2014
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

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:
a second (N+1)th level controller, wherein N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1;
a first (N+1)th level controller, wherein the first (N+1)th level controller is configured to:
receive a first message from a first node belonging to the first (N+1)th level controller, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the first node;
send a second message to a first Nth 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 second node belonging to the second (N+1)th level controller;
and
the first Nth level controller configured to:
receive the second message from the first (N+1)th level controller; and
perform decision processing according to first status information of the first (N+1)th level controller and second status information of boundary nodes of the first (N+1)th level controller, wherein a boundary node of the first (N+1)th level controller connects to a node that belongs to the second (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 the second message in response to receiving the first message, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the second (N+1)th level controller, and wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to:
receive a plurality of second messages from each of the (N+1)th level controllers that belongs to the first Nth level controller;
determine a backbone topology of the SDN system based on the second messages; and
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 Nth level controller belongs to the (N−1)th level controller, wherein N is an integer greater than 1, and wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to:
replace the identifier of the second (N+1)th level controller in the second message with an identifier of the first Nth level controller to obtain a third message based on the second message not belonging to the first Nth level controller; and
send the third message to the (N−1)th level controller to which the Nth level controller belongs, wherein the (N−1)th level controller is configured to:
receive the third message from the first Nth level controller;
determine the backbone topology of the SDN system according to the third message; and
determine the backbone transmission path of the data in the SDN system according to 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 fourth message to the first Nth level controller and a node that belongs to the first (N+1)th level controller, wherein the fourth message comprises an identifier of the node to which the fourth message is sent and the identifier of the first (N+1)th level controller, and wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to:
receive the fourth message from the first (N+1)th level controller;
determine the backbone topology of the SDN system based on the second message and the fourth 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 message comprises the first status information, and wherein the first (N+1)th level controller is further configured to:
update the first status information, which is comprised in the second message, of the first node based on the first message; and
send the second message to the first Nth level controller based on the first message comprising the first status information of the first node, wherein the first node is a boundary node of the first (N+1)th level controller, and wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to update the first status information of the boundary node of the first (N+1)th level controller based on the second message.

6. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first (N+1)th level controller is further configured to send a fifth message to the first Nth level controller in response to the first message being a data transmission request message and comprising an identifier of a node that does not belong to the first (N+1)th level controller, wherein the fifth message comprises 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 that belongs to the first (N+1)th level controller, and wherein the first Nth level controller is further configured to:
receive the fifth 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 that belongs to the first Nth level controller, wherein the second transmission path comprises the target node and a second boundary node that belongs to the third (N+1)th level target controller; and
determine a first backbone transmission path in response to the first boundary node and the second boundary node being connected, 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 Nth 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 Nth level controller is further configured to:
determine whether the second boundary node is connected to the first boundary node;
determine a third boundary node and a fourth boundary node in response to the second boundary node and the first boundary node not being connected, wherein the third boundary node is connected to the first boundary node and the fourth boundary node is connected to the second boundary node; and
determine a second primary backbone transmission path in response to the third boundary node and the fourth boundary node belonging to a fourth (N+1)th level controller, wherein the second primary backbone transmission path comprises the source node, the first boundary node, the second boundary node, the target node, the third boundary node, and the fourth boundary node.

8. The SDN system of claim 1 , wherein the first Nth 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 Nth level controller;
send the first broadcast message to boundary nodes that belong to the first (N+1)th level controller such that the boundary nodes return their status information to the first (N+1)th level controller; and
send the status information of the boundary nodes to the first Nth level controller.

9. A first (N+1)th level contr

Assignees

• Huawei Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wang Donghui
• Li Jinming

Classifications

• 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

• H04L41/044 Primary

  comprising hierarchical management structures · CPC title

• 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