Routing device having multiple logical routers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9485149-B1
Application number	US-201514705771-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 6, 2015
Priority date	Jan 6, 2004
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

Techniques are described for implementing one or more logical routers within a single physical routing device. These logical routers, as referred to herein, are logically isolated in the sense that they achieve operational and organizational isolation within the routing device without requiring the use of additional or redundant hardware, e.g., additional hardware-based routing controllers. The routing device may, for example, include a computing platform, and a plurality of software process executing within the computing platform, wherein the software processes operate as logical routers. The routing device may include a forwarding component shared by the logical routers to forward network packets received from a network in accordance with the forwarding tables.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
one or more programmable processors configured to execute a plurality of software processes, wherein the plurality of software processes operate as logical routers, wherein the logical routers include a first logical router and a second logical router;
a management process having a command line interface to receive commands from a plurality of clients by respective configuration sessions over a network, wherein the command line interface of the management process supports a text-based command syntax that allows each of the plurality of clients to specify a command to designate one of the logical routers for configuration using the respective configuration session; and
a software multiplexer to receive the commands from the management process and to distribute the commands to at least one of the first logical router and the second logical router in accordance with the designation by the clients.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the logical routers is associated with a respective network, and the logical routers maintain separate routing tables in accordance with topologies of their respective networks.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the logical routers performs route resolution to generate separate forwarding tables in accordance with the separate routing tables.

4. The device of claim 3 , further comprising a forwarding component shared by the logical routers to forward network packets received from a network in accordance with the forwarding tables.

5. The device of claim 1 ,
wherein the management process associates a login context with each of the configuration sessions based on privileges for the client configuring associated with the configuration session, and
wherein the management process controls access to the logical routers based upon the login contexts associated with each of the plurality of configuration sessions.

6. The device of claim 5 ,
responsive to determining that, in accordance with the login context, a client associated with one of the configuration session has system-wide access privileges, the management process allows the client to configure any of the logical routers using the respective configuration session.

7. The device of claim 5 , responsive to determining that, in accordance with the login context, a client associated with one of the configuration sessions has limited access privileges, the management process allows the client to configure only a corresponding one of the logical routers and prevents the client from configuring any of the other logical routers using the respective configuration session.

8. The device of claim 1 ,
wherein the command syntax defines a set command having an attribute for uniquely designating the logical router that is to be configured by the respective configuration session, and
wherein in response to receiving the set command from one of the clients over one of the plurality of configuration sessions, the management process binds the configuration session for that client to the logical router identified by the command for controlling distribution of the commands from that client to the identified logical router by the software multiplexer.

Assignees

• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Traina Paul S
• Leelanivas Manoj
• Lin Steven
• Sheth Nischal
• Eng Wing
• Heffernan Andrew H

Classifications

• H04L45/00

  Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks (routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00) · CPC title

• H04L45/02

  Topology update or discovery · CPC title

• H04L41/0893 Primary

  Assignment of logical groups to network elements · CPC title

• H04L41/0813

  characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings · CPC title

• H04L41/0894

  Policy-based network configuration management · CPC title