Network topology optimization with feasible optical paths

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9780909-B2
Application number	US-201514788602-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2015
Priority date	Dec 29, 2014
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

In general, techniques are described for dynamically determining a logical network topology for more efficiently transporting network traffic over a physical topology based on end-to-end network traffic demands and optical transport network (OTN) characteristics of the network. The techniques may be applicable to meeting network traffic demands placed upon a multi-layer network having a base transport layer and a logical or overlay Internet Protocol (IP) layer routed on the transport layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
obtaining, by a management device of a multi-layer network comprising a network layer and an underlying transport layer, data describing a plurality of candidate links available for use as network links in network topologies for the network layer, wherein each candidate link of the plurality of candidate links is associated with an optical path in the transport layer;
filtering, by the management device based at least on optical network data that describes optical characteristics of fibre links of the transport layer, the plurality of candidate links by determining a plurality of filtered candidate links, from the plurality of candidate links, that are each associated with an optical path in the transport layer that is a feasible optical path for optical transport;
determining, by the management device after filtering the plurality of candidate links by determining a plurality of filtered candidate links, a first solution comprising a network topology for the network layer that includes a first selected subset of the filtered candidate links;
determining, by the management device after generating a modified network topology based at least on the network topology, a second solution comprising the modified network topology for the network layer that includes a second selected subset of the filtered candidate links; and
outputting, by the management device, topology data for one of the first solution or the second solution having a lowest total cost, the lowest total cost including a total resource cost to the network for the one of the first solution or the second solution.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining, by the management device, abstract link data describing at least one of the plurality of filtered candidate links,
where determining the first solution comprises determining, by the management device based on the abstract link data, the network topology for the network layer that includes the first selected subset of the filtered candidate links.

3. The method of claim 2 ,
wherein the abstract link data indicates at least one Shared Risk Link Group for the at least one of the plurality of filtered candidate links,
wherein determining the second solution comprises determining, by the management device based at least on the network topology and the at least one Shared Risk Link Group for the at least one of the plurality of filtered candidate links, the second solution by applying a penalty cost to a first filtered candidate link and a second filtered candidate link of the second subset of the plurality of filtered candidate links, and
wherein the lowest total cost of the second solution includes the penalty cost.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein obtaining abstract link data comprises receiving, by the management device, an abstract link data structure for the transport layer, the abstract link data structure including the abstract link data.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein receiving the abstract link data structure comprises receiving, by the management device from a network management system that manages a transport network that implements the transport layer, the abstract link data structure.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
routing, by the management device, a plurality of traffic demands to the network topology, each traffic demand of the plurality of traffic demands representing an end-to-end traffic flow for the network layer.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
determining, by the management device, the first selected subset of the filtered candidate links by selecting filtered candidate links on which the management device has routed a traffic demand of the plurality of traffic demands.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the modified network topology comprises a first modified network topology, the method further comprising:
determining, by the management device after generating a second modified network topology based on the first modified network topology and in response to determining that the second solution has a lower total cost than the first solution, a third solution comprising the second modified network topology for the network layer that includes a third selected subset of the filtered candidate links; and
determining, by the management device after generating a third modified network topology based on the network topology in response to determining that the second solution has a higher total cost than the first solution, a fourth solution comprising the third modified network topology for the network layer that includes a third selected subset of the filtered candidate links.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the management device, a magnitude of a total cost increase for the second solution from the first solution; and
determining, by the management device, a result of a simulated annealing function based on the magnitude of the total cost increase and a temperature parameter.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
setting, by the management device, the temperature parameter according to a target probability for the simulated annealing function, the target probability being a probability that a total cost for the second solution from the first solution increases.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the modified network topology comprises a first modified network topology, the method further comprising:
determining, by the management device, a magnitude of a total cost increase for the second solution from the first solution;
determining, by the management device, a result of a simulated annealing function based on the magnitude of the total cost increase and a temperature parameter;
determining, by the management device after generating a second modified network topology based on the first modified network topology and in response to determining that the second solution has a lower total cost than the first solution and only if the result of the simulated annealing function is positive, a third solution comprising the second modified network topology for the network layer that includes a third selected subset of the filtered candidate links; and
determining, by the management device after generating a third modified network topology based on the network topology in response to determining that the second solution has a higher total cost than the first solution and only if the result of the simulated annealing function is negative, a fourth solution comprising the third modified network topology for the network layer that includes a third selected subset of the filtered candidate links.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
routing, by the management device, a plurality of traffic demands to the network topology, each traffic demand of the plurality of traffic demands representing an end-to-end traffic flow mapped to a label-switched path for the network layer.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a first candidate link of the plurality of candidate links is associated with a first optical path in the transport layer that is a feasible optical path for optical transport by determining a first impairment to the first optical path for the first candidate link and determining, in response to determining an optical node that terminates the first optical path includes an optical receiver that is available and able to tolerate the first impairment; and
determining a second candidate link of the plurality of candidate links is associated with a second optical path in the transport layer that is not a feasible optical path for optical transport by deter

Assignees

• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Wood David C
• Salsi Massimiliano
• Alleston Steven B

Classifications

• H04L41/0896

  Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities (flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76) · CPC title

• H04L41/12 Primary

  Discovery or management of network topologies · CPC title

• H04B10/27

  Arrangements for networking · CPC title

• H04J2203/0098

  Traffic aspects, e.g. arbitration, load balancing, smoothing, buffer management · CPC title

• H04J2203/0055

  Network design, dimensioning, topology or optimisation · CPC title