A network OAM method and device

Abstract

The present invention provides a network OAM method and apparatus, which relate to the field of computer technology and are capable of determining OAM configuration information for a target application, that is, implementing specific OAM for the target application, thereby improving the network's OAM effectiveness. The method includes: a first network device determining OAM configuration information for the target application, the OAM configuration information including an OAM measurement method; and the first network device forwarding the OAM configuration information to a second network device.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the application submitted to the China Intellectual Property Office with an application date of October 17, 2019, application number 201910988464.0, and invention name “A network OAM method and device”. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a network OAM method and device. Background Art

[0003] Network management tasks include operation, administration, and maintenance, collectively referred to as Operation, Administration, and Management (OAM). OAM can perform fault detection, path discovery, fault location, and performance monitoring, thereby enabling network analysis, prediction, planning, and configuration. It can also test and manage faults in the network and its services.

[0004] OAM for a network may include: in the process of forwarding messages, devices on the forwarding path (such as switches or routers) collect OAM information and report it to the controller in the network, and the controller analyzes the OAM information to evaluate the network status. Currently, OAM information can be collected for specific data flows according to preset OAM policies (including OAM methods, content, and frequency). For example, Figure 1 As shown, in the process of sending data from server 1 to server 2, the data transmission path is node 1, node 2, node 3 and node 5. The OAM policy corresponding to the data flow is configured on node 2. After node 2 receives the data flow, it determines the OAM policy corresponding to the data flow, collects OAM information according to the OAM policy, and forwards the OAM policy and OAM information to node 3. Node 3 collects OAM information according to the OAM policy and sends it to node 5. Similarly, node 5 also collects OAM information. At this point, node 5 can obtain the OAM information collected by nodes 2, 3 and 5, and then send all OAM information to the controller.

[0005] However, collecting OAM information only according to the OAM policy corresponding to the data flow may not be flexible enough in configuration and may not be suitable for actual applications (APPs). This makes the collected OAM information less targeted, resulting in poor OAM effects. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a network OAM method and apparatus, which can determine the OAM configuration information of a target application, thereby improving the OAM effect of the network.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an OAM method for network operation, management and maintenance, the method comprising: a first network device determines OAM configuration information of a target application, the OAM configuration information including an OAM measurement method; and the first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to a second network device.

[0009] In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network device determines the OAM configuration information, the first network device encapsulates the OAM configuration information into a received message and forwards it to the second network device, so that the second network device collects OAM information according to the OAM configuration information.

[0010] Through this method, OAM for specific target applications can be implemented, the pertinence of OAM can be improved, and the OAM effect can be improved.

[0011] In a possible implementation, before the first network device determines the OAM configuration information of the target application, the network OAM method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the first network device receives a message including characteristic information of the target application.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, the message received by the first network device is a message of the target application, which includes an information header of the target application (hereinafter referred to as an APP information header), and the APP header contains characteristic information of the target application. After the first network device receives the message, it decapsulates the message and obtains the characteristic information of the target application from the APP information header.

[0013] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, when OAM is performed based on the actual business of the target application, the above-mentioned message can be a message corresponding to the actual business of the target application; when active OAM is performed on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application, the above-mentioned message is a test message.

[0014] The method for the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application may specifically include: the first network device determining the OAM configuration information of the target application according to characteristic information of the target application.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the target application characteristic information is the target application service requirement information. Thus, the method for the first network device to determine the target application OAM configuration information may specifically include: the first network device determines the target application OAM configuration information based on the target application service requirement information in the message.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present application, the APP information header of the above-mentioned message contains service requirement information of the target application (which can also be called SLA parameters). The first network device decapsulates the message it receives and obtains the service requirement information from the APP information header of the message.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the service demand information of the target application includes at least one of latency information, packet loss information, and bandwidth information.

[0018] The service requirement information may also be referred to as SLA parameters, where delay information may include one or more of end-to-end delay, hop-by-hop delay, and forwarding delay; packet loss information may include packet loss rate; and bandwidth information may include available bandwidth.

[0019] Optionally, the above service requirement information may further include an upper limit value of delay information and / or an upper limit value of packet loss information, for example, including a maximum end-to-end delay of less than 3 milliseconds and / or a maximum packet loss rate of less than 0.0001.

[0020] Optionally, the service requirement information may further include color information of the service requirement (also referred to as SLA color), and the color information of the service requirement may implicitly indicate one or more of the delay information, packet loss information, and bandwidth information.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can determine the OAM configuration information based on the content of the service demand information. For example, when performing OAM based on the actual business of the target application, if the service demand information is that the maximum packet loss rate is less than a certain value, the first network device can determine that the measurement object in the OAM configuration information is the packet loss rate based on the target application's requirement for the packet loss rate (that is, the maximum packet loss rate needs to be less than a certain value), and determine the OAM measurement method and measurement granularity when performing OAM on the packet loss rate; when performing active OAM based on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application, if the service demand information is delay and the maximum end-to-end delay is less than a certain value, the first network device determines that the measurement object in the OAM configuration information is delay based on the target application's requirement for delay (that is, the maximum end-to-end delay needs to be less than a certain value), and determines the OAM measurement method and measurement frequency when performing OAM on the delay.

[0022] Through this method, the first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application based on the service requirement information of the target application carried in the data message (for example, different service requirements may correspond to different OAM configuration information), thereby making the OAM configuration more flexible.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the characteristic information of the target application is identification information of the target application. Thus, the method for the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application may specifically include: the first network device determines the OAM configuration information of the target application according to the identification information of the target application in the message.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, the APP information header of the above message contains identification information of the target application (denoted as APPID). The first network device decapsulates the received message and obtains the APP ID from the APP information header of the message.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, a correspondence between the identification information of the application and the OAM configuration information is configured on the first network device. After the first network device obtains the identification information of the target application, it first matches the identification information of the target application based on the correspondence between the identification information of the application and the OAM configuration information, and then determines that the OAM configuration information corresponding to the identification information of the target application is the OAM configuration information of the target application.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device, based on the APP ID in the received message, when matching the identification information of the target application, forwards the determined OAM identification information to the second network device. In this way, the second network device can obtain the OAM configuration information and determine whether to collect OAM information (i.e., whether to perform the OAM function) based on the actual situation. Similarly, other subsequent network devices can also obtain the OAM configuration information and determine whether to collect OAM information. When the first network device does not match the identification information of the target application, the first network device, the second network device, and other subsequent network devices do not collect OAM information (i.e., do not perform the OAM function) and only forward the message normally.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application can pre-configure which devices (i.e., nodes) in the network need to collect OAM information. That is, for each device in the network, it can be configured whether the device needs to collect OAM information. Specifically, it can be configured according to actual needs to determine which devices need to collect OAM information, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

[0028] For example, a network device receives a message sent by its previous-hop network device. If the network device is configured to collect OAM information, the network device decapsulates the received message, obtains OAM configuration information, and collects OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. The network device then encapsulates the OAM information into the OAM header of the message, and then sends the message containing the OAM configuration information and OAM information to the next-hop network device of the network device; otherwise, the network device does not collect OAM information, and directly forwards the message containing the OAM configuration information to the next-hop network device of the network device.

[0029] Through this method, the first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application based on the identification information of the target application carried in the data message (for example, different applications can be configured with different OAM configuration information), thereby making the OAM configuration more flexible.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the message received by the first network device includes an OAM measurement mode.

[0031] That is, the OAM measurement method can be pre-configured and carried in the message, so that the first network device can obtain the OAM measurement method after receiving the message.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the OAM measurement method includes at least one of the following methods: an IOAM method, an IPFPM method, an IFIT method, a TWAMP method, an OWAMP method, and a PING method.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the OAM configuration information further includes at least one of the following information: an OAM measurement object, a measurement granularity, and a measurement frequency.

[0034] It should be understood that the measurement objects of OAM may include at least one of latency, packet loss rate and available bandwidth; the measurement granularity of OAM may include flow-by-flow or packet-by-packet; the measurement frequency of OAM may be the frequency of sending data packets (or measurement packets).

[0035] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, when performing OAM on the network, OAM can be performed based on the actual business of the target application (which can be understood as flow-by-flow measurement), or active OAM can be performed on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application (which can be understood as path measurement). When performing OAM based on the actual business of the target application, the above-mentioned OAM configuration information may include measurement granularity, and the OAM measurement method may include IOAM method, IPFPM method, and IFIT method; when actively performing OAM on the forwarding path of the target application, the above-mentioned OAM configuration information may include measurement frequency, and the OAM measurement method may include TWAMP method, OWAMP method, and PING method, etc.

[0036] It should be understood that when the message carries the OAM measurement method (for example, the OAM measurement method is specified as the IOAM method in the message), the first network device obtains the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application from the message, and then determines other information in the OAM configuration information (for example, the measurement object, measurement granularity or measurement frequency) based on the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network device determines the OAM configuration information, the first network device encapsulates the OAM configuration information into a received message and forwards it to the second network device, so that the second network device collects OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. It should be noted that in the case where the message carries the OAM measurement method, only the determined OAM measurement object, OAM measurement granularity, or measurement frequency is encapsulated into the message.

[0038] Optionally, when the OAM measurement object is different, the OAM information collected by the network device is also different. For example, in one implementation, the OAM measurement object is delay, and the OAM information collected by the network device may include: timestamp, node ID, and interface ID, wherein the interface ID may include the input interface and output interface of the message, and the timestamp may include the time when the message arrives at the input interface and the time when the message leaves the output interface.

[0039] In one possible implementation, before the first network device determines the OAM configuration information of the target application, the network OAM method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the first network device obtains enabling information, which is used to instruct the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the enabling information is carried in a message received by the first network device; or, the enabling information is pre-configured on the first network device.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned enabling information is an indication information (e.g., an instruction), and the first network device can determine whether it is necessary to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application based on the value of the indication information. Exemplarily, "0" or "1" can be used to represent the above-mentioned enabling information. For example, "1" can be used to represent enabling, that is, the first network device needs to determine the OAM configuration information, and "0" can also be used to represent enabling. Of course, the embodiment of the present application can also use other flags that meet actual usage requirements to set the above-mentioned enabling information, and the embodiment of the present application will not list them one by one.

[0042] In a possible implementation, identification information of the target application may be used as enabling indication information.

[0043] In the network OAM method provided by the embodiment of the present application, a first network device in the network determines OAM configuration information for a target application, and the first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to a second network device. It can be seen that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can determine the OAM configuration information for the target application, thereby making the OAM configuration method more flexible.

[0044] Furthermore, the network devices in the network that need to collect OAM information complete the collection and reporting of OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. Since the OAM configuration information determined by the above-mentioned first network device is based on the characteristic information of the target application, the OAM information collected based on the OAM configuration information can, to a certain extent, more accurately reflect the operating status of the target application, thereby improving the OAM effect of the network.

[0045] That is, through the network OAM method provided in the embodiments of the present application, OAM for specific target applications can be implemented, thereby increasing the pertinence of OAM and improving the OAM effect.

[0046] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, which is a first network device, comprising a determination module and a sending module. The determination module is configured to determine OAM configuration information of a target application, the OAM configuration information including an OAM measurement method; and the sending module is configured to forward the OAM configuration information to a second network device.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes a receiving module configured to receive a message including characteristic information of a target application. Thus, the determining module is specifically configured to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application based on the characteristic information of the target application.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the characteristic information of the target application is service requirement information of the target application. The determination module is specifically configured to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application according to the service requirement information of the target application.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the service demand information of the target application includes at least one of latency information, packet loss information, and bandwidth information.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes a receiving module; the receiving module is used to receive a message including identification information of the target application.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the characteristic information of the target application is identification information of the target application. The determination module is specifically configured to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application according to the identification information of the target application.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, the message received by the first network device includes an OAM measurement method.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the OAM measurement method includes at least one of the following methods: an IOAM method, an IPFPM method, an IFIT method, a TWAMP method, an OWAMP method, and a PING method.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the OAM configuration information further includes at least one of the following information: an OAM measurement object, a measurement granularity, and a measurement frequency.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the network device provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes an acquisition module; the acquisition module is used to acquire enabling information, and the enabling information is used to instruct the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application.

[0056] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the network device is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the network device executes the OAM method of the network described in the above-mentioned first aspect and any one of its possible implementation methods.

[0057] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, which exists in the form of a chip product. The structure of the network device includes a processor and a memory, the memory is used to couple with the processor, the memory is used to store computer instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the network device executes the OAM method of the network described in any one of the above-mentioned first aspect and its possible implementation methods.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may include computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the network device executes the OAM method of the network described in the above-mentioned first aspect and any one of its possible implementation methods.

[0059] It should be understood that the beneficial effects achieved by the technical solutions of the second to fifth aspects of the embodiments of the present application and the corresponding possible implementation methods can be referred to the technical effects of the first aspect and its corresponding possible implementation methods mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] Figure 1 Application scenarios of the network OAM method provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] Figure 2 A hardware diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a network OAM method provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0063] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a network OAM method provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0064] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a network OAM method provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ;

[0065] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of encapsulation of OAM configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of an OAM information collection process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a network OAM method provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ;

[0068] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a network OAM method provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 5 ;

[0069] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the structure of the first network device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0070] Figure 11Schematic diagram of the structure of the first network device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] The term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone.

[0072] In the description and claims of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order of objects. For example, "first network device" and "second network device" are used to distinguish different network devices, rather than to describe a specific order of network devices.

[0073] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0074] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more. For example, "multiple processing units" means two or more processing units; "multiple systems" means two or more systems.

[0075] First, some concepts involved in a network OAM method and device provided in an embodiment of the present application are explained.

[0076] OAM: Operation, Maintenance and Management. Network OAM refers to the collection of OAM information by network devices. The definition of OAM is as follows:

[0077] (1) Performance monitoring and generating maintenance information, thereby evaluating network stability based on the maintenance information;

[0078] (2) Detect network failures through regular queries and generate various maintenance information and alarm information;

[0079] (3) In the event of a network failure, services are dispatched or switched to other entities to ensure the normal operation of the network;

[0080] (4) Transmit the fault information to the management entity (such as a controller).

[0081] In summary, network OAM may include fault detection, path discovery, fault location, and performance monitoring. In the following embodiments, the network OAM process will be described in detail in combination with the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0082] OAM domain: refers to the collection of all nodes in the network that support OAM functions (i.e., support the collection of OAM information), such as Figure 1 The collection of nodes 2, 3, and 5 in the OAM domain is an OAM domain, where node 2 is the entry node (also called the head node) of the OAM domain. The entry node is responsible for determining the OAM configuration information. Node 5 is the exit node (also called the tail node) of the OAM domain. The exit node is responsible for reporting the OAM information collected by each node in the OAM domain to the controller.

[0083] Based on the problems in the background technology, the embodiments of the present application provide a network OAM method and apparatus, wherein a first network device in the network can determine OAM configuration information for a target application and forward the OAM configuration information to a second network device. It can be seen that through the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, the first network device can determine the OAM configuration information for the target application. Thus, the OAM configuration method is made more flexible.

[0084] Furthermore, the network devices in the network that need to collect OAM information complete the collection and reporting of OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. Since the OAM configuration information determined by the above-mentioned first network device is based on the characteristic information of the target application, the OAM information collected based on the OAM configuration information can, to a certain extent, more accurately reflect the operating status of the target application, thereby improving the OAM effect of the network.

[0085] That is, through the network OAM method provided in the embodiments of the present application, OAM for specific target applications can be implemented, thereby increasing the pertinence of OAM and improving the OAM effect.

[0086] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the first network device is a head node or entry node (i.e., a starting node for executing OAM functions in the network) on a forwarding path corresponding to the target application (i.e., target APP), and the second network device is a next-hop device of the first network device. Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may be routing devices or switching devices, such as routers or switches.

[0087] The above OAM configuration information is used by network devices in the network to collect OAM information, and the OAM information is used to analyze the running status of the target application (such as delay or packet loss, etc.).

[0088] Exemplarily, the hardware structure of the first network device is described by taking the first network device as a router as an example. Figure 2 The hardware diagram of the router provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the router provided in the embodiment of the present application includes components such as a processor 20, a memory 21, and an interface 22. The following is an exemplary description of each component of the router.

[0089] Processor 20: Responsible for exchanging routing information, routing table lookup, and data processing (including encapsulation or decapsulation), such as processing various tables and routing operations required for maintaining the router.

[0090] Memory 21: used to store the router's configuration, operating system, routing protocol software, etc. A router can have multiple types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), dynamic internal memory (DRAM), and flash memory.

[0091] Interface 22: Used by the router to send and receive data packets. Interface 22 on the router includes both a LAN interface and a WAN interface. The router itself lacks input or terminal display devices. The router's interfaces also include a control port, which allows users or administrators to communicate with the router via a terminal and complete router configuration.

[0092] In combination with the above-mentioned concept introduction and the introduction of the hardware structure of the router, the OAM method and device of the network provided in the embodiment of the present application are introduced in detail below.

[0093] like Figure 3 As shown, the network OAM method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include S101-S102:

[0094] S101. A first network device determines OAM configuration information of a target application.

[0095] The OAM configuration information includes an OAM measurement method.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, the OAM measurement method may include at least one of the following methods: in-situ operation administration and maintenance (IOAM) method, Internet Protocol flow performance measurement (IP flow performance monitor, IPFPM) method, (in-situ flow information test, IFIT) method, two-way active measurement protocol (two-way active measurement protocol, TWAMP) method, one-way active measurement protocol (one-way active measurement protocol, OWAMP) method and PING method (PING is a PING protocol for checking whether the network is connected).

[0097] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the OAM configuration information may further include at least one of the following information: an OAM measurement object, a measurement granularity, and a measurement frequency.

[0098] It should be understood that the measurement objects of OAM may include at least one of latency, packet loss rate and available bandwidth; the measurement granularity of OAM may include flow-by-flow or packet-by-packet; the measurement frequency of OAM may be the frequency of sending data packets (or measurement packets).

[0099] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, when performing OAM on the network, OAM can be performed based on the actual business of the target application (which can be understood as flow-by-flow measurement), or active OAM can be performed on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application (which can be understood as path measurement). When performing OAM based on the actual business of the target application, the above-mentioned OAM configuration information may include measurement granularity, and the OAM measurement method may include IOAM method, IPFPM method, and IFIT method; when actively performing OAM on the forwarding path of the target application, the above-mentioned OAM configuration information may include measurement frequency, and the OAM measurement method may include TWAMP method, OWAMP method, and PING method, etc.

[0100] S102: The first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to the second network device.

[0101] In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network device determines the OAM configuration information, the first network device encapsulates the OAM configuration information into a received message and forwards it to the second network device, so that the second network device collects OAM information according to the OAM configuration information.

[0102] Optionally, when the OAM measurement object is different, the OAM information collected by the network device is also different. For example, in one implementation, the OAM measurement object is latency, and the OAM information collected by the network device may include: timestamp, node ID, and interface ID, where the interface ID may include the input and output interfaces of the message, and the timestamp may include the time when the message arrives at the input interface and the time when the message leaves the output interface. The controller can determine the delay of the target application message during the forwarding process based on the timestamp, such as the delay from the head node to the tail node or the delay between two adjacent nodes. In one implementation, when the OAM measurement object is packet loss rate, the OAM information collected by the network device may include: node ID, interface ID, and sequence number. The controller can compare the sequence number of the data packet sent by the sender with the sequence number of the data packet received by the receiver to determine the number of lost data packets, thereby determining the packet loss rate.

[0103] Optional, combined Figure 3 ,like Figure 4 As shown, before the above S101, the network OAM method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include S103:

[0104] S103: The first network device receives a message including characteristic information of a target application.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present application, the message received by the first network device is a message of the target application, which includes an information header of the target application (hereinafter referred to as an APP information header), and the APP header contains characteristic information of the target application. After the first network device receives the message, it decapsulates the message and obtains the characteristic information of the target application from the APP information header.

[0106] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, when OAM is performed based on the actual business of the target application, the above-mentioned message can be a message corresponding to the actual business of the target application; when active OAM is performed on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application, the above-mentioned message is a test message.

[0107] like Figure 4 As shown, the above S101 can be specifically implemented through S1011:

[0108] S1011. The first network device determines OAM configuration information of the target application according to characteristic information of the target application.

[0109] Specifically, the characteristic information of the target application may include the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application. That is, the APP information header of the message received by the first network device contains the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application (referred to as APP ID in the following embodiments). The first network device decapsulates the received message and obtains the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application from the APP information header of the message.

[0110] The service requirement information may also be referred to as service level agreement (SLA) parameters. The service requirement information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of latency information, packet loss information, and bandwidth information. Latency information may include one or more of end-to-end latency, hop-by-hop latency, and forwarding latency; packet loss information may include packet loss rate; and bandwidth information may include available bandwidth.

[0111] Optionally, the above service requirement information may further include an upper limit value of delay information and / or an upper limit value of packet loss information, for example, including a maximum end-to-end delay of less than 3 milliseconds and / or a maximum packet loss rate of less than 0.0001.

[0112] In one implementation, the service requirement information may further include color information of the service requirement (also referred to as SLA color), and the color information of the service requirement may implicitly indicate one or more of the delay information, packet loss information, and bandwidth information.

[0113] Combine Figure 4 ,like Figure 5 As shown, in one implementation, the above S103 can be replaced by S1031, and S1011 can be replaced by S1011a:

[0114] S1031. The first network device receives a message including service requirement information of a target application.

[0115] S1011a. The first network device determines OAM configuration information of the target application according to the service requirement information of the target application.

[0116] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can determine the OAM configuration information based on the content of the service demand information. For example, when performing OAM based on the actual business of the target application, if the service demand information is that the maximum packet loss rate is less than a certain value, the first network device can determine that the measurement object in the OAM configuration information is the packet loss rate based on the target application's requirement for the packet loss rate (that is, the maximum packet loss rate needs to be less than a certain value), and determine the OAM measurement method and measurement granularity when performing OAM on the packet loss rate; when performing active OAM based on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application, if the service demand information is delay and the maximum end-to-end delay is less than a certain value, the first network device determines that the measurement object in the OAM configuration information is delay based on the target application's requirement for delay (that is, the maximum end-to-end delay needs to be less than a certain value), and determines the OAM measurement method and measurement frequency when performing OAM on the delay.

[0117] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can determine whether to perform OAM based on the actual business of the target application or based on the forwarding path corresponding to the target application, that is, to perform flow-by-flow measurement or active measurement, based on the strictness of the target application's requirements for latency, packet loss rate, etc.

[0118] In one example, applications such as interactive Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and streaming media are sensitive to packet loss. Severe packet loss may lead to unacceptable consequences such as mosaics. In this case, OAM can be performed based on the actual business of the target application, and the service demand information of the target application on the packet loss rate can be carried in the target application's message, thereby determining the OAM configuration information (including measurement method, measurement object, and measurement granularity). For example, the OAM measurement method is IPFPM, the OAM object is the packet loss rate, and the OAM measurement granularity is packet-by-packet.

[0119] In another example, applications such as live broadcasting and virtual reality (VR) are sensitive to latency. Excessive latency may result in a poor user experience. In this case, OAM can be performed based on the actual business of the target application, and the target application's message carries the service demand information of the target application's latency requirements, thereby determining the OAM configuration information (including measurement method, measurement object, and measurement granularity). For example, the OAM measurement method is IOAM, the OAM object is latency, and the OAM measurement granularity is packet-by-packet.

[0120] In an embodiment of the present application, taking active OAM for the forwarding path corresponding to the target application as an example, the above-mentioned service demand information is delay, and the target application has a relatively low requirement for delay, for example, the maximum end-to-end delay is less than 50 milliseconds. At this time, the first network device can select an OAM measurement method that is not sensitive to delay, for example, the TWAMP method, and since the target application does not have a high requirement for delay, a lower measurement frequency can be used.

[0121] It should be understood that the service requirements of the target application (delay, packet loss rate or bandwidth, etc.) are different, and the corresponding OAM configuration information may be different. Specifically, it can be selected according to actual usage, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0122] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the OAM measurement method in the OAM configuration information of the target application can also be determined based on whether the network device supports a certain OAM measurement method. For example, if a certain network device only supports the IOAM method, the OAM measurement method in the OAM configuration information of the target application is the IOAM method.

[0123] In summary, the first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application based on the service requirement information of the target application carried in the data message (eg, different service requirements may correspond to different OAM configuration information), thereby making the OAM configuration more flexible.

[0124] In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network device determines the OAM configuration information according to the service requirement information of the target application, the first network device carries the OAM configuration information in the message it receives and forwards it to the second network device. Figure 6 To understand how the first network device carries OAM configuration information in a message, specifically, the first network device adds an OAM header to the message it receives, encapsulates the OAM configuration information into the OAM header of the message, and then forwards the message to the second network device.

[0125] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, it is possible to pre-configure which devices (i.e., nodes) in the network need to collect OAM information. That is, for each device in the network, it is possible to configure whether the device needs to collect OAM information. Specifically, it is possible to configure which devices need to collect OAM information based on actual needs, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0126] For example, a network device receives a message sent by its previous-hop network device. If the network device is configured to collect OAM information, the network device decapsulates the received message, obtains OAM configuration information, and collects OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. The network device then encapsulates the OAM information into the OAM header of the message, and then sends the message containing the OAM configuration information and OAM information to the next-hop network device of the network device; otherwise, the network device does not collect OAM information, and directly forwards the message containing the OAM configuration information to the next-hop network device of the network device.

[0127] In the embodiment of the present application, it is assumed that the first network device is the entry node of the OAM domain, the next hop node of the first network device is the second network device, the next hop node of the second network device is the third network device, and the third network device is the exit node of the OAM domain. For example, the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device all need to collect OAM information. Figure 7 As shown in the figure, the OAM information collection process is explained in combination with the message forwarding process. Specifically:

[0128] After the first network device determines the OAM configuration information of the target application, the first network device can collect OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. The OAM information collected by the first network device is recorded as the first OAM information. The first network device then encapsulates the OAM configuration information and the first OAM information into a message (specifically, see the description of the above embodiment. The first network device adds an OAM header to the message it receives and encapsulates the OAM configuration information and the first OAM information into the OAM header of the message), and then sends it to the second network device. At this point, it can be understood that the message sent by the first network device to the second network device carries the OAM configuration information and the first OAM information.

[0129] After receiving the message sent by the first network device, the second network device decapsulates the message to obtain the OAM configuration information and collects OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. The OAM information collected by the second network device is referred to herein as the second OAM information. The second network device then encapsulates the second OAM information into the received message (specifically, the second network device encapsulates the second OAM information into the OAM header of the message) and sends it to the third network device. It can be understood that the message sent by the second network device to the third network device carries the OAM configuration information, the first OAM information, and the second OAM information.

[0130] After the third network device receives the message sent by the second network device, it decapsulates the message to obtain OAM configuration information, and collects OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. The OAM information collected by the third network device is recorded here as the third OAM information. At this point, it can be known that the third network device has obtained the first OAM information, the second OAM information and the third OAM information, and then the third network device sends the first OAM information, the second OAM information and the third OAM information to the controller in the network; or the third network device encapsulates the third OAM information into the message OAM header, and sends the OAM header containing the first OAM information, the second OAM information and the third OAM information to the controller in the network, and then the controller analyzes the OAM information to determine the running status of the target application.

[0131] Combine Figure 4 ,like Figure 8 As shown, in another implementation, the above S103 can be replaced by S1032, and S1011 can be replaced by S1011b:

[0132] S1032: The first network device receives a message including identification information of a target application.

[0133] S1011b. The first network device determines OAM configuration information of the target application according to the identification information of the target application.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, a correspondence between the identification information of the application and the OAM configuration information is configured on the first network device. After the first network device obtains the identification information of the target application, it first matches the identification information of the target application based on the correspondence between the identification information of the application and the OAM configuration information, and then determines that the OAM configuration information corresponding to the identification information of the target application is the OAM configuration information of the target application.

[0135] Illustratively, Table 1 is an example of the correspondence between application identification information and OAM configuration information.

[0136] Table 1

[0137] APP ID OAM configuration information ID 1 OAM configuration information 1 ID 2 OAM configuration information 2 ID 3 OAM configuration information 3 ID 4 OAM configuration information 4 ID 5 OAM configuration information 5

[0138] In combination with Table 1, the APP ID obtained by the first network device from the message is ID 3, so the first network device can determine that the OAM configuration information of the target application is OAM configuration information 3 in Table 1.

[0139] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first network device, based on the APPID in the message it receives, when it matches the identification information of the target application (for example, the identification information of the target application does not exist in the above Table 1), the first network device forwards the determined OAM identification information to the second network device, so that the second network device can obtain the OAM configuration information and determine whether to collect OAM information (that is, whether to perform the OAM function) according to the actual situation. Similarly, other subsequent network devices can also obtain the OAM configuration information and determine whether to collect OAM information. When the first network device does not match the identification information of the target application, the first network device, the second network device and other subsequent network devices do not collect OAM information (that is, do not perform the OAM function), and only forward the message normally.

[0140] In combination with the description of S1011a or S1011b above, optionally, the message received by the first network device may include the OAM measurement method in the OAM configuration information, that is, the OAM measurement method can be pre-configured and carried in the message. In this way, after receiving the message, the first network device can obtain the OAM measurement method (for example, specifying the OAM measurement method as the IOAM method in the message). In this case, after the first network device obtains the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application from the message, it determines other information in the OAM configuration information (such as the measurement object, measurement granularity or measurement frequency) based on the service requirement information of the target application or the identification information of the target application. Furthermore, when the first network device does not need to collect OAM information, the first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to the second network device; when the first network device needs to collect OAM information, the first network device collects OAM information according to the OAM configuration information, and forwards the OAM configuration information and OAM information to the second network device.

[0141] Here, it should be noted that, in the case where the message carries the OAM measurement method, the first network device only encapsulates the determined OAM measurement object, OAM measurement granularity or measurement frequency into the message (because the message already contains the OAM measurement method).

[0142] In summary, the first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application based on the service requirement information of the target application carried in the data message (eg, different service requirements may correspond to different OAM configuration information), thereby making the OAM configuration more flexible.

[0143] In summary, the first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application based on the identification information of the target application carried in the data message (eg, different applications can be configured with different OAM configuration information), thereby making the OAM configuration more flexible.

[0144] Optional, combined Figure 3 ,like Figure 9 As shown, before the above S101, the network OAM method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include S104:

[0145] S104: The first network device obtains enabling information.

[0146] The enabling information is used to instruct the first network device to determine OAM configuration information of the target application.

[0147] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned enabling information is an indication information (such as an instruction), and the enabling information can be carried in a message received by the first network device; or, the enabling information can be pre-configured on the first network device.

[0148] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can determine whether it is necessary to determine the OAM configuration information of the target application based on the value of the indication information. For example, "0" or "1" can be used to represent the above-mentioned enabling information. For example, "1" can be used to indicate enabling, that is, the first network device needs to determine the OAM configuration information, or "0" can be used to indicate enabling. Of course, in an embodiment of the present application, other flags that meet actual usage requirements can also be used to set the above-mentioned enabling information, and the embodiment of the present application will not be listed one by one.

[0149] In one implementation, "1" can be used to indicate enablement, and "0" can be used to indicate disablement, that is, when the value of the enable information is 1, the first network device determines the OAM configuration information, and when the value of the enable information is 0, the first network device does not determine the OAM configuration information and only forwards the message normally.

[0150] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the identification information of the target application can be used as enabling information. In this case, when the message received by the first network device contains the APP ID, the first network device determines the OAM configuration information of the target application and forwards the message containing the OAM configuration information to the second network device; when the message received by the first network device does not contain the APP ID (or the APP ID is empty), the first network device does not determine the OAM configuration information of the target application and only forwards the message.

[0151] In the network OAM method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the first network device in the network determines the OAM configuration information of the target application, and the first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to the second network device. It can be seen that through the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the OAM configuration information for the target application can be determined. Thus, the configuration method of OAM is made more flexible. Furthermore, the network device that needs to collect OAM information in the network completes the collection and reporting of OAM information based on the OAM configuration information. Since the OAM configuration information determined by the above-mentioned first network device is based on the characteristic information of the target application, the OAM information collected based on the OAM configuration information can, to a certain extent, more accurately reflect the operating status of the target application, thereby improving the effect of the network's OAM.

[0152] That is, through the network OAM method provided in the embodiments of the present application, OAM for specific target applications can be implemented, thereby increasing the pertinence of OAM and improving the OAM effect.

[0153] In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the first network device can be divided according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0154] In the case of dividing each functional module into corresponding functional modules, Figure 10 A possible structural diagram of the first network device involved in the above embodiment is shown. Figure 10 As shown, the first network device may include: a determining module 1001 and a sending module 1002. The determining module 1001 may be used to support the first network device in executing S101 (including S1011, which may be replaced by S1011a or S1011b) in the above method embodiment; the sending module 1002 may be used to support the first network device in executing S102 in the above method embodiment.

[0155] Optional, such as Figure 10 As shown, the first network device may further include a receiving module 1003, which may be used to support the first network device in executing S103 (which may be replaced by S1031 or S1032) in the above method embodiment.

[0156] Optional, such as Figure 10As shown, the first network device may further include an acquisition module 1004, and the acquisition module 1004 may be used to support the first network device in executing S104 in the above method embodiment.

[0157] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0158] In the case of an integrated unit, Figure 11 FIG. 1 shows a possible structural diagram of the first network device involved in the above embodiment. Figure 11 As shown, the first network device may include: a processing module 2001 and a communication module 2002. The processing module 2001 can be used to control and manage the actions of the device. For example, the processing module 2001 can be used to support the first network device to execute S101 (including S1011, S1011 can be replaced by S1011a or S1011b) and S104 in the above method embodiment, and / or other processes for the technology described herein. The communication module 2002 can be used to support the communication between the first network device and other network entities. For example, the communication module 2002 can be used for the device to execute S102 and S103 (can be replaced by S1031 or S1032) in the above method embodiment. Optionally, as Figure 11 As shown, the first network device may further include a storage module 2003 for storing program codes and data of the first network device.

[0159] The processing module 2001 may be a processor or a controller (for example, the aforementioned Figure 2 The processor 20 shown in the figure may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the embodiments of the present application. The above-mentioned processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The communication module 2002 may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit or a communication interface, etc. (for example, it may be the above-mentioned Figure 2 The storage module 2003 may be a memory (eg, the memory may be as described above). Figure 2 The memory 21 shown).

[0160] When the processing module 2001 is a processor, the communication module 2002 is a transceiver, and the storage module 2003 is a memory, the processor, transceiver, and memory can be connected via a bus. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc.

[0161] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0162] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that for the sake of convenience and brevity, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0163] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0164] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0165] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0166] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as flash memory, mobile hard disk, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0167] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A network operation, management and maintenance (OAM) method, characterized in that: include: The first network device receives the message; The first network device determines a target application to which the message belongs; The first network device determines OAM configuration information for the target application, where the OAM configuration information includes an OAM measurement mode; The first network device forwards the OAM configuration information to the second network device; The message includes characteristic information of the target application; The characteristic information of the target application includes the identification information APP ID of the target application; The first network device determines OAM configuration information for a target application, including: The first network device determines the OAM configuration information for the target application according to the characteristic information of the target application.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The message includes the OAM measurement method.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The OAM measurement method includes at least one of the following methods: in-band operation and maintenance management IOAM method, Internet Protocol flow performance measurement IPFPM method, in-band flow information measurement IFIT method, two-way active measurement protocol TWAMP method, one-way active measurement protocol OWAMP method and PING method.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The OAM configuration information further includes at least one of the following information: an OAM measurement object, a measurement granularity, and a measurement frequency.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before the first network device determines the OAM configuration information for the target application, the method further includes: The first network device obtains enabling information, where the enabling information is used to instruct the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information for the target application.

6. A network device, characterized in that: The network device is a first network device, and the network device includes a receiving module, a determining module and a sending module; The receiving module is used to receive messages; The determining module is used to determine the target application to which the message belongs; The determining module is further configured to determine OAM configuration information for the target application, wherein the OAM configuration information includes an OAM measurement method; The sending module is used to forward the OAM configuration information to the second network device; The message includes characteristic information of the target application; the characteristic information of the target application includes identification information APP ID of the target application; The determining module is specifically configured to determine the OAM configuration information for the target application according to the characteristic information of the target application.

7. The network device according to claim 6, wherein: The OAM measurement method includes at least one of the following methods: in-band operation and maintenance management (IOAM) method, Internet Protocol flow performance measurement (IPFPM) method, IFIT method, two-way active measurement protocol (TWAMP) method, one-way active measurement protocol (OWAMP) method and PING method.

8. The network device according to claim 6, wherein: The network device further includes an acquisition module; The acquisition module is used to acquire enabling information, where the enabling information is used to instruct the first network device to determine the OAM configuration information for the target application.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium may include computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the network device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images