A transmission method, network element and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention discloses a transmission method, a network element and a storage medium, comprising: determining a message to be sent to a mirror analysis server; after carrying a mirror message header in the message, sending the message to the mirror analysis server. With the present invention, it is not necessary to introduce the mirror of the overlay tunnel protocol; the path and service quality of the mirror stream can be guaranteed; the mirror stream can not only mirror the message content, but also carry the metadata information of the network node; the mirror message header can be compatible with the encapsulated remote port mirror header; the mirror message header can be flexibly extended; the position of the mirror message header is flexible and variable, and can be behind the source routing technology based on IPv6 or the basic header of the sixth version of the Internet Protocol or behind other extended headers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a transmission method, a network element and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Mirroring is a data flow and forwarding information capture technology, and is an important means of network operation and maintenance and fault location. The network architecture and network scale in different scenarios have different requirements for mirroring technology. For example, Figure 1 This is a diagram of the direct connection between the mirror source and the mirror server. In the figure, this Switch mirror packet means that the mirror action is initiated at this switch; Remote Server for processing mirror packet refers to the remote server used to process the mirror packet. As shown in the figure, port-based mirroring can meet the mirroring needs of some small and medium-sized networks. From the perspective of network architecture, the network element that enables mirroring is directly connected to the server used to analyze the mirrored message on the physical link. Although this method is simple to use mirroring technology, it has great limitations on the deployment of mirror servers.

[0003] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of flexible deployment of mirror servers, which includes: Spine (spine node), leaf (leaf node), TOR (top-of-rack switch). As the network scale expands, especially in ultra-large data centers, Overlay (Note: this word has no corresponding Chinese, the industry generally uses overlay directly, which is an inner layer nesting. If you need to translate it, you can use "upper layer", and the following Underlay is translated as the bottom layer for the same reason) tunnel technology is used when deploying mirror servers to solve the limitation that the mirror server needs direct physical link connection in networking deployment.

[0004] When traditional mirroring technology was first designed, IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) and SRv6 (Segment Routing IPv6 based on IPv6) were not yet popular, and it was mainly designed and implemented based on IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) networks. Based on port-based local mirroring, remote mirroring based on data streams was developed, and the most representative one is ERSPAN (Encapsulated Remote Switch Port Analyzer) mirroring technology. ERSPAN has three versions so far. Through the overlay GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnel technology, the Underlay network is opened up, so that the analysis server deployment location of the mirrored data message can be routed and does not require direct physical link connection.

[0005] SRv6 / IPv6 networks are becoming more and more popular, but there is no new method for traffic mirroring in IPv6 or SRv6 networks. Traditional mirroring technologies such as ERSPAN encapsulate and carry traffic through GRE tunnels, which has at least one of the following shortcomings:

[0006] There are many types of protocols, and the mirror source and the receiving end need to support GRE encapsulation and decapsulation. Currently, the overlay protocol vxlan (Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network) in scenarios such as data centers is more mainstream;

[0007] SRv6 is an IP-native technology that has both overlay and underlay capabilities. Using ERSPAN to mirror the network hierarchy in an SRv6 network is not simple enough;

[0008] Mirroring technologies such as ERSPAN have little guarantee for the forwarding path control capability and service quality of the mirrored stream;

[0009] Mirroring technologies such as ERSPAN are not able to capture some metadata of network nodes (such as queue usage, delay jitter within the queue, etc.);

[0010] Mirroring technologies such as ERSPAN are not flexible enough to expand to new mirroring requirements. Summary of the invention

[0011] The present invention provides a transmission method, a network element and a storage medium, which are used to solve the shortcomings caused by encapsulation and bearing through a GRE tunnel in the mirroring technology.

[0012] The present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0013] A transmission method, comprising:

[0014] Determine the message sent to the image analysis server;

[0015] After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server.

[0016] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0017] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header.

[0018] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message, and the mirrored message header is introduced into the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0019] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message by introducing the mirrored message header into the IPv6 or SRv6 message by assigning the Next Header value to 144.

[0020] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0021] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0022] A network element, comprising:

[0023] The processor reads the program in the memory and performs the following processes:

[0024] Determine the message sent to the image analysis server;

[0025] After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server;

[0026] A transceiver is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor.

[0027] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0028] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header.

[0029] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message, and the mirrored message header is introduced into the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0030] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message by introducing the mirrored message header into the IPv6 or SRv6 message by assigning the Next Header value to 144.

[0031] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0032] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0033] A network element, comprising:

[0034] A determination module, used to determine the message sent to the image analysis server;

[0035] The encapsulation module is used to send the message to the mirror analysis server after carrying the mirror message header in the message.

[0036] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0037] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header.

[0038] During implementation, the encapsulation module is further used to introduce a mirrored message header into an IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0039] During implementation, the encapsulation module is further used to introduce the mirrored message header by assigning the Next Header value to 144 in the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0040] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0041] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0042] A computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for executing the above transmission method.

[0043] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0044] In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention, since the mirror message header is directly carried in the message header and sent to the mirror analysis server, and since it is based on native SRv6 / IPv6, it has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0045] There is no need to introduce an image of the overlay tunnel protocol;

[0046] Ability to guarantee the path and QoS of mirrored flows;

[0047] Mirror streams can not only mirror message content, but also carry metadata information of network nodes;

[0048] The mirrored message header is compatible with the ERSPAN header;

[0049] The mirrored message header can be flexibly extended;

[0050] The location of the mirrored message header is flexible and can be placed after the SRv6 / IPv6 basic header or after other extended headers.

[0051] Furthermore, it has at least one of the following effects:

[0052] Compared with existing technologies, IP native implementation reduces the number of protocol types;

[0053] IP native implementation reduces network layers and simplifies the network;

[0054] The image header is compatible with ERSPAN, which reduces the modification of the image analysis server at the destination end;

[0055] Make full use of the advantages of flexible expansion of IPv6 / SRv6, and expand support for fetching node metadata, etc. for greater convenience;

[0056] Make full use of the path control and TE capabilities of SRv6 to improve the QoS guarantee of mirrored flows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0058] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the direct connection deployment between the mirror source and the mirror server in the background technology;

[0059] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of flexible deployment of mirror servers in the background technology;

[0060] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the implementation flow of the transmission method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of IPv6 carrying the SRv6 SPAN Header mirror extension header in an embodiment of the present invention:

[0062] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of SRv6 carrying the SRv6 SPAN Header mirror extension header in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a message after SRv6 SPAN is introduced in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the basic header format of the SRv6 SPAN Header in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the process flow of controlling the mirror flow path in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a network element structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0067] Fig.10 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second network element structure in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The specific implementation of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0069] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart for implementing a transmission method, as shown in the figure, may include:

[0070] Step 301: Determine the message to be sent to the image analysis server;

[0071] Step 302: After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server.

[0072] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0073] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header (SRv6 SPAN Header; SRv6 SPAN: a port mirroring implementation based on SRv6, SRv6 Switch Port Analyzer).

[0074] Specifically, in the solution, by defining the IPv6 or SRv6 extension header SRv6 SPAN Header, the types of mirroring protocols and the introduction of overlay networks are eliminated, and at the same time, the traditional mirroring protocol message format is reused to the greatest extent to be compatible with the software system of the existing mirroring analysis server.

[0075] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of carrying SRv6 SPAN Header mirror extension header for IPv6. As shown in the figure, for networks that do not support SRv6 or small-scale IPv6 networks, directly adopt Figure 4 The extension header is introduced in the manner shown.

[0076] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of SRv6 carrying SRv6 SPAN Header mirror extension header. As shown in the figure, for complex networks supporting SRv6, you can use Figure 5 The method shown introduces an extension header, and uses the forwarding path control capability and TE (Traffic Engineering) of SRv6 to ensure the QoS (Quality of Service) of the mirrored flow. The TLV (type, length and value) of SRv6 SRH and the extension header of IPv6 are used to flexibly expand and enrich the content of the mirror, such as capturing some metadata (queue usage, etc.) information of the node.

[0077] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message by introducing the mirrored message header into the IPv6 or SRv6 message through Next Header assignment.

[0078] Specifically, Next Header is used to identify the SRv6 SPAN extension header as 144, and the IPv6 or SRv6 message introduces the mirror header by assigning NextHeader value to 144. Figure 6 This is a diagram of the message after the introduction of SRv6 SPAN. Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , SRv6 SPAN can be immediately followed by an IPv6 or SRv6 basic header, or can be followed by one or more extension headers.

[0079] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0080] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0081] Figure 7 The following is a diagram of the basic format of the SRv6 SPAN Header. There is at least one possible implementation for defining the basic format of the SRv6 SPAN Header: Figure 7 As shown,

[0082] The meanings of the fields including the 4-octet sequence number and the 12-octet portion of the partial forwarding information may be as shown in Table 1.

[0083]

[0084]

[0085]

[0086]

[0087] Figure 8 To control the mirror flow path process diagram, the process of accurately controlling the mirror flow path through SRv6 SRH is as follows Figure 8As shown, the IP addresses of the four switching and routing network elements are A::, B::, C::, and D::, respectively, where A:: is the mirror source and the IP address of the mirror analysis server network element is E::.

[0088] The mirror source A:: constructs the SID (segment identifier) ​​list as shown in the figure, clearly indicating that the mirror stream must pass through B:, C:, D: and then reach E::. At the same time, SL is set to 3, and the destination IP address DA is set to B:: and sent to B::.

[0089] When B:: receives a mirrored stream message with its own destination IP, SL decreases by one to 2, and the address C:: in the SID list is filled into the position of the destination IP address DA of the message and sent to the next hop C::.

[0090] After C:: receives the mirrored flow message with its own destination IP, SL decreases by one and becomes 1. At the same time, it fills the address D:: in the SID list into the position of the destination IP address DA of the message and sends it to the next hop D::.

[0091] After D:: receives the mirrored flow message with its own destination IP, SL decreases by one and becomes 0. At the same time, it fills the address E:: in the SID list into the position of the destination IP address DA of the message and sends it to the next hop E::.

[0092] After receiving the mirrored stream message with its destination IP address being itself and SL being 0, the mirrored server network element E:: strips off the SRH header and sends the SRv6 SPAN Header and Payload to the mirrored analysis application for parsing and processing.

[0093] Based on the same inventive concept, a network element and a computer-readable storage medium are also provided in the embodiments of the present invention. Since the principles of solving the problems by these devices are similar to those of the transmission method, the implementation of these devices can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0094] When implementing the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, it can be implemented as follows.

[0095] Fig. 9 The following is a schematic diagram of the network element structure. As shown in the figure, the network element includes:

[0096] The processor 900 is used to read the program in the memory 920 and execute the following process:

[0097] Determine the message sent to the image analysis server;

[0098] After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server;

[0099] The transceiver 910 is configured to receive and send data under the control of the processor 900 .

[0100] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0101] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header.

[0102] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message, and the mirrored message header is introduced into the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0103] In implementation, the mirrored message header is carried in the message by introducing the mirrored message header into the IPv6 or SRv6 message by assigning the Next Header value to 144.

[0104] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0105] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0106] Among them, Fig. 9 In the embodiment, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 900 and memory represented by memory 920. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 910 may be a plurality of components, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. The processor 900 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 920 may store data used by the processor 900 when performing operations.

[0107] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the second network element structure. As shown in the figure, the network element includes:

[0108] A determination module 1001 is used to determine a message sent to the image analysis server;

[0109] The encapsulation module 1002 is used to send the message to the mirror analysis server after carrying the mirror message header in the message.

[0110] In implementation, the message is an SRv6 or IPv6 message.

[0111] In implementation, the mirrored message header is an SRv6 SPAN Header.

[0112] During implementation, the encapsulation module is further used to introduce a mirrored message header into an IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0113] During implementation, the encapsulation module is further used to introduce the mirrored message header by assigning the Next Header value to 144 in the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

[0114] In implementation, the mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents:

[0115] Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6 SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

[0116] For the convenience of description, the various parts of the above-mentioned device are divided into various modules or units according to their functions and described separately. Of course, when implementing the present invention, the functions of each module or unit can be implemented in the same or multiple software or hardware.

[0117] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for executing the above transmission method.

[0118] For specific implementation, please refer to the implementation of the transmission method.

[0119] In summary, in the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, based on native SRv6 / IPv6, there is no need to introduce the mirroring of the overlay tunnel protocol; the path and QoS and other capabilities of the mirrored stream are guaranteed; the mirrored stream can not only mirror the message content, but also carry metadata information of the network node; the mirrored message header is compatible with the ERSPAN header; the mirrored message header can be flexibly extended; the position of the mirrored message header is flexible and can be located behind the SRv6 / IPv6 basic header or behind other extended headers.

[0120] Compared with the existing technology, IP native implementation reduces the number of protocol types; IP native implementation reduces network layers and simplifies the network; the mirror header is compatible with ERSPAN, which reduces the transformation of the destination mirror analysis server; it fully utilizes the advantages of IPv6 / SRv6 flexible expansion, and expands support for capturing node metadata, etc. It is more convenient; it fully utilizes SRv6's path control capabilities and TE capabilities to improve the QoS guarantee of the mirror flow.

[0121] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage and optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0122] The present invention is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0123] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0124] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0125] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A transmission method, characterized in that: include: Determine the message sent to the image analysis server; After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server; The message is based on IPv6 source routing technology SRv6 or Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message; The mirrored message header is a port mirroring implementation header SRv6 SPAN Header based on SRv6; The mirrored message header is carried in the message, and is introduced by assigning a value of 144 to the Next Header in the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents: Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of the SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), the original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

3. A network element, characterized in that: include: The processor reads the program in the memory and performs the following processes: Determine the message sent to the image analysis server; After the mirror image message header is carried in the message, the message is sent to the mirror image analysis server; a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor; The message is a source routing technology SRv6 based on IPv6 or an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message; The mirrored message header is a port mirroring implementation header SRv6 SPAN Header based on SRv6; The mirrored message header is carried in the message, and is introduced by assigning a value of 144 to the Next Header in the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

4. The network element according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mirrored message header includes one or a combination of the following contents: Sequence number, version, VLAN, category of service (COS), whether the copy of the frame encapsulated in the SRv6SPAN packet has been truncated (T), session ID, the integrity indicator of the payload carried by the SRv6 SPAN (BSO (Bad / Short / Oversized)), timestamp, security group tag (SGT), whether the ERSPAN payload is an Ethernet protocol frame (P), frame type (FT), the unique identifier of the SRv6 SPAN in a system (Hw ID), the original frame direction (D), timestamp granularity (Gra), and whether there is an optional subheader.

5. A network element, characterized in that: include: A determination module, used to determine the message sent to the image analysis server; An encapsulation module, used for sending the message to the mirror analysis server after carrying the mirror message header in the message; The message is a source routing technology SRv6 based on IPv6 or an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message; The mirrored message header is a port mirroring implementation header SRv6 SPAN Header based on SRv6; The mirrored message header is carried in the message, and is introduced by assigning a value of 144 to the Next Header in the IPv6 or SRv6 message.

6. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 2.

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