A communication method and related device

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and related apparatus, the method comprising: a first network device obtaining first link layer topology information corresponding to a first network slice; the first network device obtaining second link layer topology information corresponding to a second network slice; the first network device determining, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice; the first network device receiving the network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device; the first network device determining the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice. By multiplexing the network layer topology information of a network slice on multiple network slices, the number of routes for network devices to announce network layer topology information can be reduced, thereby reducing resource overhead.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0002] With the development of 5G (fifth-generation mobile communication) network standards, network slicing technology, based on 5G networks, continues to be researched and developed. Network slicing divides an operator's physical network into multiple virtual networks. Each virtual network can be segmented based on different service requirements (for example, latency, bandwidth requirements, and security requirements in real-world scenarios). This allows for flexible adaptation to diverse network application scenarios and has broad potential for application in various industries.

[0003] In existing network slicing deployment solutions, when fine-grained slicing is performed on a physical interface, the physical interface needs to be divided into multiple logical interfaces corresponding to the network slices. In addition, each logical interface needs to be configured with a corresponding Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) to form the network layer topology information of each network slice.

[0004] Since each network slice in the network needs to be individually configured with an IGP to form network layer topology information, the number of routes used to advertise network layer topology information on network devices is large, resulting in high resource overhead for network devices. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related devices. When a first network device determines that the topology of a second network slice is included in the topology of a first network slice based on the acquired link layer topology information, the first network device can determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, that is, the network layer topology information of a network slice is reused on multiple network slices, reducing the number of routes for the network device to announce the network layer topology information and reducing resource overhead.

[0006] A first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a first network device obtains first link layer topology information corresponding to a first network slice; the first network device obtains second link layer topology information corresponding to a second network slice, and the first network device can, for example, obtain the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information by receiving Netconf messages sent by other network devices; the first network device determines, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, that is, the link layer topology of the first network slice includes the entire link layer topology of the second network slice; the first network device receives the network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device; the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

[0007] In some possible designs, when the first network device determines that the topology of the second network slice is included in the topology of the first network slice based on the acquired link layer topology information, the first network device can determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, that is, the network layer topology information of a network slice is reused on multiple network slices, reducing the number of routes for the network device to announce the network layer topology information, and reducing resource overhead.

[0008] In some possible designs, the method also includes: the first network device calculates the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice, that is, the network layer topology information of the second network slice can be used by the first network device to calculate the tunnel path on the second network slice.

[0009] In some possible designs, the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, including: when the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, the first network device can determine that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, wherein the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and M and N are both positive integers. That is, each of the M interfaces of the second link layer topology is located on the same physical interface as one of the M interfaces of the first link layer topology, that is, for the aforementioned M physical interfaces, each physical interface includes an interface of the second link layer topology and an interface of the first link layer topology.

[0010] In some possible designs, whether one link layer topology is included in another link layer topology is determined by judging whether the interfaces of the two link layer topologies are located on the same physical interface, thereby improving the flexibility of solution implementation.

[0011] In some possible designs, the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, including: when the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice based on the second link layer topology information, the first network device determines the first link layer topology, and the first link layer topology is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice in the link layer topology of the first network slice; the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, and the network layer topology information of the second network slice is the part of the network layer topology information of the first network slice corresponding to the first link layer topology.

[0012] That is to say, when the link layer topology of the second network slice is the same as the link layer topology of the first network slice, the first network device can directly multiplex the network layer topology information of the first network slice based on the second link layer topology information of the second network slice, thereby obtaining the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0013] In the case that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology of the link layer topology of the first network slice, the first network device can first determine the part of the link layer topology of the first network slice that is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice, and then determine the network layer topology information to be multiplexed on the second network slice based on this partial topology, thereby obtaining the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0014] In some possible designs, the flexibility of the solution implementation can be improved by specifically determining the network layer topology information to be reused on the second network slice in different situations.

[0015] In some possible designs, before the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the method also includes: the first network device obtains the third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information; the first network device receives the network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the first network device determines to use the network layer topology information of the first network slice to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0016] That is, when the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in both the link layer topology of the first network slice and the link layer topology of the third network slice, the first network device may select the network layer topology information of one of the network slices from the network layer topology information of the first network slice and the network layer topology information of the third network slice. Then, the first network device may determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the selected network slice.

[0017] In some possible designs, the network layer topology information of the first network slice received by the first network device may include topology information determined based on a shortest path algorithm and one or more topology information determined based on FlexAlgo. Before determining the network layer topology of the second network slice, the first network device may first select one of the network layer topology information of the received first network slice, such as the topology information determined by the shortest path algorithm or the topology information determined based on the flexible algorithm FlexAlgo. Then, the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the selected one of the network layer topology information on the first network slice.

[0018] In some possible designs, the network layer topology information of the second network slice includes internal gateway protocol IGP topology information, and the IGP topology information includes one or more of an IP address, a link cost COST value, a latency, a Traffic Engineering metric (TE metric), an affinity attribute, and a Shared Risk Link Group (SRLG). In this solution, the network layer topology information also includes an IP address. By reusing the IP address of one network slice on multiple other network slices, the allocation of IP addresses can be reduced, saving IP address resources.

[0019] In some possible designs, the first link layer topology information also includes an identifier of the first network slice and one or more of the bandwidth information of the first network slice; the second link layer topology information also includes an identifier of the second network slice and one or more of the bandwidth information of the second network slice.

[0020] In some possible designs, the method also includes: the first network device obtains the routing requirements of the second network slice; the first network device performs routing based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a routing result; the first network device sends the routing result to the second network device, and the routing result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel to carry the service.

[0021] In some possible designs, the path calculation result includes one or more of a path calculation result of a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) tunnel, a path calculation result of a Segment Routing Traffic Engineering (SRTE) tunnel, and a path calculation result of a Segment Routing (SRv6) tunnel based on Internet Protocol version 6.

[0022] The second aspect of the present application provides a network device, including: an acquisition unit, a processing unit and a receiving unit; the acquisition unit is used to acquire first link layer topology information corresponding to a first network slice; the acquisition unit is also used to acquire second link layer topology information corresponding to a second network slice; the processing unit is used to determine, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice; the receiving unit is used to receive the network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device; the processing unit is also used to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

[0023] In some possible designs, the processing unit is also used to calculate the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0024] In some possible designs, the processing unit is further used to determine that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice when the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, wherein the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and both M and N are positive integers.

[0025] In some possible designs, the processing unit is also used to determine the first link layer topology when it is determined that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice based on the second link layer topology information, and the first link layer topology is the topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice that is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice; determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, and the network layer topology information of the second network slice is the part of the network layer topology information of the first network slice that corresponds to the first link layer topology.

[0026] In some possible designs, the acquisition unit is further used to acquire third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; the processing unit is further used to determine, based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice; the receiving unit is further used to receive the network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; the processing unit is further used to determine, based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, to use the network layer topology information of the first network slice to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0027] In some possible designs, the network layer topology information of the first network slice includes topology information determined based on a shortest path algorithm or topology information determined based on FlexAlgo.

[0028] In some possible designs, the network layer topology information of the second network slice includes internal gateway protocol IGP topology information, and the IGP topology information includes one or more of IP address, link cost COST value, latency, TE metric, affinity attribute and SRLG.

[0029] In some possible designs, the first link layer topology information also includes an identifier of the first network slice and one or more of the bandwidth information of the first network slice; the second link layer topology information also includes an identifier of the second network slice and one or more of the bandwidth information of the second network slice.

[0030] In some possible designs, a sending unit is also included; the acquisition unit is also used to obtain the routing requirements of the second network slice; the processing unit is also used to perform routing based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a routing result; the sending unit is also used to send the routing result to the second network device, and the routing result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel to carry the service.

[0031] In some possible designs, the path calculation result includes one or more of a path calculation result of an RSVP tunnel, a path calculation result of an SR TE tunnel, and a path calculation result of an SRv6 tunnel.

[0032] The third aspect of the present application provides a network device, which includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store instructions; the processor is used to execute the instructions in the memory, so that the network device executes any method as described in the first aspect above.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium, which may be non-volatile; the computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, which implement any one of the methods in the first aspect when executed by a processor.

[0034] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the methods in the first aspect.

[0035] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have the following advantages:

[0036] The present application provides a communication method and related devices. When a first network device determines that the topology of a second network slice is included in the topology of a first network slice based on the acquired link layer topology information, the first network device can determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, that is, the network layer topology information of a network slice is reused on multiple network slices, reducing the number of routes for the network device to announce the network layer topology information and reducing resource overhead. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application architecture of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a network device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the following describes the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all the embodiments. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the emergence of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0044] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or modules clearly listed, but may include other steps or modules that are not clearly listed or that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The naming or numbering of steps in this application does not mean that the steps in the method flow must be executed in the time / logical sequence indicated by the naming or numbering. The process steps that have been named or numbered can be changed in the execution order according to the technical purpose to be achieved, as long as the same or similar technical effects can be achieved. The division of units in this application is a logical division. In actual application, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between units can be electrical or other similar forms, which are not limited in this application. Moreover, the units or sub-units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, may or may not be physical units, or may be distributed into multiple circuit units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this application.

[0045] In 5G networks, diverse service demands place varying demands on network speed, performance, security, reliability, and latency. For example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) scenarios (such as virtual reality and augmented reality) require high bandwidth, demanding xGbps-level bandwidth. Massive machine type communication (mMTC) scenarios (such as wearables and smart grids) require support for massive device access, potentially hundreds of millions or even billions. Ultra-reliable and low latency communications (uRLLC) scenarios (such as autonomous driving, remote surgery, and industrial control) demand ultra-low latency of 1ms. To address diverse scenarios, requirements, and the need for an optimal user experience, network slicing has emerged, enabling the flexible construction of networks with diverse characteristics tailored to specific scenarios and needs.

[0046] Network slicing refers to the creation of logical networks tailored to specific business needs within physical or virtual network infrastructure. A network slice can be a complete end-to-end network encompassing the access network, transport network, core network, and application servers, providing comprehensive communications services and possessing specific network capabilities. A network slice can also be any combination of the access network, transport network, core network, and application servers.

[0047] Network slicing is commonly used in 5G networks. 5G networks can achieve multi-service integration through network slicing, meeting the service-level agreements (SLAs) of different services. A network slice typically provides a network with the same guaranteed service requirements. This network structure allows operators to offer the network as a service to users and freely combine physical networks based on metrics such as speed, capacity, coverage, latency, reliability, security, and availability to meet different user requirements.

[0048] In existing network slicing deployment solutions, fine-grained slicing of a physical interface requires dividing the physical interface into multiple logical interfaces corresponding to the network slices. Furthermore, each logical interface needs to be configured with a corresponding IGP to form the network layer topology information for each network slice.

[0049] Because each network slice in the network requires a separate IGP configuration to generate network layer topology information, network devices must advertise the network layer topology information for each network slice. Since IGP messages are published as a multicast protocol, the number of routes used to advertise the network layer topology information for each network slice increases, resulting in high resource consumption for network devices.

[0050] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. When the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice based on the acquired link layer topology information, the network device can determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, that is, the network layer topology information of a network slice is reused on multiple network slices, reducing the number of routes for the network device to announce the network layer topology information, and reducing resource overhead.

[0051] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application architecture of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the application architecture includes: network device 1, network device 2 and network device 3. Among them, network device 1 is connected to network device 2 and network device 3 respectively, and network device 2 is connected to network device 3. Network slice 0 and network slice 1 are deployed on network device 2 and network device 3, and the topology of network slice 1 is included in the topology of network slice 0. Network device 1 can receive the link layer topology information of network slice 0 and network slice 1 sent by network device 2, and determine that the topology of network slice 1 is included in the topology of network slice 0 based on the link layer topology information. In this way, when network device 1 obtains the network layer topology information of network slice 0, network device 1 can determine the network layer topology information of network slice 1 based on the link layer topology information of network slice 1 and the network layer topology information of network slice 0.

[0052] It is understandable that network device 1 can be a controller with centralized management functions in a subnet, capable of managing network devices 2 and 3, for example, it can be a network slice subnet management function (NSSMF). Network devices 2 and 3 can be physical devices such as switches, routers or gateways that can realize traffic forwarding (i.e., forwarders), or they can be virtual devices that support traffic forwarding.

[0053] See Figure 2 , Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the communication method 200 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0054] Step 201: The first network device obtains the first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice.

[0055] In this embodiment, the first network device can obtain the first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice by receiving a message sent by the second network device. For example, the NETCONF protocol can be enabled on the second network device. After obtaining the first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice, the second network device can send the first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice to the first network device through a NETCONF message.

[0056] In a possible embodiment, the first network slice may include one or more network devices, and the second network device may be one of the network devices in the first network slice. The second network device may obtain the first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice by enabling the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP). LLDP provides a standard link layer discovery method, which can encapsulate the main capabilities, management address, device identification, interface identification and other information of the local device into LLDP messages and pass them to neighboring devices. After receiving this information, the neighboring device can save this information for the Network Management System (NMS) to query and judge the communication status of the link. Based on LLDP, the link layer topology information in the network can be obtained, such as which interfaces are attached to the devices in the network and the specific information of the interconnection between the devices.

[0057] Exemplarily, the first link layer topology information obtained by the second network device through LLDP may include information such as N interface identifiers corresponding to the first network slice, an identifier of the first network slice, and bandwidth of the first network slice. The N interface identifiers may be identifiers of interfaces through which one or more network devices in the first network slice communicate with their neighboring devices, and N may be an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0058] In this embodiment, the first network device can be a controller with centralized management capabilities in a subnet, capable of managing the second network device. The second network device can be a physical device (i.e., a forwarder) such as a switch, router, or gateway that can implement traffic forwarding, or a virtual device that supports traffic forwarding.

[0059] Step 202: The first network device obtains the second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice.

[0060] In this embodiment, the first network device can obtain the second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice by receiving a message sent by the second network device, such as a Netconf message sent by the second network device. It is understandable that the first network device can also obtain the second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice by receiving a message sent by other network devices.

[0061] The second network slice may also include one or more network devices, and the second network device may be one of the network devices in the second network slice. The second network device obtains the second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice in a manner similar to the manner in which it obtains the first link layer topology information. For details, please refer to step 201 and will not be repeated here.

[0062] Exemplarily, the second link layer topology information may include M interface identifiers corresponding to the second network slice, an identifier of the second network slice, and information such as the bandwidth of the second network slice. The M interface identifiers may be identifiers of interfaces through which a network device in the second network slice communicates with its neighboring devices, and M may be an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0063] Step 203: The first network device determines, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice.

[0064] In this embodiment, the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, which may mean that: the link layer topology of the first network slice includes the link layer topology of the second network slice, for example, the link layer topology of the first network slice is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice (that is, the link layer topology of the first network slice just includes the link layer topology of the second network slice), or the link layer topology of the second network slice is part of the link layer topology of the first network slice (that is, the link layer topology of the first network slice includes other topologies in addition to the link layer topology of the second network slice).

[0065] For example, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown:

[0066] Network slice 0 includes network device 2, network device 3 and network device 4.

[0067] Network slice 1 includes network device 2, network device 3 and network device 4.

[0068] Network slice 2 includes network device 2 and network device 3.

[0069] That is to say, the topology corresponding to network slice 0 is "network device 2--network device 3--network device 4", the topology corresponding to network slice 1 is "network device 2--network device 3--network device 4"; and the topology corresponding to network slice 2 is "network device 2--network device 3".

[0070] The topology of network slice 1 is the same as that of network slice 0, and the topology of network slice 1 can be considered to be included in the topology of network slice 0. In addition to the topology of network slice 2, the topology of network slice 0 also includes the topology of "network device 3-network device 4", and the topology of network slice 2 can also be considered to be included in the topology of network slice 0.

[0071] It can be understood that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, which means that the link layer topology of the first network slice includes the entire topology of the second network slice. If the first network slice only includes part of the topology of the second network slice, it can be considered that the link layer topology of the second network slice is not included in the link layer topology of the first network slice.

[0072] For example, suppose network slice 0 includes network device 2, network device 3, and network device 4; network slice 3 includes network device 3, network device 4, and network device 5. That is, the topology corresponding to network slice 0 is "network device 2--network device 3--network device 4", and the topology corresponding to network slice 3 is "network device 3--network device 4--network device 5". The topology of network slice 0 only includes part of the topology of network slice 3 (i.e., "network device 3--network device 4"), and does not include the other part of the topology of network slice 3 (i.e., "network device 4--network device 5"). Therefore, it can be considered that the topology of network slice 3 is not included in the topology of network slice 0.

[0073] In a possible embodiment, the first network device can determine whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice by comparing the interface identifier in the link layer topology information.

[0074] Exemplarily, when the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, the first network device can determine that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, where the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and both M and N are positive integers.

[0075] It is understandable that the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located on M physical interfaces, which can mean that each of the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and one of the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are located on the same physical interface. In other words, for the aforementioned M physical interfaces, each physical interface includes an interface of the second link layer topology and an interface of the first link layer topology.

[0076] Specifically, the interface identifier in the second link layer topology information and the interface identifier in the first link layer topology information can be used to determine whether the interface of the second link layer topology and the interface of the first link layer topology are located on the same physical interface. For example, assuming that an interface identifier 1 in the first link layer topology information is 1 / 0 / 0 and an interface identifier 2 in the second link layer topology information is 1 / 0 / 0.1, it can be considered that the interface corresponding to the interface identifier 2 is a sub-interface of the interface corresponding to the interface identifier 1, and both are located on the same physical interface. For another example, assuming that an interface identifier 3 in the first link layer topology information is 1 / 0 / 0.2 and an interface identifier 4 in the second link layer topology information is 1 / 0 / 0.3, it can be considered that the interface corresponding to the interface identifier 3 and the interface corresponding to the interface identifier 4 are both sub-interfaces under the same physical interface, and both are also located on the same physical interface.

[0077] For example, see Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the link layer topology of network slice 0 includes 4 interfaces, namely A1, A2, A3 and A4; the link layer topology of network slice 1 includes 4 interfaces, namely B1, B2, B3 and B4; the link layer topology of network slice 2 includes 2 interfaces, namely C1 and C2.

[0078] Among them, the interface identifiers corresponding to the interfaces in network slice 0, network slice 1, and network slice 2 can be shown in Table 1:

[0079] Table 1

[0080]

[0081] It can be seen from Table 1 that for network slice 0 and network slice 1, interfaces A1 to A4 and interfaces B1 to B4 are located on 4 physical interfaces respectively, that is, the 4 interfaces in network slice 0 and the 4 interfaces in network slice 1 are located on 4 physical interfaces, so it can be determined that the link layer topology of network slice 1 is included in the link layer topology of network slice 0.

[0082] For network slice 0 and network slice 2, interface A1 and interface C1 are located on the same physical interface, and interface A2 and interface C2 are located on the same physical interface, that is, the two interfaces in network slice 0 and the two interfaces in network slice 2 are located on two physical interfaces, so it can be determined that the link layer topology of network slice 2 is included in the link layer topology of network slice 0.

[0083] For example, see Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the application architecture of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the link layer topology of network slice 0 includes 4 interfaces, namely A1, A2, A3 and A4; the link layer topology of network slice 3 includes 4 interfaces, namely D3, D4, D5 and D6.

[0084] Among them, the interface identifiers corresponding to the interfaces in network slice 0 and network slice 3 can be shown in Table 2:

[0085] Table 2

[0086]

[0087] As shown in Table 2, for network slice 3, only interfaces D3 and D4 are located on the same physical interface as interfaces A3 and A4 in network slice 0. Interfaces D5 and D6 of network slice 3 are located on different physical interfaces from interfaces A1 and A2 in network slice 0. That is, the four interfaces in network slice 3 and the four interfaces in network slice 0 are not located on four physical interfaces. In this case, it can be determined that the link layer topology of network slice 3 is not included in the link layer topology of network slice 0.

[0088] Step 204: The first network device receives the network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device.

[0089] In this embodiment, the network layer topology information of the first network slice may be Internet Protocol (IP) layer topology information, which may also be referred to as three-layer topology information. The network layer topology information may be, for example, IGP topology information. By enabling IGP on the first network slice, the IGP topology information of the first network slice is obtained. For example, each network device on the first network slice may notify each other of their corresponding network layer topology information through IGP messages. In this way, the network layer topology information of each network device under the first network slice, that is, the network layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice, may be obtained on the second network device. Among them, the IGP enabled on the first network slice may include the Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol or the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol, both of which are link-state-based protocols.

[0090] After obtaining the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the second network device can send the network layer topology information of the first network slice to the first network device via Border Gateway Protocol Link-state (BGP-LS). BGP-LS is a method for collecting network topology and can summarize the topology information collected via IGP and send it to the upper-layer controller.

[0091] Exemplarily, the network layer topology information of the first network slice may include one or more of IP address, link cost COST value, latency, traffic engineering metric (TE metric), affinity attribute and shared risk link group (SRLG).

[0092] It is understandable that the first link layer topology information, the second link layer topology information, and the network layer topology information received by the first network device may be sent by the same network device (e.g., the second network device mentioned above), or may be sent by different network devices, for example, a third network device sends the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information to the first network device, and the second network device sends the network layer topology information to the first network device. This embodiment does not specifically limit where the first network device obtains the link layer topology information and the network layer topology information.

[0093] Step 205: The first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

[0094] In this embodiment, since the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, the network layer attributes of the second network slice (such as link cost value, latency, TE metric and other attribute information) are similar to those of the first network slice, and the second network slice can reuse the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

[0095] Exemplarily, when the link layer topology of the second network slice is the same as the link layer topology of the first network slice, the first network device can multiplex the network layer topology information of the first network slice based on the second link layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0096] When the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice, the first network device may first determine the first link layer topology, which is the topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice that is identical to the link layer topology of the second network slice; the first network device then determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, which is the portion of the network layer topology information of the first network slice that corresponds to the first link layer topology. In simple terms, the first network device may first determine the portion of the link layer topology of the first network slice that is identical to the link layer topology of the second network slice, and then determine the network layer topology information to be reused on the second network slice based on this partial topology, thereby obtaining the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0097] When the first network device determines, based on the acquired link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, the network device can determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, that is, multiplexing the network layer topology information of one network slice on multiple network slices, reducing the number of routes for the network device to announce the network layer topology information, and reducing resource overhead. In addition, when the network layer topology information also includes an IP address, by multiplexing the IP address of one network slice on multiple other network slices, the allocation of IP addresses can be reduced, saving IP address resources.

[0098] In one possible embodiment, the first network device may, based on the link layer topology of the second network slice, superimpose the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice to obtain the global topology information of the second network slice. Specifically, for the network device in the second network slice, the link layer topology information of the second network slice on the network device and the network layer topology information of the first network slice on the network device may be superimposed to obtain the network layer topology information of the second network slice on the network device.

[0099] For ease of understanding, the process of the first network device determining the network layer topology information of the second network slice will be described in detail below with reference to specific examples.

[0100] Still Figure 3 Taking the network structure shown in the figure as an example, network device 1 can obtain the link layer topology information of network slice 0, the link layer topology information of network slice 1, and the network layer topology information of network slice 0 by receiving the message sent by network device 2. Among them, the link layer topology information of network slice 1 is shown in Table 3:

[0101] Table 3

[0102]

[0103]

[0104] The network layer topology information of network slice 0 is shown in Table 4:

[0105] Table 4

[0106] IP address Link cost value Latency Network device 2 1.1.1.1 2 10ms Network device 3 2.2.2.2 2 10ms Network device 4 3.3.3.3 2 10ms

[0107] Since the link layer topology of network slice 0 is the same as the link layer topology of network slice 1, the network layer topology of network slice 1 can be obtained by directly reusing the network layer topology of network slice 0, that is, the network layer topology of network slice 1 is the same as the network layer topology of network slice 0.

[0108] In addition, network device 1 can obtain the global topology information of network slice 1 by superimposing the network layer topology information of network slice 0 on the link layer topology information of network slice 1. Specifically, the global topology information of network slice 1 is shown in Table 5:

[0109] Table 5

[0110]

[0111] It can be seen from Table 5 that the first network device superimposes the network layer topology information of network slice 0 on the link layer topology information of network slice 1, thereby obtaining the global topology information of network slice 1.

[0112] In addition, network device 1 can also obtain the link layer topology information of network slice 2 by receiving the message sent by network device 2. The link layer topology information of network slice 2 is shown in Table 6:

[0113] Table 6

[0114] Interface ID Network slice identification Network slicing bandwidth Network device 2 1 / 0 / 0.2 2 2Mb / s Network device 3 1 / 1 / 0.2 2 2Mb / s

[0115] Based on the link layer topology of network slice 2, network device 1 can determine the parts of network slice 1 that have the same link layer topology as network slice 2 (i.e., network device 2 and network device 3), thereby determining the network layer topology of network slice 2.

[0116] Specifically, the network layer topology information of network slice 2 is shown in Table 7:

[0117] Table 7

[0118]

[0119]

[0120] Based on the link layer topology information of network slice 2, the corresponding network layer topology information on network slice 0 is superimposed to obtain the global topology information of network slice 2. Specifically, the network layer topology information of network slice 2 is shown in Table 8:

[0121] Table 8

[0122]

[0123] In one possible embodiment, in addition to configuring the corresponding network layer topology information by enabling IGP on the first network slice, the corresponding network layer topology information can also be configured on other network slices, and the link layer topology of the second network slice is also included in the link layer topology of the aforementioned other network slices. In this way, for the second network slice, the first network device can select any one network slice from the first network slice and the aforementioned other network slices, and reuse the network layer topology information of the selected network slice.

[0124] Exemplarily, the communication method 200 provided in this embodiment may further include: before the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the method further includes: the first network device obtains the third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information; the first network device receives the network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the first network device determines to use the network layer topology information of the first network slice to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0125] That is, when the first network device determines that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in both the link layer topology of the first network slice and the link layer topology of the third network slice, the first network device may select the network layer topology information of one of the network slices from the network layer topology information of the first network slice and the network layer topology information of the third network slice. Then, the first network device may determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information of the second network slice and the network layer topology information of the selected network slice.

[0126] In one possible embodiment, when one or more flexible algorithms (FlexAlgo) are configured on the same network slice, the network slice can obtain one or more FlexAlgo topologies based on the one or more FlexAlgo configurations on the basis of the conventional network layer topology. That is to say, the network slice may include conventional network layer topology information and one or more FlexAlgo topology information. In this case, other network slices that are not configured with network layer topology can choose to reuse the network layer topology information corresponding to the network slice, or one of the FlexAlgo topology information. Among them, the conventional network layer topology information can be, for example, topology information determined based on the shortest path algorithm.

[0127] That is, the network layer topology information of the first network slice received by the first network device may include topology information determined based on the shortest path algorithm and one or more topology information determined based on FlexAlgo. Before determining the network layer topology of the second network slice, the first network device may first select one of the network layer topology information from the received network layer topology information of the first network slice, for example, the topology information determined by the shortest path algorithm or the topology information determined based on the flexible algorithm FlexAlgo. Then, the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the selected network layer topology information on the first network slice.

[0128] For example, when network slice 0 is configured with two algorithms, FlexAlgo1 and FlexAlgo2, network slice 0 can generate topology information 0 based on the shortest path algorithm, topology information 1 based on FlexAlgo1, and topology information 2 based on FlexAlgo2. That is, the network layer topology information corresponding to network slice 0 received by the first network device includes topology information 0, topology information 1, and topology information 2. The first network device can select any one of topology information 0, topology information 1, and topology information 2 to determine the network layer topology information of network slice 1.

[0129] It can be understood that in this embodiment, after the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice, the first network device can calculate the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0130] Exemplarily, the communication method 200 provided in this embodiment may also include: the first network device obtains the routing requirements of the second network slice; the first network device performs routing based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a routing result; the first network device sends the routing result to the second network device, and the routing result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel for carrying services.

[0131] In one possible embodiment, the path calculation result may include one or more of a path calculation result of a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) tunnel, a path calculation result of a Segment Routing Traffic Engineering (SRTE) tunnel, and a path calculation result of a Segment Routing Internet Protocol Version 6 (SRv6) tunnel. In other words, the communication method 200 provided in this embodiment can be applied to different networks to calculate different types of tunnels based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0132] For example, when the communication method 200 of this embodiment is applied to an IPv4 network, RSVP tunnel path calculation can be performed based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain an RSVP tunnel path calculation result; or, SR TE tunnel path calculation can be performed based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain an SR TE tunnel path calculation result. When the communication method 200 of this embodiment is applied to an IPv6 network, SRv6 tunnel path calculation can be performed based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain an SRv6 tunnel path calculation result.

[0133] In order to implement the above embodiment, the present application also provides a network device. Figure 6 , Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a network device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0134] Figure 6 Although the network device 600 shown shows certain specific features, those skilled in the art will appreciate from the embodiments of the present application that for the sake of brevity, Figure 6 Various other features are not shown to avoid obscuring more relevant aspects of the embodiments disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. To this end, as an example, in some implementations, the network device 600 includes one or more processors 601, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a network interface 602, a programming interface 603, a memory 604, and one or more communication buses 605 for interconnecting various components. In other implementations, the network device 600 may also omit or add some functional components or units based on the above examples.

[0135] In some implementations, the network interface 602 may be a fixed network interface, such as an RJ45 interface, or a wireless network interface, such as a WIFI interface or a cellular network interface.

[0136] In some implementations, the programming interface 603 may be a physical interface, such as a programmable serial interface or a programmable parallel interface, or a virtual interface, such as an application programming interface.

[0137] In some implementations, the network interface 602 is used, among other things, to connect to one or more other network devices / servers in the network system. In some implementations, the communication bus 605 includes circuits for interconnecting and controlling communications between system components. The memory 604 may include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The memory 604 may also include volatile memory, which may be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache.

[0138] In some implementations, memory 604 or the non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of memory 604 stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or a subset thereof, specifically including a receiving unit (not shown in the figure), a sending unit (not shown in the figure), an acquisition unit 6041, and a processing unit 6042.

[0139] In one possible embodiment, the network device 600 may include, for example, an acquisition unit 6041, a processing unit 6042, and a receiving unit; the acquisition unit 6041 is configured to acquire first link layer topology information corresponding to a first network slice; the acquisition unit 6041 is further configured to acquire second link layer topology information corresponding to a second network slice; the processing unit 6042 is configured to determine, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice; the receiving unit is configured to receive the network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device; the processing unit 6042 is further configured to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice. The acquisition unit 6041 and the processing unit 6042 are computer executable programs stored in the memory 604, and their functions or capabilities are implemented by being executed by the processor 601.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 6042 is further used to calculate the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0141] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 6042 is further used to determine that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice when the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, wherein the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and both M and N are positive integers.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 6042 is also used to determine the first link layer topology when it is determined that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice based on the second link layer topology information, and the first link layer topology is the topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice that is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice; determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, and the network layer topology information of the second network slice is the part of the network layer topology information of the first network slice that corresponds to the first link layer topology.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the acquisition unit 6041 is further used to acquire third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; the processing unit 6042 is further used to determine, based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice; the receiving unit is further used to receive the network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; the processing unit 6042 is further used to determine, based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, to use the network layer topology information of the first network slice to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the network layer topology information of the first network slice includes topology information determined based on a shortest path algorithm or topology information determined based on FlexAlgo.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the network layer topology information of the second network slice includes internal gateway protocol IGP topology information, and the IGP topology information includes one or more of IP address, link cost COST value, latency, TE metric, affinity attribute and SRLG.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the first link layer topology information also includes one or more of the identifier of the first network slice and the bandwidth information of the first network slice; the second link layer topology information also includes one or more of the identifier of the second network slice and the bandwidth information of the second network slice.

[0147] In a possible implementation, it also includes a sending unit; the acquisition unit 6041 is also used to obtain the path calculation requirements of the second network slice; the processing unit 6042 is also used to perform path calculation based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a path calculation result; the sending unit is also used to send the path calculation result to the second network device, and the path calculation result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel for carrying services.

[0148] In a possible implementation, the path calculation result includes one or more of a path calculation result of an RSVP tunnel, a path calculation result of an SR TE tunnel, and a path calculation result of an SRv6 tunnel.

[0149] It is understandable that the above-mentioned receiving unit and sending functions can be implemented by the processor calling the program code in the memory and cooperating with the network interface 602 when necessary; or the network interface 602 on the network device 600 can complete the data sending and receiving operations.

[0150] In various implementations, the network device 600 is used to execute the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the processor 601 executes the computer executable instructions in the memory 604 to enable the network device 600 to execute the above Figure 2-5 Corresponding embodiments include a communication method.

[0151] The above describes the embodiments of the present application in detail. The steps in the method of the embodiments of the present application can be scheduled sequentially, merged or deleted according to actual needs; the modules in the device of the embodiments of the present application can be divided, merged or deleted according to actual needs.

[0152] It should be understood that “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0153] The term "and / or" in this document simply describes a relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0154] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0155] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described in terms of function in the above description. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0156] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0157] 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 units is merely 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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, a server, or a network device / server, etc.) 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 a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first network device obtains first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice; The first network device obtains second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice; The first network device determines, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice; The first network device receives network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by the second network device; The first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: The first network device calculates the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

3. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first network device determining, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, including: When the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, wherein the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and both M and N are positive integers.

4. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first network device determines, based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, network layer topology information of the second network slice, including: When the first network device determines, based on the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice, the first network device determines a first link layer topology, where the first link layer topology is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice in the link layer topology of the first network slice; The first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, where the network layer topology information of the second network slice is the part of the network layer topology information of the first network slice that corresponds to the first link layer topology.

5. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Before the first network device determines the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the method further includes: The first network device obtains third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; The first network device determines, based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice; The first network device receives the network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; Based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the first network device determines to use the network layer topology information of the first network slice to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

6. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The network layer topology information of the first network slice includes topology information determined based on the shortest path algorithm or topology information determined based on the flexible algorithm FlexAlgo.

7. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The network layer topology information of the second network slice includes internal gateway protocol IGP topology information, and the IGP topology information includes one or more of IP address, link cost COST value, delay, traffic engineering metric TE metric, affinity attribute and shared risk link group SRLG.

8. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first link layer topology information further includes one or more of an identifier of the first network slice and bandwidth information of the first network slice; The second link layer topology information also includes one or more of an identifier of the second network slice and bandwidth information of the second network slice.

9. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first network device obtains a path calculation requirement of the second network slice; The first network device performs path calculation according to the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a path calculation result; The first network device sends the path calculation result to the second network device, where the path calculation result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel that carries the service.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein: The path calculation result includes one or more of a path calculation result of a Resource Reservation Protocol RSVP tunnel, a path calculation result of a Segment Routing Traffic Engineering SR TE tunnel, and a path calculation result of a Segment Routing SRv6 tunnel based on Internet Protocol version 6.

11. A network device comprising: An acquiring unit, configured to acquire first link layer topology information corresponding to the first network slice; The acquiring unit is further used to acquire second link layer topology information corresponding to the second network slice; a processing unit, configured to determine, based on the first link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice; A receiving unit, configured to receive network layer topology information of the first network slice sent by a second network device; The processing unit is also used to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

12. The network device according to claim 11, wherein: The processing unit is also used to calculate the tunnel path on the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the second network slice.

13. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The processing unit is further configured to: When the M interfaces of the second link layer topology and the M interfaces of the first link layer topology are respectively located at M physical interfaces, it is determined that the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the first network slice, wherein the number of all interfaces of the second link layer topology is M, the number of all interfaces of the first link layer topology is N, M is less than or equal to N, and both M and N are positive integers.

14. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The processing unit is further configured to: When it is determined, according to the second link layer topology information, that the link layer topology of the second network slice is a partial topology in the link layer topology of the first network slice, a first link layer topology is determined, where the first link layer topology is the same as the link layer topology of the second network slice in the link layer topology of the first network slice; Based on the first link layer topology and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, the network layer topology information of the second network slice is determined, where the network layer topology information of the second network slice is the part of the network layer topology information of the first network slice that corresponds to the first link layer topology.

15. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The acquiring unit is further used to acquire third link layer topology information corresponding to the third network slice; The processing unit is further configured to determine, based on the third link layer topology information and the second link layer topology information, whether the link layer topology of the second network slice is included in the link layer topology of the third network slice; The receiving unit is further configured to receive network layer topology information of the third network slice sent by the second network device; The processing unit is also used to determine the network layer topology information of the second network slice based on the network layer topology information of the third network slice and the network layer topology information of the first network slice, using the network layer topology information of the first network slice.

16. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The network layer topology information of the first network slice includes topology information determined based on the shortest path algorithm or topology information determined based on FlexAlgo.

17. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The network layer topology information of the second network slice includes internal gateway protocol IGP topology information, and the IGP topology information includes one or more of IP address, link cost COST value, delay, TE metric, affinity attribute and SRLG.

18. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The first link layer topology information also includes one or more of the identifier of the first network slice and the bandwidth information of the first network slice; the second link layer topology information also includes one or more of the identifier of the second network slice and the bandwidth information of the second network slice.

19. The network device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: Also includes a sending unit; The acquiring unit is further configured to acquire a path calculation requirement of the second network slice; The processing unit is further configured to perform path calculation based on the second link layer topology information and the network layer topology information of the second network slice to obtain a path calculation result; The sending unit is further configured to send the path calculation result to the second network device, where the path calculation result is used to instruct the second network device to create a tunnel that carries the service.

20. The network device according to claim 19, wherein: The path calculation result includes one or more of a path calculation result of an RSVP tunnel, a path calculation result of an SR TE tunnel, and a path calculation result of an SRv6 tunnel.

21. A network device, characterized in that: include: Processor, memory; Memory is used to store instructions; The processor is configured to execute instructions in the memory, so that the network device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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