Message sending method, device and system

Abstract

The present application provides a message sending method, device and system, which belongs to the field of network technology. In the solution provided by the present application, for the scenario where the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device, the first network device can forward the message to the third network device by load sharing with the second network device. Compared with forwarding the message only by the DF device, forwarding the message by load sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the load of the first network device and the second network device is more balanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of network technology, and in particular to a message sending method, device and system. Background Art

[0002] In the Ethernet virtual private network (EVPN) multi-homing networking mode, a customer edge (CE) device can be connected to multiple provider edge (PE) devices in the EVPN through multiple links, that is, a CE device can belong to multiple PE devices.

[0003] In the related art, for the EVPN multi-homing networking mode, it is necessary to elect a PE device as a designated forwarder (DF) device from multiple PE devices connected to the same CE. In the single-active mode of EVPN multi-homing networking, only the DF device can forward messages from or to the CE device. In the multi-active mode of EVPN multi-homing networking, only the DF device can forward broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast (BUM) traffic messages to the CE device.

[0004] However, in this multi-active mode, the BUM traffic message sent to the CE device can only be forwarded by the DF device, resulting in unbalanced load on multiple PE devices to which the CE device belongs. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a message sending method, device and system, which can solve the technical problem of load imbalance between multiple PE devices in a multi-home networking mode.

[0006] In a first aspect, a message sending system is provided, which includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed connected to the first network device and the second network device; the first network device is used to receive a first message and a second message, and forward the first message to the third network device based on the fact that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing; the second network device is used to receive the first message and the second message, and forward the second message to the third network device based on the fact that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing.

[0007] Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, the solution provided in the present application can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are more balanced by forwarding messages through load sharing between the first network device and the second network device.

[0008] Optionally, the first network device, based on the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing, includes: the first network device determines that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing according to the first message satisfying a first condition; the second network device, based on the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing, includes: the second network device determines that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing according to the second message satisfying a second condition.

[0009] The first condition and the second condition are different, that is, the first network device and the second network device can respectively forward messages that meet different conditions. The mode in which the first network device and the second network device forward messages based on the first condition and the second condition load sharing can also be called a target load sharing mode.

[0010] Optionally, the first message satisfying the first condition may include: the first target media access control (MAC) address of the first message is a MAC address satisfying the third condition, and the first target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the first message; the second message satisfying the second condition may include: the second target MAC address of the second message is a MAC address satisfying the fourth condition, and the second target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the second message; wherein the third condition is different from the fourth condition.

[0011] In the solution provided by the present application, the first network device and the second network device can determine the message to be forwarded in the load sharing mode according to the target MAC address of the message. Of course, the first network device and the second network device can also determine the message to be forwarded in the load sharing mode according to other parameters of the message, such as timestamp.

[0012] Optionally, the third condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address; or, the third condition is: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition is: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address.

[0013] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; the first target MAC address and the second target MAC address may both be source MAC addresses.

[0014] In this scenario, since the messages forwarded by the first network device and the second network device to the third network device are mainly dial-up messages of user terminals, and the dial-up messages are broadcast messages (the destination MAC address of the broadcast message is generally all F), the destination MAC address can be the source MAC address. That is, the first network device and the second network device can load-share forward the messages according to the source MAC address of the broadcast message.

[0015] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both PE devices, and the third network device is a CE device; the first target MAC address and the second target MAC address are both destination MAC addresses.

[0016] Since in this scenario, the senders of the messages forwarded by the first network device and the second network device to the third network device are relatively concentrated, for example, most of the senders of the messages are broadband access servers, the target MAC address can be the destination MAC address. That is, the first network device and the second network device can load-share forward the messages (such as unknown unicast messages and multicast messages) according to the destination MAC addresses of the messages.

[0017] Optionally, the first network device is also used to obtain a first indication, and determine, based on the first indication, that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device; the second network device is also used to obtain a second indication, and determine, based on the second indication, that the second network device is a load sharing device that forwards the second message to the third network device.

[0018] Optionally, the first network device obtains the first indication, including: the first network device receives a first Ethernet segment (ES) route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device; the second network device obtains the second indication, including: the second network device receives a second ES route carrying the second indication sent by the first network device, and the second indication may be the same as the first indication.

[0019] Since the first network device and the second network device will send ES routes to each other after establishing a neighbor relationship, the ES route carries the indication, which can avoid increasing the number of messages that need to be sent by the first network device and the second network device, and can avoid affecting the normal processing of messages by the network device, that is, there is no need to change the network device's recognition and processing behavior of the message.

[0020] Optionally, the system may further include: a controller; the controller is used to send the first indication to the first network device, and send the second indication to the second network device.

[0021] Optionally, the first network device can also be used to forward the first message to the third network device based on the obtained disabling instruction without adopting the load sharing method with the second network device; the second network device can also be used to forward the second message to the third network device based on the obtained disabling instruction without adopting the load sharing method with the first network device.

[0022] After disabling the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction, the first network device and the second network device can restore the original DF device or non-DF device role. That is, the elected DF device can continue to forward messages to the third network device. By disabling the load sharing function of the network device through the disabling instruction, the flexibility of the network device during operation can be effectively improved to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0023] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are located in an EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

[0024] Optionally, the first message and the second message may be BUM traffic messages.

[0025] In a second aspect, a message sending method is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, wherein the message sending system includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device, and the method includes: the first network device receives a first message; the first network device forwards the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner.

[0026] Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, the method provided in the present application forwards messages by load sharing between the first network device and the second network device, thereby ensuring that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced.

[0027] Optionally, before the first network device receives the first message, the method may further include: the first network device obtains a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to a third network device.

[0028] Optionally, the process of the first network device acquiring the first indication may include: the first network device receiving the first indication sent by the second network device; or, the first network device receiving the first indication sent by the controller; or, the first network device acquiring the configured first indication.

[0029] The first network device can obtain the first indication in a variety of different ways, and has high flexibility in obtaining the first indication.

[0030] Optionally, the process of the first network device receiving the first indication sent by the second network device may include: the first network device receiving the first ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device, so that the first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other.

[0031] Since the first network device and the second network device will send ES routes to each other after establishing a neighbor relationship, carrying the first indication through the ES route can avoid increasing the number of messages that the second network device needs to send, and can avoid affecting the normal processing of messages by the first network device, that is, there is no need to change the first network device's recognition and processing behavior of the message.

[0032] Optionally, the process of the first network device determining that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other may include: the first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other based on the first indication in the first ES route being the same as the second indication configured in the first network device.

[0033] In the solution provided in the present application, the operation and maintenance personnel can configure the second indication in the first network device, and configure the first indication that is the same as the second indication in the second network device. If the first network device determines that the first indication in the first ES route is the same as the second indication configured by it, it can be determined that it and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other, that is, both are peer DF devices, and then the function of load sharing forwarding messages can be enabled. The peer DF device here actually means that compared with the traditional implementation method of only specifying the DF device to forward BUM traffic to the access side network device, multiple network devices that are multi-homed to the access side network device can all forward BUM traffic to the access side network device, thereby forming multiple load sharing devices, and these multiple load sharing devices can be called multiple peer DF devices. It should be noted that, in possible circumstances, some (more than one) of the multiple network devices that are multi-homed to the access side network device may also constitute peer DF devices.

[0034] Optionally, the method may further include: the first network device sending a second ES route carrying a second indication to the second network device. The second indication in the second ES route may be used for the second network device to determine whether to forward the message to the third network device on the access side in a load sharing manner.

[0035] Optionally, the process of the first network device forwarding the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner may include: determining that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner according to the first message satisfying a first condition; and the first network device forwarding the first message to the third network device on the access side. That is, the first network device may forward the first message that satisfies the first condition to the third network device. Correspondingly, the second network device may forward the second message that satisfies the second condition to the third network device.

[0036] Optionally, the first message satisfies the first condition including: the target MAC address of the first message satisfies the third condition, and the second condition includes: the target MAC address of the second message satisfies the fourth condition. The target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the message.

[0037] Among them, the first condition can be determined by the first network device according to the locally configured load sharing strategy; or, the first condition can be directly configured in the first network device by the operation and maintenance personnel; or, the first indication obtained by the first network device can also be used to indicate the first condition; or, the first condition can be sent by the second network device or the controller.

[0038] Optionally, before the first network device determines that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing based on the first message satisfying the first condition, the method may also include: the first network device determines that among the multiple MAC addresses obtained, the difference between the number of MAC addresses that satisfy the third condition and the number of MAC addresses that satisfy the fourth condition is less than a difference threshold; wherein the fourth condition is used to indicate that the second network device determines the message that needs to be forwarded under load sharing based on the fourth condition, and the fourth condition is different from the third condition.

[0039] The MAC address acquired by the first network device may be a MAC address learned by the first network device, or may be a MAC address of a user terminal that has been online in the metropolitan area network. The first network device determines the third condition and the fourth condition according to the distribution rule of the acquired MAC address, which can ensure that when load sharing forwards messages, the loads of the first network device and the second network device can be relatively balanced.

[0040] Optionally, the third condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address; or, the third condition may be: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition may be: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address.

[0041] In the solution provided in the present application, the target load sharing mode adopted by the first network device and the second network device when load sharing and forwarding messages can be determined based on the distribution pattern of a certain bit in the MAC address or the distribution pattern of the numerical value composed of n bits in the MAC address, thereby effectively improving the flexibility of determining the target load sharing mode.

[0042] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; and the target MAC address is a source MAC address.

[0043] In this scenario, since the messages forwarded by the first network device and the second network device to the third network device are mainly dial-up messages of user terminals, and the dial-up messages are broadcast messages (the destination MAC address of the broadcast message is generally all F), the destination MAC address can be the source MAC address. That is, the first network device and the second network device can load-share forward the messages according to the source MAC address of the broadcast message.

[0044] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both PE devices, the third network device is a CE device; and the target MAC address is a destination MAC address.

[0045] Since in this scenario, the senders of the messages forwarded by the first network device and the second network device to the third network device are relatively concentrated, for example, most of the senders of the messages are broadband access servers, the target MAC address can be the destination MAC address. That is, the first network device and the second network device can load-share forward the messages (such as unknown unicast messages and multicast messages) according to the destination MAC addresses of the messages.

[0046] Optionally, the method may further include: the first network device receives the second message; the first network device does not forward the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the first network device is not a device that needs to forward the second message in the load sharing mode. The second message may be forwarded by the second network device to the third network device, and the second network device may not forward the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the second network device is not a device that needs to forward the first message in the load sharing mode.

[0047] Optionally, the method may further include: the first network device forwarding the message to the third network device according to the obtained disabling instruction without adopting the load sharing method with the second network device.

[0048] After disabling the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction, the first network device can restore the original DF device or non-DF device role. That is, the elected DF device can continue to forward BUM messages to the third network device. By disabling the load sharing function of the first network device through the disabling instruction, the flexibility of the first network device during operation can be effectively improved to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0049] Optionally, both the first message and the second message may be BUM messages.

[0050] According to a third aspect, a message sending method is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, wherein the message sending system includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-accessible to the first network device and the second network device; the method includes: the second network device sends a first indication to the first network device, and the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device for forwarding the first message to the third network device; the second network device receives a second message, and forwards the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

[0051] The first instruction can be configured in the second network device by the operation and maintenance personnel through a command line. Based on the first instruction, the second network device forwards the message to the third network device by load sharing with the first network device, which can ensure that the loads of the two network devices are relatively balanced.

[0052] Optionally, the second network device sending the first indication to the first network device includes: the second network device sending a first ES route carrying the first indication to the first network device.

[0053] Since the first network device and the second network device will send ES routes to each other after establishing a neighbor relationship, the ES route carries the first indication, thereby avoiding the need to increase the number of messages that the second network device needs to send. In addition, the normal processing of messages by the first network device can be avoided, that is, there is no need to change the recognition and processing behavior of the first network device on the message.

[0054] Optionally, the method also includes: the second network device receives a second ES route sent by the first network device; the second network device determines that the second network device and the first network device are load sharing devices for each other based on a second indication carried in the second ES route, wherein the second indication is the same as the first indication.

[0055] If the second network device determines that the second ES route carries the second indication that is the same as the first indication, it can be determined that it and the first network device are load sharing devices, that is, both are equal DF devices, and the function of forwarding messages by load sharing can be enabled.

[0056] Optionally, the process of the second network device forwarding the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message under load balancing may include: the second network device determines that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load balancing according to the condition met by the received second message; and the second network device forwards the second message to the third network device on the access side.

[0057] Among them, the condition can be determined by the second network device according to the locally configured load sharing strategy; or, the condition can be directly configured in the second network device by the operation and maintenance personnel; or, the second indication carried in the second ES route can also be used to indicate the condition; or, the condition can be sent by the first network device or controller.

[0058] Optionally, the method may further include: the second network device receives the first message; the second network device does not forward the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the second network device is not a device that needs to forward the first message under the load sharing mode.

[0059] In a fourth aspect, a message sending method is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, wherein the message sending system includes a first network device, a second network device, a third network device and a controller, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; the method includes: the controller sends a first indication to the first network device, and sends a second indication to the second network device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device for forwarding the first message to the third network device, and the second indication is used to indicate that the second network device is a load sharing device for forwarding the second message to the third network device.

[0060] Under the instruction of the controller, the first network device and the second network device can forward the message to the third network device in a load sharing manner. Compared with forwarding the message by the DF device only, the solution provided by the present application can ensure that the load of the first network device and the second network device is more balanced.

[0061] Optionally, the first indication is used to instruct the first network device to forward a first message that meets the first condition to the third network device, and the second indication is used to instruct the second network device to forward a second message that meets the second condition to the third network device; or, the method may also include: the controller sends a third indication to the first network device and sends a fourth indication to the second network device, the third indication is used to instruct the first network device to forward the first message that meets the first condition to the third network device, and the fourth indication is used to instruct the second network device to forward the second message that meets the second condition to the third network device; wherein the first condition is different from the second condition.

[0062] In the solution provided by the present application, the controller can directly indicate the first condition through the first indication, and indicate the second condition through the second indication, thereby reducing the number of indications that the controller needs to send and improving the efficiency of instructing the network device to perform load sharing. Alternatively, the controller can indicate the first condition through a separate third indication, and indicate the second condition through a separate fourth indication, thereby facilitating the adjustment of the first condition and the second condition, thereby improving the flexibility of load sharing.

[0063] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may both be located in an EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, a first network device is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, and the message sending system also includes a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; the first network device includes:

[0065] A receiving module, used for receiving a first message;

[0066] The forwarding module is used to forward the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner.

[0067] Optionally, the first network device may further include:

[0068] The acquisition module is used to acquire a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards a first message to a third network device.

[0069] Optionally, the acquisition module is used to receive a first indication sent by the second network device; or, to receive a first indication sent by a controller; or, to acquire a configured first indication.

[0070] Optionally, the acquisition module is used to receive a first ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device, so that the first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other.

[0071] Optionally, the forwarding module is used to determine that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other according to the first indication in the first ES route being the same as the second indication configured in the first network device.

[0072] Optionally, the first network device may further include:

[0073] The sending module is used to send a second ES route carrying a second indication to the second network device.

[0074] Optionally, the forwarding module is used to determine that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing mode according to the first message satisfying the first condition; and forward the first message to the third network device on the access side.

[0075] Optionally, the first message satisfies the first condition including: a target MAC address of the first message satisfies a third condition, and the target MAC address is a source MAC address or a destination MAC address of the first message.

[0076] Optionally, the first network device may further include:

[0077] A determination module is used to determine that, before the forwarding module determines that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message under load sharing, the difference between the number of MAC addresses that meet the third condition and the number of MAC addresses that meet the fourth condition among the obtained multiple MAC addresses is less than a difference threshold; wherein the fourth condition is used to indicate that the second network device determines the message that needs to be forwarded under load sharing according to the fourth condition, and the fourth condition is different from the third condition.

[0078] Optionally, the third condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address; or, the third condition is: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition is: the value of the n-bit component of the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address.

[0079] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; and the target MAC address is a source MAC address.

[0080] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both PE devices, the third network device is a CE device; and the target MAC address is a destination MAC address.

[0081] Optionally, the receiving module can also be used to receive a second message; the forwarding module can also be used to not forward the second message to the third network device on the access side based on the fact that the first network device is not a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing.

[0082] Optionally, the forwarding module may also be configured to forward the message to the third network device without using a load sharing method with the second network device according to the obtained disabling instruction.

[0083] Optionally, both the first message and the second message may be BUM messages.

[0084] In a sixth aspect, a second network device is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, wherein the message sending system further includes a first network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; the second network device includes:

[0085] A sending module, used for sending a first indication to the first network device, where the first indication is used for indicating that the first network device is a load sharing device for forwarding a first message to a third network device;

[0086] A first receiving module, used for receiving a second message;

[0087] The forwarding module is used to forward the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

[0088] Optionally, the sending module is used to send a first ES route carrying the first indication to the first network device.

[0089] Optionally, the second network device may further include:

[0090] A second receiving module, used for receiving a second ES route sent by the first network device;

[0091] The determination module is used to determine that the second network device and the first network device are load sharing devices for each other according to a second indication carried in the second ES route, wherein the second indication is the same as the first indication.

[0092] Optionally, the forwarding module is used to determine that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing mode according to whether the second message meets the condition, and forward the second message to a third network device on the access side.

[0093] Optionally, the forwarding module may also be configured to forward the message to the third network device without using a load sharing method with the first network device according to the obtained disabling instruction.

[0094] In a seventh aspect, a controller is provided, which is applied to a message sending system, wherein the message sending system further includes a first network device, a second network device, and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; the controller includes:

[0095] A sending module, used to send a first indication to a first network device and a second indication to a second network device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device when forwarding a first message to the third network device, and the second indication is used to indicate that the second network device is a load sharing device when forwarding a second message to the third network device.

[0096] Optionally, the first indication is used to instruct the first network device to forward a first message that meets a first condition to the third network device, and the second indication is used to instruct the second network device to forward a second message that meets a second condition to the third network device;

[0097] Alternatively, the sending module is also used to send a third indication to the first network device and a fourth indication to the second network device, wherein the third indication is used to instruct the first network device to forward a first message that meets a first condition to the third network device, and the fourth indication is used to instruct the second network device to forward a second message that meets a second condition to the third network device; wherein the first condition is different from the second condition.

[0098] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are located in an EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

[0099] In an eighth aspect, a device is provided, which may be the first network device, the second network device or the controller provided in the above aspects, and the device includes: a memory and a processor; the memory is used to store a computer program; the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory to implement the message sending method provided in any of the above aspects.

[0100] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which instructions are stored, and the instructions are executed by a processor to implement the message sending method provided in any of the above aspects.

[0101] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer executes the message sending method provided in any of the above aspects.

[0102] In the eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes: a first network device, a second network device and a third network device; wherein the third network device is multi-connected to the first network device and the second network device, and the first network device is the device provided in the fifth aspect or the eighth aspect above.

[0103] Optionally, the second network device is the device provided in the sixth aspect or the eighth aspect above; or, the communication system further includes: a controller, which is the device provided in the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect above.

[0104] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; or, the first network device and the second network device are both PE devices, and the third network device is a CE device.

[0105] In summary, the embodiments of the present application provide a method, device and system for sending a message. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to access a first network device and a second network device, the first network device and the second network device can forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner. Compared with forwarding messages only by a DF device, forwarding messages by load-sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also be ensured that the loads of the boards in the third network device that are connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0106] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a message sending system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a metropolitan area network using EVPN provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of another message sending system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] Figure 4 It is a flow chart of a message sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another message sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] Figure 6 This is a data structure diagram of an ES routing provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] Figure 7 It is a flowchart of another message sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] Figure 8 is a structural diagram of a first network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] Fig. 9 is a structural diagram of a second network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] Fig.11 It is a structural diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] Fig.12 It is a structural schematic diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0118] The message sending method, device and system provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0119] It should be understood that the "at least one" mentioned herein refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means or, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second" and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit them to be necessarily different.

[0120] Before explaining the embodiments of the present application, the application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application are first explained.

[0121] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a message sending system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the system may include a first network device 01, a second network device 02 and a third network device 03. The first network device 01 and the second network device 02 are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device 03, and the third network device 03, as an access side device, can be multi-homed to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02.

[0122] It should be understood that the application scenario may also include other network devices, and the third network device 03 as an access side device may also be multi-homed to the other network devices. That is, the number of network devices to which the third network device 03 is multi-homed may be greater than or equal to 2.

[0123] In the embodiment of the present application, the network devices (including the first network device 01 and the second network device 02) accessed by the third network device 03 can all be located in the EVPN, that is, the third network device 03 is a device accessing the EVPN. For example, the above application scenario can be a metropolitan area network that uses EVPN to carry home broadband and government and enterprise services. Traditional metropolitan area networks generally use a two-layer virtual local area network (VLAN) or a virtual private LAN service (VPLS) network. After the traditional metropolitan area network is reconstructed or newly built, EVPN can be used to replace the two-layer VLAN or VPLS network, and on this basis, intelligent scheduling can be achieved.

[0124] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a metropolitan area network using EVPN provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the metropolitan area network may include: a user terminal 10, a forwarding device 20 located in an access room, a forwarding device 30 located in an aggregation room, a forwarding device 40 located in an edge data center (DC), forwarding devices 50 and 60 located in a core room, and a broadband access server (BAS) 70 located in the core room.

[0125] Among them, the forwarding device 40 located in the edge DC, and the forwarding devices 50 and 60 located in the core computer room all belong to EVPN. In addition, the forwarding device 40 located in the edge DC can be an access layer leaf node, the forwarding device 50 located in the core computer room can be a spine node, and the forwarding device 60 located in the core computer room can be a service leaf node. BAS 70, as an access side device of EVPN, can be connected to the forwarding device 60. Optionally, the BAS 70 can be directly connected to the forwarding device 60, or it can be connected to the forwarding device 60 through a service router (SR). The service router can be a three-layer router with a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) relay function. The BAS 70 can be a broadband remote access server (BRAS), or it can be a UP device in a BRAS in which the control plane (CP) and the user plane (UP) are deployed separately.

[0126] Figure 2 Each forwarding device in the illustrated scenario may be a device with a message forwarding function, such as a router or a switch. For example, the switching device 20 located in the access room may be a switch (SW), an optical line terminal (OLT), or a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM). The user terminal 10 may also be referred to as a host or user equipment, and the user terminal 10 may be a computer, a wireless terminal device, or a virtual machine (VM) created on a server.

[0127] refer to Figure 2It can be seen that the user terminal 10 can go online through the Layer 2 EVPN to the BAS 70 through the forwarding device 20 and the forwarding device 30, or can go online to the remote BAS 70 through the Layer 3 service router. In a metropolitan area network using EVPN, in order to ensure reliability, the BAS 70 or service router as the access side device of the EVPN is generally multi-homed to multiple forwarding devices 60 located at the edge of the EVPN. For example, Figure 2 Each BAS 70 in the network is dual-homed to two forwarding devices 60. The interface through which the BAS 70 or service router accesses the EVPN is generally a cross-board trunk interface. After the metropolitan area network is transformed into an EVPN multi-homing and multi-active (e.g., dual-homing and dual-active) architecture, the member ports of the trunk interface will be connected to multiple forwarding devices 60.

[0128] In order to avoid a waste of network resources caused by an access side device receiving duplicate traffic from multiple forwarding devices (also called edge side devices) located at the edge of EVPN, a DF device election mechanism is introduced in EVPN, that is, an edge side device is designated as a DF device from multiple edge side devices to which the access side device has multi-home access. In a multi-home multi-active networking architecture, only the DF device can forward BUM messages sent to the edge side device. Among them, the edge side device that is not elected as a DF device can be called a non-DF device. Alternatively, the edge side device that is elected as a DF device can be called a primary DF device, and the edge side device that is not elected as a DF device can be called a backup DF device (or standby DF device).

[0129] Since in the metropolitan area network, the Ethernet-based point-to-point communication protocol (PPPoE) dial-up message or Ethernet-based Internet protocol (IPoE) dial-up message sent by the user terminal 10 during the online process are all broadcast messages, they will be sent to the BAS 70 or the service router through the DF device. As a result, the BAS 70 or the service router can only receive dial-up messages from multiple users from a single board, which makes the load of the two boards in the BAS 70 or the service router unbalanced. In addition, since only the DF device can forward BUM messages (such as the dial-up message), the load between the multiple forwarding devices 60 that are multi-homed and accessed by the BAS 70 or the service router will also be unbalanced.

[0130] Under the multi-home networking architecture of the access side device, each access side device is connected to different edge side devices of EVPN through multiple links, and these links constitute an ES. The ES can be uniquely identified by ESI. That is, the ESI on multiple edge side devices connected to the same access side device is the same, and the ESI on the edge side devices connected to different access side devices is different. Among them, the ESI can be configured on the physical port of the edge side device used to connect to the access side device. When the ES route is propagated between edge side devices, the ES route will carry ESI so that each edge side device can perceive other edge side devices connected to the same access side device and perform DF election. The DF election methods can include the following:

[0131] Method 1: Each edge device determines the Internet protocol (IP) address of other edge devices based on the received ES route, and sorts multiple edge devices with the same ESI in order of the size of the IP address. Afterwards, the multiple edge devices can elect the edge device with the smallest IP address as the DF device.

[0132] Method 2: VLAN-based DF election. The interface (also called the main interface) of each edge device used to connect to the access side device can be divided into multiple sub-interfaces, which can be Ethernet virtual circuit (EVC) sub-interfaces. Since different sub-interfaces can be configured with different VLANs, a DF can be elected for each VLAN. For example, for a VLAN identified as V, the serial number i of the edge device determined as a DF device by each edge device can satisfy: i = V mod N. Among them, mod represents a modulus operation, i represents the serial number of the edge device elected as the DF device, and N is the number of edge devices to which the access side device has multiple access.

[0133] Assume that in a dual-home dual-active architecture, that is, N=2, the serial number of the edge device PE1 is 0, and the serial number of the edge device PE2 is 1. For the VLAN identified as 10 (i.e., VLAN 10), since 10mod 2=0, the edge device PE1 is elected as the DF device, and for the VLAN identified as 11 (i.e., VLAN 11), since 11mod 2=1, the edge device PE2 is elected as the DF device.

[0134] Method 3: Use the highest random weight (HRW) algorithm to elect the DF device.

[0135] Method 4: Use the priority algorithm (see draft: draft-ietf-bess-evpn-pref-df-06) to elect the DF device.

[0136] The above methods 1 to 4 respectively provide methods for electing DF devices based on interface granularity and VLAN granularity, but because their essence is to elect a DF device to forward messages to the access side device, they cannot effectively achieve device-level load sharing among multiple edge side devices.

[0137] The embodiment of the present application provides a message sending method, which can solve the problem of unbalanced load of the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 after the third network device 03 as an access side device is multi-homed to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02. Among them, for a metropolitan area network using EVPN, the third network device 03 can be a BAS70 or a service router connected to the BAS 70. Correspondingly, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can be forwarding devices 60 located in the core computer room.

[0138] Alternatively, the third network device 03 may be a CE device for connecting the user terminal 10, and the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be PE devices. For example, the CE device may be a forwarding device 20 located in an access room or a forwarding device 30 located in an aggregation room, and the PE device may be a forwarding device 60 located in an edge DC.

[0139] The message sending method, device and system provided in the embodiments of the present application are explained in detail below.

[0140] like Figure 1 As shown, the message sending system provided in the embodiment of the present application may include a first network device 01, a second network device 02 and a third network device 03. The first network device 01 and the second network device 02 are load sharing devices for forwarding messages to the third network device 03. The third network device 03, as an access side device, can be multi-homed to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02. Among them, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be located in the EVPN, the third network device 03 may be a device accessing the EVPN, and the third network device 03 itself may be located in the EVPN or may not be located in the EVPN.

[0141] The first network device 01 is used to receive a first message and a second message, and forward the first message to the third network device 03 according to the first network device 01 being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner.

[0142] The second network device 02 is used to receive the first message and the second message, and forward the second message to the third network device 03 according to the second network device 02 being a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

[0143] Since the first network device and the second network device in the system can forward the first message and the second message by load sharing, it can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0144] Optionally, the process of the first network device 01 determining that the first network device 01 is a device that needs to forward the first message under load balancing mode according to the first network device 01 being a device that needs to forward the first message under load balancing mode may include: the first network device 01 determines that the first network device 01 is a device that needs to forward the first message under load balancing mode according to the first message satisfying the first condition.

[0145] The process in which the second network device 02 determines that the second network device 02 is a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing may include: the second network device 02 determines that the second network device 02 is a device that needs to forward the second message under load sharing according to the second message satisfying the second condition.

[0146] The first condition and the second condition are different, that is, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can respectively forward messages that meet different conditions.

[0147] Optionally, the first condition may be determined by the first network device 01 according to a locally configured load sharing policy, and the second condition may be determined by the second network device 02 according to a locally configured load sharing policy. Alternatively, the first condition may be directly configured by the operation and maintenance personnel in the first network device 01, and the second condition may be directly configured by the operation and maintenance personnel in the second network device 02. Alternatively, the first condition may be sent by the controller to the first network device 01, and the second condition may be sent by the controller to the second network device 02. Alternatively, one of the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may be used to determine the first condition and the second condition, and the determined condition may be sent to the other network device.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present application, the mode in which the first network device and the second network device forward messages based on the first condition and the second condition load sharing can also be called a target load sharing mode. Accordingly, based on the above examples, it can be seen that the target load sharing mode can be determined by the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 respectively; or, it can be configured by the operation and maintenance personnel; or, it can be determined and issued by the controller; or, it can be determined by one of the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 and sent to the other network device.

[0149] Optionally, the first message satisfies the first condition, including: the first target MAC address of the first message is a MAC address that satisfies the third condition, and the first target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the first message. The second message satisfies the second condition, including: the second target MAC address of the second message is a MAC address that satisfies the fourth condition, and the second target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the second message; wherein the third condition is different from the fourth condition.

[0150] After receiving the first message and the second message, the first network device 01 can determine that the first target MAC address of the first message meets the third condition, and can determine that the second target MAC address of the second message does not meet the third condition. Therefore, the first network device 01 can forward the first message to the third network device 03 without forwarding the second message.

[0151] Similarly, after receiving the first message and the second message, the second network device 02 can determine that the first target MAC address of the first message does not meet the fourth condition, and can determine that the second target MAC address of the second message meets the fourth condition. Therefore, the second network device 02 can forward the second message to the third network device 03 without forwarding the first message.

[0152] In the system provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first network device and the second network device can determine the message to be forwarded under the load balancing mode based on the target MAC address of the message, and can also determine the message to be forwarded under the load balancing mode based on other parameters of the message, such as timestamp, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0153] Optionally, the third condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address.

[0154] Alternatively, the third condition may be: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition may be: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and n is not greater than the total number of bits in the MAC address.

[0155] As an optional implementation, refer to Figure 2 , the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can both be forwarding devices 60 located in the EVPN, and the third network device 03 can be a BAS 70, or a forwarding device connected to the BAS 70. In this scenario, the messages forwarded by the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 to the third network device 03 are mainly dial-up messages of the user terminal 10, and the dial-up messages are broadcast messages (the destination MAC addresses of broadcast messages are generally all F), so the first target MAC address of the first message and the second target MAC address of the second message can both be source MAC addresses. That is, the first network device and the second network device can load-share forward the messages according to the source MAC addresses of the broadcast messages.

[0156] As another optional implementation, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be PE devices, and the third network device 03 may be a CE device. Figure 2 , the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can be forwarding devices 60 located in the edge DC, and the third network device 03 can be forwarding devices 20 in the access room or forwarding devices 30 in the aggregation room. In this scenario, the senders of the messages forwarded by the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 to the third network device 03 are relatively concentrated, for example, most of the senders of the messages are BAS 70, so the first target MAC address of the first message and the second target MAC address of the second message can both be the destination MAC address. That is, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can load-share forward messages (such as unknown unicast messages and multicast messages) according to the destination MAC addresses of the messages.

[0157] Optionally, the first network device 01 may also be used to obtain a first indication, and determine, according to the first indication, that the first network device 01 is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device 03. The second network device 02 may also be used to obtain a second indication, and determine, according to the second indication, that the second network device 02 is a load sharing device that forwards the second message to the third network device 03.

[0158] Optionally, the process of the first network device 01 acquiring the first indication may include: the first network device 01 receives a first ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device 02. The process of the second network device 02 acquiring the second indication may include: the second network device 02 receives a second ES route carrying the second indication sent by the first network device 01. In this implementation, the contents of the first indication and the second indication may be the same, or have a certain association relationship, so that the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can respectively determine that the other party is a network device that can constitute load sharing according to the same indication or the indication with an associated relationship.

[0159] Alternatively, if Figure 3 As shown, the system may further include: a controller 04, the controller 04 is used to send the first indication to the first network device 01, and send the second indication to the second network device 02. The controller 04 may be a software-defined networking (SDN) controller. Furthermore, the controller 01 may be a server, or a server cluster consisting of a plurality of servers, or a cloud computing service center.

[0160] Optionally, the first network device 01 may also be used to forward the first message to the third network device 03 according to the obtained disabling instruction without using the load sharing method with the second network device 02. The second network device 02 may also be used to forward the second message to the third network device 03 according to the obtained disabling instruction without using the load sharing method with the first network device 01.

[0161] After disabling the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction, the first network device and the second network device can restore the original DF device or non-DF device role. That is, the elected DF device can continue to forward messages to the third network device. By disabling the load sharing function of the network device through the disabling instruction, the flexibility of the network device during operation can be effectively improved to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0162] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a message sending system. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to access a first network device and a second network device, the first network device and the second network device can forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner. Compared to forwarding messages only by a DF device, forwarding messages by load-sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also be ensured that the loads of the boards in the third network device that are connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0163] Figure 4 1 is a flow chart of a message sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The message sending method can be applied to a first network device 01 in a message sending system adopting a multi-home multi-active networking architecture. Figure 1 , the message sending system also includes a second network device 02 and a third network device 03, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device 03, and the third network device 03 is multi-homed to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02. Among them, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can be located in an EVPN, and the third network device 03 can be a device accessing the EVPN. If the number of network devices multi-homed to the third network device 03 is greater than 2 in a multi-homed multi-active networking architecture, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 can be any two network devices among the multiple network devices multi-homed to the third network device 03. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0164] S301. A first network device receives a first message.

[0165] The first message may be a message to be sent to the third network device. For example, the first message may be a BUM message.

[0166] S302: The first network device forwards the first message to a third network device on the access side according to the fact that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner.

[0167] In an embodiment of the present application, if the first network device determines that it is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load-sharing manner, it can forward the first message to a third network device on the access side. For example, the first network device can determine that it is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load-sharing manner based on the first indication obtained. The first indication can be sent by the second network device; or it can be sent by a controller connected to the first network device and the second network device respectively; or it can be directly configured on the first network device by an operation and maintenance personnel.

[0168] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for sending a message. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to access a first network device and a second network device, the first network device can forward the message to the third network device by load sharing with the second network device. Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, forwarding messages by load sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0169] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another message sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the message sending method can be applied to Figure 1 In the network using the multi-home multi-active networking architecture shown in the figure. For example, it can be applied to a metropolitan area network using EVPN. The following takes the first network device and the second network device sending the indication to each other as an example to illustrate the message sending method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the method may include:

[0170] S401. A second network device sends a first ES route carrying a first indication to a first network device.

[0171] In an embodiment of the present application, the second network device may be pre-configured with the first indication, and after establishing a neighbor relationship with the first network device, the second network device may send a first ES route carrying the first indication to the first network device. The first indication may be configured in the second network device by an operation and maintenance personnel through a command line, or determined and generated by the second network device based on a certain business principle.

[0172] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of a data structure of an ES routing provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6As shown, the ES route may include a type field, a subtype field, a reserved (RSV) field, a DF algorithm (DF ALG) field, a bitmap field, and a DF priority (preference) field. Among them, the DFALG field is a field used to indicate the algorithm for electing DF. The definition of other fields in the ES route can refer to the request for comments (RFC) document numbered 8584. The value range of the DF ALG field specified in RFC 8584 is 0 to 31, and the definitions of different values ​​are as follows:

[0173] DF ALG=0: Use the default DF election method or the DF election method defined by RFC 7432 (ie, electing a DF device based on an interface or a VLAN).

[0174] DF ALG=1: Use HRW algorithm.

[0175] DF ALG=2: adopts a priority algorithm, which may be defined by the draft draft-ietf-bess-evpn-pref-df-06.

[0176] DF ALG=3 to 30: undefined.

[0177] DF ALG=31: reserved value.

[0178] Since the meaning of the DF ALG field value of 3 to 30 has not been defined, as a possible implementation method of carrying the first indication given in an embodiment of the present application, the first indication can be carried through the DF ALG field, and the value of the first indication can be set to any value between 3 and 30. For example, the first indication can be a value of 3, then when the value of the DF ALG field is 3, it can indicate that the message is forwarded in a load sharing manner.

[0179] S402: The first network device sends a second ES route carrying a second indication to the second network device.

[0180] The first network device may also be pre-configured with the second indication. After establishing a neighbor relationship with the second network device, the first network device may send a second ES route carrying the second indication to the second network device. The data structure of the second ES route may refer to Figure 6 , I will not go into details here.

[0181] For example, in an embodiment of the present application, the operation and maintenance personnel can configure the first network device and the second network device respectively through command lines to instruct the first network device to carry the second indication when sending the ES route, and to instruct the second network device to carry the first indication when sending the ES route. For example, as a possible implementation form of the first indication and the second indication, the value of the DF ALG field in the first ES route sent by the second network device can be 3, and the value of the DF ALG field in the second ES route sent by the first network device can also be 3.

[0182] In the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first network device and the second network device carry the indication through ES routing, which can avoid adding the number of messages that the network device needs to send. In addition, it can avoid affecting the normal processing of messages by the network device, that is, there is no need to change the recognition and processing behavior of the network device on the message.

[0183] S403: The first network device determines a target load sharing mode according to the fact that a difference between the number of MAC addresses satisfying the third condition and the number of MAC addresses satisfying the fourth condition among the acquired multiple MAC addresses is less than a difference threshold.

[0184] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device can count the distribution patterns of the multiple MAC addresses it obtains. If the first network device detects that the difference between the number of MAC addresses that meet the third condition and the number of MAC addresses that meet the fourth condition among the multiple MAC addresses is less than the difference threshold (that is, the number of MAC addresses that meet different conditions is relatively close), it determines the target load sharing mode to be referenced when forwarding messages for load sharing. In addition, in order to ensure the reliability of the determined target load sharing mode, the first network device can determine the target load sharing mode based on the distribution pattern of the multiple MAC addresses when the number of the multiple MAC addresses obtained is greater than a preset number threshold.

[0185] The target load sharing mode may include: the first network device forwards a first message that meets the first condition, and the second network device forwards a second message that meets the second condition. The first condition may include: the first target MAC address of the first message is a MAC address that meets the third condition. The second condition may include: the second target MAC address of the second message is a MAC address that meets the fourth condition. The first target MAC address and the second target MAC address may both be the source MAC address of the message, or both may be the destination MAC address of the message. The difference threshold may be a fixed value pre-stored in the first network device. Alternatively, the difference threshold may be determined by the first network device according to the number of multiple MAC addresses it obtains. For example, the difference threshold may be 10% of the total number of multiple MAC addresses obtained by the first network device.

[0186] In a first optional implementation, the third condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition may be: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number. Wherein, i is a positive integer, and i is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address, which may be 48.

[0187] Optionally, the first network device may start from the last digit of the MAC address and sequentially detect whether the difference between the number of odd numbers and the number of even numbers of each digit of the multiple MAC addresses is less than a difference threshold. When the first network device detects that the difference between the number of odd numbers and the number of even numbers of any digit of the multiple MAC addresses is less than the difference threshold, the first network device may stop detecting and determine the target load sharing mode.

[0188] For example, assume that the first network device has obtained 1000 MAC addresses, and the difference threshold is 100. The first network device can first detect the parity distribution pattern of the last digits of the 1000 MAC addresses. If the first network device detects that the last digits of 300 MAC addresses are odd numbers, and the last digits of 700 MAC addresses are even numbers, then since the difference between the two numbers is greater than the difference threshold of 100, the parity distribution pattern of the second-to-last digits of the 1000 MAC addresses can continue to be detected. If the first network device detects that the second-to-last digits of 480 MAC addresses are odd numbers, and the second-to-last digits of 520 MAC addresses are even numbers, then since the difference between the two numbers is less than the difference threshold of 100, the first network device can stop detecting. In addition, the first network device can determine that the third condition is: the second-to-last digit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is: the second-to-last digit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number.

[0189] In a second optional implementation, the third condition may be: the value of the n-bit composition in the MAC address is within a first numerical range; the fourth condition may be: the value of the n-bit composition in the MAC address is within a second numerical range. The second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, n is a positive integer greater than 1, and n is not greater than the total number of bits in the MAC address. Furthermore, the number of optional values ​​included in the two numerical ranges may be the same.

[0190] Optionally, the n bits can be continuous n bits in the MAC address, or discontinuous n bits, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Taking the case where the n bits are continuous n bits as an example, the first network device can start from the last n bits of the MAC address and sequentially detect whether the difference between the number of each n bits of the multiple MAC addresses that are in the first numerical range and the number of bits in the second numerical range is less than the difference threshold. When the first network device detects that the difference between the number of any n bits of the multiple MAC addresses that are in the first numerical range and the number of bits in the second numerical range is less than the difference threshold, the first network device can stop detecting and determine the target load sharing method.

[0191] Taking the value of each bit in the MAC address as 0 or 1, and n=2 as an example, the first value range may be {00, 01}, and the second value range may be {10, 11}. Alternatively, the first value range may be {00, 10}, and the second value range may be {01, 11}.

[0192] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device may first determine the target load sharing mode using the first optional implementation method described above. If the target load sharing mode cannot be determined based on the implementation method, the second optional implementation method may be used to determine the target load sharing mode.

[0193] When the MAC address is large in magnitude, the number of odd and even last digits of the target MAC address may meet approximately 1:1. In one possible scenario, the target load sharing mode can be directly set to a mode for load sharing based on the odd and even last digits of the MAC address. In other possible scenarios, since the number of odd and even last digits of the target MAC address of the message sent to the third network device in the network does not necessarily meet approximately 1:1, if load sharing is performed based on a pre-configured fixed target load sharing mode, it may cause the load of the first network device and the second network device to remain unbalanced. In the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can determine the target load sharing mode based on the distribution law of the MAC address actually obtained. Thereby, it can be ensured that when forwarding messages based on the target load sharing mode, the number of messages forwarded by the first network device is relatively close to the number of messages forwarded by the second network device, that is, the load of the first network device and the second network device is relatively balanced.

[0194] On the one hand, reference Figure 2 , the first network device and the second network device may both be forwarding devices 60 located in the EVPN, and the third network device 03 may be a BAS 70, or a forwarding device connected to the BAS 70. In this scenario, the multiple MAC addresses acquired by the first network device may be MAC addresses of online user terminals. Furthermore, the target MAC address may be a source MAC address.

[0195] On the other hand, the first network device and the second network device may both be PE devices, and the third network device may be a CE device. In this scenario, the multiple MAC addresses acquired by the first network device may be MAC addresses of other devices (such as CE devices or user terminals connected to CE devices) learned by the first network device. Furthermore, the target MAC address may be a destination MAC address.

[0196] S404: The first network device sends a second condition to the second network device.

[0197] In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network device determines the target load sharing modulus, it can send the second condition to the second network device. The second condition is used to instruct the second network device to determine the message to be forwarded in the load sharing mode according to the second condition, that is, to determine the load sharing mode adopted by the second network device when forwarding messages in load sharing.

[0198] In some possible situations, the first network device may not send the second condition, but the second network device may determine the second condition by itself. For example, the second network device determines the second condition to be used by itself according to the same judgment logic as the first network device, or the operation and maintenance personnel configure the corresponding second condition.

[0199] S405: The first network device receives a first message and a second message.

[0200] The first message and the second message may both be BUM messages to be sent to the third network device.

[0201] S406: The first network device forwards the first message to the third network device on the access side using the target load sharing mode according to the first indication in the first ES route being the same as the second indication configured in the first network device.

[0202] After the first network device receives the first ES route sent by the second network device, it can first detect whether the first indication carried in the first ES route is the same as the second indication configured in the first network device. If the first indication carried in the first ES route is the same as the second indication configured in the first network device, the first network device can determine that it and the second network device are load sharing devices, that is, the two are equal DF devices, and there is no distinction between master and backup. Furthermore, the first network device can adopt the target load sharing mode to forward the first message (for example, BUM message) to the third network device on the access side. That is, the first network device can forward the first message that meets the first condition to the third network device. And, if the first network device determines that the second message does not meet the first condition, it can be determined that the first network device is not a device that needs to forward the second message under the load sharing mode. Correspondingly, the first network device does not need to forward the second message to the third network device.

[0203] If the first indication carried in the first ES route is different from the second indication configured in the first network device, the first network device can determine that the configuration is wrong and no longer perform subsequent operations. In addition, after determining that the configuration is wrong, the first network device can also generate an error message to instruct the operation and maintenance personnel to reconfigure.

[0204] S407: The second network device receives the first message and the second message.

[0205] Since the third network device is multi-homedly connected to the first network device and the second network device, the second network device can also receive the first message and the second message.

[0206] S408. The second network device forwards the second message that meets the second condition to a third network device on the access side according to the second indication carried in the second ES route.

[0207] After the second network device receives the second ES route sent by the first network device, it can also first detect whether the second indication carried in the second ES route is the same as the first indication configured in the second network device. If the second ES route carries the second indication that is the same as the first indication, the second network device can determine that it and the first network device are load sharing devices, that is, both are equal DF devices, and then the second message (such as BUM message) can be forwarded to the third network device in a load sharing manner. In addition, the second network device can also determine the second message to be forwarded in the load sharing mode according to the second condition sent by the first network device. That is, the second network device can forward the second message that meets the second condition to the third network device. In addition, if the second network device determines that the first message does not meet the second condition, the second network device can determine that it is not a device that needs to forward the first message in the load sharing mode. Correspondingly, the second network device does not need to forward the first message to the third network device.

[0208] If the second ES route does not carry the second indication that is the same as the first indication, the second network device may determine that the configuration is wrong and no longer perform subsequent operations. In addition, after determining that the configuration is wrong, the second network device may also generate an error message to instruct the operation and maintenance personnel to reconfigure.

[0209] For example, assume that the first condition includes: the source MAC address of the message satisfies the third condition, and the second condition includes: the source MAC address of the message satisfies the fourth condition. The third condition is: the last digit of the source MAC address is an odd number; the fourth condition is: the last digit of the source MAC address is an even number. In addition, the value of the second indication configured in the first network device and the value of the first indication configured in the second network device are both 3. After the first network device receives the first ES route sent by the second network device, it can forward the first message whose last digit of the source MAC address is an odd number to the third network device. After the second network device receives the second ES route sent by the first network device, it can forward the second message whose last digit of the source MAC address is an even number to the third network device.

[0210] S409: The first network device forwards the message to the third network device according to the obtained disabling instruction without using the load sharing method with the second network device.

[0211] In an embodiment of the present application, if it is not necessary for the first network device and the second network device to forward messages to the third network device using load sharing, the disabling instruction can be used to instruct the first network device to no longer forward messages using load sharing, that is, to disenable the load sharing function of the first network device.

[0212] S410. The second network device forwards the message to the third network device according to the obtained disabling instruction without using the load sharing method with the first network device.

[0213] Similar to S409 above, if the first network device and the second network device do not need to forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner, the disabling instruction can be used to instruct the second network device to no longer forward messages in a load-sharing manner, i.e., to disenable the load-sharing function of the second network device.

[0214] Optionally, the disabling instruction may be configured by an operation and maintenance personnel in the first network device and the second network device respectively through a command line. Alternatively, the disabling instruction may be issued by a controller to the first network device and the second network device respectively. Alternatively, the operation and maintenance personnel or the controller may only issue the disabling instruction to one of the first network device and the second network device, and the network device that obtains the disabling instruction may forward the disabling instruction to another network device.

[0215] In the embodiment of the present application, after disabling the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction, the first network device and the second network device can restore the original DF device or non-DF device role. That is, the elected DF device can continue to forward BUM messages to the third network device. By disabling the load sharing function of the network device through the disabling instruction, the flexibility of the network device during operation can be effectively improved to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0216] Understandably, Figure 5 The sequence of steps of the message sending method provided in the illustrated embodiment can be adjusted appropriately, and the steps can be increased or decreased accordingly according to the situation. For example, S404 can be deleted according to the situation, and the second network device can also execute S403. That is, the first network device and the second network device can determine the first condition and the second condition based on the same rule.

[0217] Alternatively, both S403 and S404 above can be deleted according to the circumstances. As a possible implementation, the first network device and the second network device can be configured with a target load sharing mode, and the two network devices can directly use the pre-configured target load sharing mode to forward the message to the third network device. As another possible implementation, the first indication and the second indication can also indicate the target load sharing mode, and the first network device can use the target load sharing mode indicated by the first indication to forward the first message to the third network device, and the second network device can use the target load sharing mode indicated by the second indication to forward the second message to the third network device.

[0218] In the above two implementations, the target load sharing mode can be: the network device with a smaller IP address forwards the first message whose target MAC address meets the first condition, and the network device with a larger IP address forwards the second message whose target MAC address meets the second condition. After the first network device and the second network device send ES routes to each other, each network device can determine the IP address of the opposite network device according to the received ES route, and then determine the message that it needs to forward by load sharing. Among them, the IP address of the network device can be carried by the IP field of the initial router in the ES route.

[0219] Among them, for the scenario where the first indication and the second indication can also indicate the target load sharing mode, when the first indication is a different value, different load sharing modes can be indicated. Similarly, when the second indication is a different value, different load sharing modes can be indicated. For example, when the value of the first indication is 3, the target load sharing mode indicated can be: the network device with a smaller IP address forwards the message whose last digit of the source MAC address is an odd number, and the network device with a larger IP address forwards the message whose last digit of the source MAC address is an even number. When the value of the first indication is 4, the target load sharing mode indicated can be: the network device with a smaller IP address forwards the message whose last digit of the destination MAC address is an even number, and the network device with a larger IP address forwards the message whose last digit of the destination MAC address is an odd number.

[0220] Alternatively, both S401 and S402 can be deleted according to the situation. For example, the operation and maintenance personnel can configure the corresponding first indication and the second indication under the multi-active interface of the first network device and the multi-active interface of the second network device through the command line, so as to respectively enable the load sharing forwarding message functions of the first network device and the second network device. Among them, the multi-active interface refers to the interface used to connect the third network device. In this scenario, the first indication and the second indication can also be used to indicate the specific target load sharing mode. Optionally, in this scenario, the first network device and the second network device can also no longer elect a DF device based on the first indication and the second indication.

[0221] For example, the command line configured by the operation and maintenance personnel in the first network device may be: bum-forward typetype1 odd, and the command line configured in the second network device may be: bum-forward type type1 even. The above command lines can be used to instruct the first network device to forward BUM messages whose last digit of the target MAC address is an even number, and to instruct the second network device to forward BUM messages whose last digit of the target MAC address is an odd number.

[0222] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for sending a message. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to access the first network device and the second network device, the first network device can forward the message to the third network device by load sharing with the second network device. Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, forwarding messages (such as BUM messages) by load sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0223] The message sending method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below by taking the case where the message sending system further includes a controller 04, and the controller 04 sends instructions to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 respectively as an example. Figure 7 As shown, the method may include:

[0224] S701. The controller sends a first instruction to a first network device.

[0225] S702: The controller sends a second instruction to the second network device.

[0226] Among them, the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device, and the second indication is used to indicate that the second network device is a load sharing device that forwards the second message to the third network device. That is, the first indication and the second indication can be used to indicate that the first network device and the second network device forward messages to the third network device on the access side in a load sharing manner, respectively. In actual scenarios, the contents of the first indication and the second indication can be the same or different.

[0227] S703: The controller sends a third instruction to the first network device.

[0228] S704. The controller sends a fourth instruction to the second network device.

[0229] In an embodiment of the present application, the controller may also determine a target load sharing mode, and send the third indication to the first network device, and send the fourth indication to the second network device. The third indication and the fourth indication may be used to indicate the target load sharing mode that the first network device and the second network device should adopt, respectively. Among them, the target load sharing mode may include: the first network device forwards a first message that satisfies a first condition, and the second network device forwards a second message that satisfies a second condition. The first condition is different from the second condition. For example, the first condition may include: the target MAC address of the first message satisfies the third condition, and the second condition may include: the target MAC address of the second message satisfies the fourth condition. Among them, the third condition and the fourth condition are different, and the target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the message. In actual scenarios, the third indication and the fourth indication may be the same or different.

[0230] The controller indicates the target load sharing mode through separate indication information, so that the target load sharing mode can be easily adjusted, thereby improving the flexibility of load sharing.

[0231] Optionally, the target load sharing mode can be configured in the controller by the operation and maintenance personnel. Alternatively, the first network device and / or the second network device can report the acquired MAC address to the controller. The controller can then determine the target load sharing mode based on the distribution pattern of the received multiple MAC addresses. The process of the controller determining the target load sharing mode based on the MAC address can refer to the relevant description of S403 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0232] S705. The first network device forwards the first message to the third network device according to the first instruction and in the target load sharing mode indicated by the third instruction.

[0233] After receiving the first instruction sent by the controller, the first network device can determine that it is a DF device equivalent to the second network device, and can forward the first message to the third network device using the target load sharing mode indicated by the third instruction. For example, the first network device can forward the first message that meets the first condition to the third network device.

[0234] S706. The second network device forwards the second message to the third network device according to the second instruction and using the target load sharing mode indicated by the fourth instruction.

[0235] After receiving the second instruction sent by the controller, the second network device can determine that it is a DF device equivalent to the first network device, and can forward the second message to the third network device using the target load sharing mode indicated by the fourth instruction. For example, the second network device can forward the second message that meets the second condition to the third network device.

[0236] It should be understood that Figure 7 The sequence of steps of the message sending method provided in the illustrated embodiment can be adjusted appropriately, and the steps can be increased or decreased accordingly. For example, S702 can be executed before S701, or executed synchronously with S701; S704 can be executed before S703, or executed synchronously with S703.

[0237] Alternatively, the above S703 and S704 can be deleted according to the situation, that is, the controller does not need to send the third indication and the fourth indication separately. In this scenario, the first indication and the second indication respectively sent by the controller to the first network device and the second network device can be used to instruct the first network device and the second network device to forward the message to the third network device using the target load sharing mode. The controller directly indicates the target load sharing mode through the first indication and the second indication, which can reduce the number of indications that the controller needs to send, thereby improving the efficiency of instructing network devices to perform load sharing.

[0238] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for sending a message. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to access the first network device and the second network device, the first network device and the second network device can forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner based on instructions issued by the controller. Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, forwarding messages (such as BUM messages) by load-sharing the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also be ensured that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0239] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first network device can be applied to Figures 1 to 3 Any of the systems shown can be used to implement the steps performed by the first network device in the above method embodiment. Figure 8 As shown, the first network device may include:

[0240] The receiving module 801 is used to receive a first message. The function of the receiving module 801 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S301 in the above method embodiment.

[0241] The forwarding module 802 is used to forward the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in load sharing mode. The function of the forwarding module 802 can refer to the relevant description of S302 in the above method embodiment.

[0242] Alternatively, if Figure 8 As shown, the first network device may further include:

[0243] The acquisition module 803 is used to acquire a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device.

[0244] Optionally, the acquisition module 803 is used to receive the first indication sent by the second network device; or receive the first indication sent by the controller; or acquire the configured first indication. The functional implementation of the acquisition module 803 can refer to the relevant description of S401 and S701 in the above method embodiment.

[0245] Optionally, the acquisition module 803 may be configured to receive a first ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device, so that the first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other.

[0246] Optionally, the forwarding module 802 is used to determine that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices according to the first indication in the first ES route being the same as the second indication configured in the first network device. The function of the forwarding module 802 can refer to the relevant description of S406 in the above method embodiment.

[0247] Alternatively, if Figure 8 As shown, the first network device may further include:

[0248] The sending module 804 is configured to send the second ES route carrying the second indication to the second network device. The function of the sending module 804 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S402 in the above method embodiment.

[0249] Optionally, the forwarding module 802 is used to determine that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner according to the first message satisfying the first condition; and forward the first message to the third network device on the access side. The function of the forwarding module 802 can also refer to the relevant description of S705 in the above method embodiment.

[0250] Optionally, the first message satisfies the first condition including: a target MAC address of the first message satisfies a third condition, and the target MAC address is a source MAC address or a destination MAC address of the first message.

[0251] Optionally, continue to refer to Figure 8 , the first network device may further include:

[0252] The determination module 805 is used to determine that, before the forwarding module 802 determines that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in the load sharing mode, the difference between the number of MAC addresses that meet the third condition and the number of MAC addresses that meet the fourth condition among the obtained multiple MAC addresses is less than the difference threshold; wherein the fourth condition is used to indicate that the second network device determines the message that needs to be forwarded in the load sharing mode according to the fourth condition, and the fourth condition is different from the third condition. The functional implementation of the determination module 805 can refer to the relevant description of S403 in the above method embodiment.

[0253] Optionally, the third condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is: the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address;

[0254] Alternatively, the third condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and n is not greater than the total number of bits in the MAC address.

[0255] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, the third network device is a BAS, or a forwarding device connected to a BAS; and the target MAC address is a source MAC address.

[0256] Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are both PE devices, the third network device is a CE device; and the target MAC address is a destination MAC address.

[0257] Optionally, the receiving module 801 may also be used to receive a second message. The function of the receiving module 801 may also refer to the relevant description of S405 in the above method embodiment.

[0258] The forwarding module 802 may also be configured to not forward the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the first network device is not a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

[0259] Optionally, the forwarding module 802 may also be used to forward the message to the third network device without load sharing with the second network device according to the obtained disabling instruction. The implementation of the function of the forwarding module 802 may also refer to the relevant description of S409 in the above method embodiment.

[0260] Optionally, both the first message and the second message may be BUM messages.

[0261] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a first network device. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device, the first network device can forward messages to the third network device by load sharing with the second network device. Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, forwarding messages by load sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0262] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The second network device can be applied to Figures 1 to 3 Any of the systems shown can be used to implement the steps performed by the second network device in the above embodiment. Fig. 9 As shown, the second network device may include:

[0263] The sending module 901 is used to send a first indication to the first network device, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards a first message to a third network device. The function of the sending module 901 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S401 in the above method embodiment.

[0264] The first receiving module 902 is configured to receive the second message. The function of the first receiving module 902 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S407 in the above method embodiment.

[0265] The forwarding module 903 is used to forward the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message in load sharing mode. The function of the forwarding module 903 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S408 and S706 in the above method embodiment.

[0266] Optionally, the sending module 901 is used to send a first ES route carrying the first indication to the first network device.

[0267] Alternatively, if Fig. 9 As shown, the second network device may further include:

[0268] The second receiving module 904 is configured to receive the second ES route sent by the first network device. The function of the second receiving module 904 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S402 in the above method embodiment.

[0269] The forwarding module 903 is configured to determine that the second network device and the first network device are load sharing devices for each other according to a second indication carried in the second ES route, wherein the second indication is the same as the first indication.

[0270] Optionally, the forwarding module 903 may be configured to determine, based on the second message satisfying a condition, that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

[0271] Optionally, the forwarding module 903 may also be used to forward the message to the third network device without load sharing with the first network device according to the obtained disabling instruction. The function of the forwarding module 903 may also refer to the relevant description of S410 in the above method embodiment.

[0272] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides a second network device. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to a first network device and a second network device, the second network device can send a first instruction to the first network device so as to forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner with the first network device. Compared with forwarding messages only by the DF device, forwarding messages by load-sharing the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0273] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of a controller provided in an embodiment of the present application. The controller can be applied to Figure 3 The message sending system shown in FIG. 1 can be used to implement the steps performed by the controller in the above embodiment. Fig.10 As shown, the controller may include:

[0274] The sending module 1001 is used to send a first indication to the first network device and a second indication to the second network device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device, and the second indication is used to indicate that the second network device is a load sharing device that forwards the second message to the third network device. The function of the sending module 1001 can be realized by referring to the relevant description of S701 and S702 in the above method embodiment.

[0275] Optionally, the first indication may be used to instruct the first network device to forward a first message that meets a first condition to the third network device, and the second indication may be used to instruct the second network device to forward a second message that meets a second condition to the third network device.

[0276] Alternatively, the sending module 1001 is further used to send a third instruction to the first network device and a fourth instruction to the second network device, wherein the third instruction is used to instruct the first network device to forward a first message that meets a first condition to the third network device, and the fourth instruction is used to instruct the second network device to forward a second message that meets a second condition to the third network device; wherein the first condition is different from the second condition. The functional implementation of the sending module 1001 can also refer to the relevant descriptions of S703 and S704 in the above method embodiment.

[0277] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a controller. In a scenario where a third network device is multi-homed to a first network device and a second network device, the controller can send instructions to the first network device and the second network device respectively to instruct the first network device and the second network device to forward messages to the third network device in a load-sharing manner. Compared to forwarding messages only by DF devices, forwarding messages by load-sharing between the first network device and the second network device can ensure that the loads of the first network device and the second network device are relatively balanced. In some possible specific application scenarios, it can also ensure that the loads of the boards in the third network device that are connected to the first network device and the second network device are also relatively balanced.

[0278] Technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, the specific working processes of the first network device, the second network device, the controller and each module described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0279] It should be understood that the first network device, the second network device and the controller provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD). The above-mentioned PLD can be a complex programmable logical device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL) or any combination thereof. The message sending method provided in the above-mentioned method embodiment can also be implemented by software. When the message sending method provided in the above-mentioned method embodiment is implemented by software, each module in the first network device, the second network device and the controller can also be a software module.

[0280] Fig.11 1 is a schematic diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device 1200 may be the first network device or the second network device in any of the above embodiments. The network device 1100 may be applied to Figure 1 , Figure 2 or Figure 3 In the system shown. Fig.11 As shown, the network device 1100 includes: a main control board 1110, an interface board 1130 and an interface board 1140. In the case of multiple interface boards, a switching network board (not shown in the figure) may be included, and the switching network board is used to complete data exchange between each interface board (interface board is also called line card or service board).

[0281] The main control board 1110 is used to complete functions such as system management, equipment maintenance, and protocol processing. The interface boards 1130 and 1140 are used to provide various service interfaces (for example, POS interface, GE interface, ATM interface, etc.) and realize message forwarding. The main control board 1110 mainly includes three types of functional units: system management control unit, system clock unit, and system maintenance unit. The main control board 1110, the interface board 1130, and the interface board 1140 are connected to the system backplane through the system bus to achieve intercommunication. The interface board 1130 includes one or more processors 1131. The processor 1131 is used to control and manage the interface board and communicate with the central processing unit 1111 on the main control board 1110, as well as to forward the message. The memory 1132 on the interface board 1130 is used to store the forwarding table items, and the processor 1131 forwards the message by searching the forwarding table items stored in the memory 1132.

[0282] The interface board 1130 includes one or more network interfaces 1133 for receiving messages sent by the previous hop node and sending processed messages to the next hop node according to the instruction of the processor 1131. The specific implementation process is not repeated here one by one. The specific functions of the processor 1131 are also not repeated here one by one.

[0283] It is understandable that Fig.11 As shown, this embodiment includes multiple interface boards and adopts a distributed forwarding mechanism. Under this mechanism, the operation on the interface board 1140 is basically similar to the operation on the interface board 1130, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated. In addition, it can be understood that Fig.11 The processor 1131 and / or 1141 in the interface board 1130 may be dedicated hardware or chips, such as a network processor or a dedicated integrated circuit to implement the above functions. This implementation is what is commonly referred to as a forwarding plane using dedicated hardware or chip processing. In another embodiment, the processor 1131 and / or 1141 may also be a general-purpose processor, such as a general-purpose CPU, to implement the above-described functions.

[0284] In addition, it should be understood that there may be one or more main control boards, and when there are multiple boards, they may include a main main control board and a backup main control board. There may be one or more interface boards. The stronger the data processing capability of the device, the more interface boards are provided. In the case of multiple interface boards, the multiple interface boards can communicate with each other through one or more switching network boards, and when there are multiple boards, load sharing redundant backup can be achieved together. Under a centralized forwarding architecture, the device may not require a switching network board, and the interface board assumes the processing function of the business data of the entire system. Under a distributed forwarding architecture, the device includes multiple interface boards, and data exchange between multiple interface boards can be achieved through the switching network board, providing large-capacity data exchange and processing capabilities. Therefore, the data access and processing capabilities of network devices with a distributed architecture are greater than those of devices with a centralized architecture. Which architecture to adopt depends on the specific networking deployment scenario, and no limitation is made here.

[0285] In a specific embodiment, the memory 1132 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compressed optical disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1132 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 1131 via a communication bus. The memory 1132 may also be integrated with the processor 1131.

[0286] The memory 1132 is used to store program codes, and the processor 1131 controls the execution to execute the message sending method provided in the above embodiment. The processor 1131 is used to execute the program codes stored in the memory 1132. The program codes may include one or more software modules. The one or more software modules may be the above Figure 8 or Fig. 9 Functional modules provided in the illustrated embodiment.

[0287] In a specific embodiment, the network interface 1133 may be a device using any transceiver for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc.

[0288] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device may be the first network device, the second network device or the controller in the above embodiment. Fig.12 , the device may include: a processor 1201, a memory 1202, a transceiver 1203 and a bus 1204. The bus 1204 is used to connect the processor 1201, the memory 1202 and the transceiver 1203. The communication connection with other devices can be realized through the transceiver 1203 (which can be wired or wireless). The memory 1202 stores a computer program, which is used to realize various application functions.

[0289] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1201 may be a CPU, and the processor 1201 may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), GPUs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0290] Memory 1202 may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory may be a ROM, a programmable read-only memory (programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable PROM, EPROM), an EEPROM or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double datadate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

[0291] In addition to the data bus, the bus 1204 may also include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, etc. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are labeled as the bus 1204 in the figure.

[0292] When the device is a first network device, the processor 1201 is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory 1202 , and the processor 1201 can implement the steps performed by the first network device in the above method embodiment by executing the computer program 12021 .

[0293] When the device is a second network device, the processor 1201 is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory 1202 , and the processor 1201 can implement the steps performed by the second network device in the above method embodiment by executing the computer program 12021 .

[0294] When the device is a controller, the processor 1201 is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory 1202 , and the processor 1201 can implement the steps performed by the controller in the above method embodiment by executing the computer program 12021 .

[0295] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored. The instructions are executed by a processor to implement the steps performed by the first network device, the second network device or the controller in the above method embodiment.

[0296] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer executes the steps performed by the first network device, the second network device or the controller in the above method embodiment.

[0297] The present application also provides a communication system. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the communication system may include a first network device 01, a second network device 02 and a third network device 03. The first network device 01 and the second network device 02 are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device 03. The third network device 03 is multi-homed and connected to the first network device 01 and the second network device 02. For example, the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be located in an EVPN, and the third network device 03 may be a device that accesses the EVPN. Among them, the first network device 01 may be as follows Figure 8 , Fig.11 or Fig.12 Device shown.

[0298] Optionally, the second network device 02 may be: Fig. 9 , Fig.11 or Fig.12 Alternatively, refer to Figure 3 The communication system may further include: a controller 04, which may be as follows Fig.10 or Fig.12 Device shown.

[0299] As an optional implementation, the third network device 03 may be a CE device for connecting to a user terminal, and the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be PE devices. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The third network device 03 may be a forwarding device 20 located in an access room or a forwarding device 30 located in an aggregation room, and the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may both be forwarding devices 60 located in an edge DC.

[0300] As another optional implementation, combining Figure 1 and Figure 2 The third network device 03 may be a BAS 70 or a service router connected to the BAS 70. The first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may be forwarding devices 60 located in a core computer room.

[0301] Optionally, the communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include at least one other network device, and the at least one other network device and the first network device 01 and the second network device 02 may be multi-homed devices of the third network device 03. That is, the number of network devices to which the third network device 03 multi-homedly accesses may be greater than or equal to 2.

[0302] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0303] The above is only an optional implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A message sending system, characterized in that: The system includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; The first network device is used for: Enabling a load sharing function, wherein the first network device does not perform designated forwarder DF election when the load sharing function is enabled, and when the first network device disables the load sharing function, the role of the DF device or non-DF device is restored; receiving a first message and a second message, and forwarding the first message to the third network device according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner; The second network device is used for: Enabling a load sharing function, wherein the second network device does not perform DF election when the load sharing function is enabled, and the second network device restores the role of a DF device or a non-DF device after disabling the load sharing function; The first message and the second message are received, and according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner, the second message is forwarded to the third network device.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network device, according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner, includes: the first network device determining that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner according to the first message satisfying a first condition; The second network device determines that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load balancing according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message under load balancing, including: the second network device determines that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message under load balancing according to the second message satisfying a second condition.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that The first message satisfies the first condition, including: a first target media access control MAC address of the first message is a MAC address that satisfies the third condition, and the first target MAC address is a source MAC address or a destination MAC address of the first message; The second message satisfies the second condition, including: the second target MAC address of the second message is a MAC address that satisfies the fourth condition, and the second target MAC address is the source MAC address or the destination MAC address of the second message; Among them, the third condition is different from the fourth condition.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that The third condition is that the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is that the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and i is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address; Alternatively, the third condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and n is not greater than the total number of bits in the MAC address.

5. The system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, and the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; The first target MAC address and the second target MAC address are both source MAC addresses.

6. The system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first network device and the second network device are both operator edge PE devices, and the third network device is a user edge CE device; The first target MAC address and the second target MAC address are both destination MAC addresses.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first network device is further used to obtain a first indication, enable the load sharing function according to the first indication, and determine that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device; The second network device is further used to obtain a second indication, enable the load sharing function according to the second indication, and determine that the second network device is a load sharing device that forwards the second message to the third network device.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that The first network device obtains the first indication, including: The first network device receives a first Ethernet segment ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device; The second network device obtaining the second indication includes: The second network device receives a second ES route carrying the second indication sent by the first network device, where the second indication is the same as the first indication.

9. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that The system further includes: a controller; The controller is configured to send the first indication to the first network device, and send the second indication to the second network device.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first network device is further configured to disable the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction; The second network device is further configured to disable the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction.

11. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first network device and the second network device are located in an Ethernet virtual private network EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

12. According to the system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the first message and the second message are broadcast messages, unknown unicast messages or multicast messages.

13. A message sending method, characterized in that: Applied to a message sending system, the message sending system includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device, and the method includes: The first network device enables a load sharing function, wherein the first network device does not perform DF election when the load sharing function is enabled, and when the first network device disables the load sharing function, the first network device restores the role of a DF device or a non-DF device; The first network device receives a first message and a second message; The first network device forwards the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner; The first network device does not forward the second message to the third network device according to the fact that the first network device is not a device that needs to forward the second message to the third network device in the load sharing mode; Among them, when the second network device enables the load sharing function, it is a device that needs to forward the second message to the third network device under the load sharing mode, and the second network device does not perform DF election when enabling the load sharing function. After disabling the load sharing function, the second network device restores the role of DF device or non-DF device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that Before the first network device receives the first message, the method includes: The first network device obtains a first indication, where the first indication is used to instruct the first network device to enable the load sharing function and to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards a first message to the third network device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first network device obtains the first indication, including: The first network device receives a first indication sent by the second network device; Alternatively, the first network device receives a first instruction sent by the controller; Alternatively, the first network device obtains a first configuration indication.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first network device receiving a first indication sent by the second network device includes: The first network device receives the first Ethernet segment ES route carrying the first indication sent by the second network device, so that the first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first network device determines that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other, including: The first network device determines, according to the fact that the first indication in the first ES route is the same as the second indication configured in the first network device, that the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices for each other.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device sends a second ES route carrying a second indication to the second network device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The first network device forwarding the first message to the third network device on the access side according to the first network device being a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner includes: The first network device determines, according to the first message satisfying a first condition, that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner; The first network device forwards the first message to the third network device on the access side.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The first message satisfies the first condition including: a target media access control MAC address of the first message satisfies a third condition, and the target MAC address is a source MAC address or a destination MAC address of the first message.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that Before the first network device determines that the first network device is a device that needs to forward the first message in a load sharing manner according to the first message satisfying the first condition, the method further includes: The first network device determines that, among the multiple MAC addresses obtained, a difference between the number of MAC addresses that meet the third condition and the number of MAC addresses that meet the fourth condition is less than a difference threshold; The fourth condition is used to instruct the second network device to determine the message to be forwarded under the load sharing mode according to the fourth condition, and the fourth condition is different from the third condition.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The third condition is that the i-th bit of the MAC address is one of an odd number and an even number, and the fourth condition is that the i-th bit of the MAC address is the other of an odd number and an even number, wherein i is a positive integer and i is not greater than the total number of bits of the MAC address; Alternatively, the third condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a first numerical range, and the fourth condition is: the value of the n-bit component in the MAC address is within a second numerical range, and the second numerical range is different from the first numerical range, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and n is not greater than the total number of bits in the MAC address.

23. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, and the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; The target MAC address is the source MAC address.

24. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first network device and the second network device are both operator edge PE devices, and the third network device is a user edge CE device; The target MAC address is the destination MAC address.

25. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first network device disables the load sharing function according to the obtained disabling instruction.

26. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The first message is a broadcast message, an unknown unicast message or a multicast message.

27. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The first network device and the second network device are located in an Ethernet virtual private network EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

28. A message sending method, characterized in that: Applied to a message sending system, the message sending system includes a first network device, a second network device and a third network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are load sharing devices when forwarding messages to the third network device, and the third network device is multi-homed to the first network device and the second network device; the method includes: The second network device enables a load sharing function, wherein the second network device does not perform DF election when the load sharing function is enabled, and the second network device restores the role of a DF device or a non-DF device after disabling the load sharing function; The second network device sends a first indication to the first network device, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network device is a load sharing device that forwards the first message to the third network device when the load sharing function is enabled, and the first network device does not perform DF election when the load sharing function is enabled, and the first network device restores the role of the DF device or the non-DF device after disabling the load sharing function; The second network device receives a second message; The second network device forwards the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the fact that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The second network device sending the first indication to the first network device includes: the second network device sending a first Ethernet segment ES route carrying the first indication to the first network device.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second network device receives a second ES route sent by the first network device; The second network device determines, according to a second indication carried in the second ES route, that the second network device and the first network device are load sharing devices for each other, and the second indication is the same as the first indication.

31. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The second network device forwarding the second message to the third network device on the access side according to the second network device being a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner includes: The second network device determines, according to the second message satisfying a condition, that the second network device is a device that needs to forward the second message in a load sharing manner; The second network device forwards the second message to the third network device on the access side.

32. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The first network device and the second network device are located in an Ethernet virtual private network EVPN, and the third network device is a device accessing the EVPN.

33. A network device, characterized in that: The network device includes a memory and a processor; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the network device performs the method according to any one of claims 13 to 27.

34. A network device, characterized in that: The network device includes a memory and a processor; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the network device performs the method according to any one of claims 28 to 32.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: The system comprises: a first network device, a second network device and a third network device; The third network device is multi-homedly connected to the first network device and the second network device, and the first network device is the network device as described in claim 33.

36. The system according to claim 35, characterized in that The second network device is the network device according to claim 34; Alternatively, the system further includes: a controller, configured to send a first indication to the first network device, and send a second indication to the second network device.

37. The system according to claim 35 or 36, characterized in that The first network device and the second network device are both forwarding devices, and the third network device is a broadband access server, or a forwarding device connected to a broadband access server; Alternatively, the first network device and the second network device are both provider edge PE devices, and the third network device is a user edge CE device.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and the instructions are executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 13 to 32.

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