A multicast joining method and related device

Abstract

The application provides a multicast joining method and related devices, which are used for reducing the occurrence of transmission interruption in an automatic multicast tunneling (AMT) network, so as to improve network stability. In the method, a first network device receives a first packet from a second network device, the first packet being used for requesting to join the AMT network, and the first packet comprising an address of the second network device; and the first network device sends a redirection packet to a third network device, the redirection packet being used for indicating to process a request for joining the AMT network, wherein the redirection packet comprises the address of the second network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a multicast joining method and related equipment. Background Technology

[0002] During multicast communication, some intermediate nodes between the multicast source and the receiver may lack multicast capability, which can easily lead to transmission interruptions. To address this issue, Automatic Multicast Tunneling (AMT) technology has been proposed to solve this transmission interruption problem.

[0003] Currently, in AMT networks, devices connected to multicast sources are called relay devices, and devices connected to information receivers are called gateway devices. Relay devices and gateway devices are connected through an intermediate network lacking multicast capabilities. In other words, the relay device can be considered the root node of the intermediate network, and the gateway device can be considered a leaf node. Before transmitting multicast information, the gateway device needs to initiate a request to join the AMT network, which is then forwarded by the intermediate network to the relay device with the nearest routing path. Generally, for a relay device in an AMT network, upon receiving a request from a gateway device, it will establish a connection with that gateway device and transmit multicast information from the multicast source to that gateway device.

[0004] However, in the above implementation process, the relay device that receives the request may not necessarily be able to support the transmission of multicast information from the gateway device. For example, if the relay device has partial functional failure or is overloaded, it may easily lead to transmission interruption and affect the stability of the network. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a multicast joining method and related equipment to reduce transmission interruptions in AMT networks and improve network stability.

[0006] This application provides a multicast joining method applied to an AMT network. The method is executed by a first network device, or by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) of the first network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first network device. In this first aspect and its possible implementations, the multicast joining method is described as being executed by a first network device, where the first network device is a router, switch, virtual machine, or similar device. In this method, the first network device receives a first message from a second network device, the first message being a request to join the AMT network, and the first message including the address of the second network device; the first network device then sends a redirection message to a third network device, the redirection message indicating that the request to join the AMT network should be processed, and the redirection message including the address of the second network device.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, after receiving a first message from a second network device requesting to join the AMT network, the first network device sends a redirection message to a third network device instructing the third network device to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device to process the second network device's request to join the AMT network based on the redirection message. Therefore, compared to the previous method where the first network device processes the request after receiving it, this method, where the third network device processes the request, reduces the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0008] It should be understood that the number of third network devices is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The number of third network devices can be 1 or an integer greater than 1, and is not limited here.

[0009] In addition, "the address of the second network device" may include the media access control (MAC) address of the second network device, the internet protocol (IP) address of the second network device, or other addresses of the second network device, which are not limited here.

[0010] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device includes: the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device when the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that its processing capacity has reached a threshold, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device to process the request from the second network device to join the AMT network based on the redirection message. This avoids the situation where the first network device's processing load is too heavy, leading to network instability.

[0012] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device includes: the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device.

[0013] Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device, whose attributes match those of the second network device, to process the request for the second network device to join the AMT network. Therefore, when multiple network devices (including the first network device and the third network device, etc.) exist in the AMT network, the load balancing among these multiple network devices is divided based on their different attributes, achieving a certain degree of load balancing and reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single network device.

[0014] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device includes: the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device, and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0015] Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, and the first network device determines that its processing capacity has reached a threshold, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device, whose attributes match those of the second network device, to process the request for the second network device to join the AMT network. Therefore, on the one hand, this avoids network instability caused by excessive processing load on the first network device; on the other hand, it allows for load balancing among multiple network devices (including the first and third network devices) in the AMT network by differentiating their attributes, thus reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single network device.

[0016] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes parity corresponding to the address of the second network device; the attribute corresponding to the first network device includes an attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0017] Based on the above technical solution, the attributes of the second network device can be reflected by the parity of the address of the second network device. Since the first message received by the first network device contains the address of the second network device, the first network device can clearly determine the attributes of the second network device based on the first message, which is easy to implement.

[0018] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, "parity of the address" can specifically indicate that if the last bit (or the first, second, etc.) of the address is odd, the address is of the "odd" attribute; and if the last bit (or the first, second, etc.) of the address is even, the address is of the "even" attribute. The "attribute corresponding to this parity" can be an attribute pre-determined through negotiation among multiple network devices in the AMT network (including the first network device and the third network device, etc.), or it can be an attribute pre-configured at the factory by multiple network devices in the AMT network, or it can be an attribute determined by multiple network devices in the AMT network based on their own addresses, or it can be an attribute determined through other means; no limitation is made here.

[0019] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the attributes corresponding to the second network device may also include other attributes, such as the parity of the value corresponding to the sending time of the first message sent by the second network device, the parity of the value corresponding to the receiving time of the first message sent by the second network device being received by the first network device, the size attribute of the last bit (or the first bit, the second bit...) in the address of the second network device (for example, the value greater than or equal to 5 corresponds to the "large" attribute, and the value less than 5 corresponds to the "small" attribute), or other implementation methods, which are not limited here.

[0020] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, before the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, the method further includes: the first network device determining that the third network device is routable, and executing the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device.

[0021] Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that the third network device is routable, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device to ensure that after the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, the third network device can process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0022] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the situation where the third network device is unreachable includes at least one of the following: a third network device failure, a routing link failure between the third network device and the second network device, a routing link failure between the third network device and the first network device, or other situations.

[0023] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device determining that the third network device is routable includes: the first network device sending a keepalive message and receiving a response to the keepalive message within a first time period.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, if the first network device receives a response to the keep-alive message within a first time period after sending the keep-alive message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device is able to process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0025] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device determining whether the third network device is routablely reachable includes: the first network device sending a network quality analysis (NQA) probe message and receiving a response to the NQA probe message within a second time period.

[0026] Based on the above technical solution, if the first network device receives a response to the NQA probe message within a first time period after sending the NQA probe message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device can handle the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0027] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device determining that the third network device is routable includes: the first network device sending a bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) message and receiving a response to the BFD message within a third time period.

[0028] Based on the above technical solution, if the first network device receives a response to the BFD message within a first time period after sending the BFD message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device can handle the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0029] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, after the first network device receives the first message from the second network device, the method further includes: after a fourth time period, the first network device sends a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the first network device.

[0030] Based on the above technical solution, after a fourth time interval, the first network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device. This ensures that even if the third network device is unable to process the request for the second network device to join the AMT network (e.g., the third network device is overloaded, malfunctions, or is unreachable), the second network device can still join the AMT network through the first network device, further improving network stability.

[0031] It should be noted that the duration values ​​corresponding to the first, second, third, and fourth durations involved in this application can be determined based on factory pre-configuration, user input commands, or other methods, which are not limited here. Furthermore, the duration values ​​corresponding to the first, second, third, and fourth durations involved in this application can all be implemented independently; different durations may or may not be related, which is not limited here.

[0032] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, since the destination address of the first message is the unicast address (or anycast address) of the first network device, if the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device (or the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device), it ensures that the routing path between the third network device and the second network device is connected. In other words, after the first network device sends a redirect message to the third network device to indicate the processing of the request to join the AMT network, it ensures that the third network device can subsequently communicate with the second network device based on the connected routing path.

[0034] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0035] It should be understood that the second network device is the sender of the first message in the AMT network (or the receiver of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the second network device can be the gateway device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the second network device can also have other names, which are not limited in this application. Similarly, the first network device (or the third network device) is the receiver of the first message in the AMT network device (or the sender of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the first network device (or the third network device) can be the relay device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the first network device (or the third network device) can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0036] Similarly, the first message is a Discovery message in the AMT network, and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network is an Advertisement message in the AMT network. With the development of AMT network technology, the first message (and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network) may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0037] A second aspect of this application provides a multicast joining method applied to an AMT network. This method is executed by a second network device, or by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) within the second network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second network device. In this second aspect and its possible implementations, the multicast joining method being executed by a second network device is described as an example. The second network device can be a router, switch, virtual machine, home gateway device, optical line terminal (OLT) device, or terminal entity. In this method, the second network device sends a first message indicating a request to join the AMT network. The first message includes the address information of the second network device. The second network device receives n response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, where n is greater than or equal to 1.

[0038] Based on the above technical solution, after sending a first message indicating a request to join the AMT network, the second network device receives n response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network. That is, the second network device receives one or more response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network. When n is greater than 1, meaning the n response messages are multiple response messages, the second network device can join the AMT network through multiple network devices based on these multiple response messages. Therefore, compared to the implementation method where a single network device handles the request to join the AMT network, which is prone to AMT network transmission interruptions due to a single network device failure, the success rate of the second network device joining the AMT network is improved because it can join through multiple network devices based on these multiple response messages, thus enhancing network stability.

[0039] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device sending a first request message, wherein the first request message corresponds to a first response message, and the first response message is the first response message received among the n response messages.

[0040] Based on the above technical solution, the second network device can also send a first request message corresponding to the first response message received first among the n response messages. When the value of n is greater than 1, that is, when the n response messages are multiple response messages, the second network device can send a first request message corresponding to the first response message received first among the multiple response messages, so as to quickly join the multicast network based on the first request message and improve communication efficiency.

[0041] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, after the second network device sends the first request message, the method further includes: when the second network device determines that it has not received a response message to the first request message after a preset time threshold, the second network device sends a second request message, the second request message corresponding to other response messages among the plurality of response messages besides the first response message.

[0042] Based on the above technical solution, when the second network device determines that it has not received a response message to the first request message after a preset time threshold, the second network device sends other response messages corresponding to the multiple response messages other than the first response message. This allows the second network device to join the AMT network based on other response messages even if it cannot join the AMT network based on the first request message, thereby improving the success rate of the second network device joining the AMT network.

[0043] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a device in the AMT network that serves as a leaf.

[0044] It should be understood that the second network device is the sender of the first message in the AMT network (or the receiver of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the second network device can be the gateway device defined in the current AMT network. With the development of AMT network technology, the second network device can also be other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0045] Similarly, the first message is a Discovery message in the AMT network, and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network is an Advertisement message in the AMT network. With the development of AMT network technology, the first message (and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network) may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0046] A third aspect of this application provides a multicast joining method applied to an AMT network. This method is executed by a third network device, or by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) within the third network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the third network device. In this third aspect and its possible implementations, the multicast joining method is described as being executed by a third network device, where the third network device is a router, switch, virtual machine, or similar device. In this method, the third network device receives a redirection message from a first network device, which indicates the processing of a request to join the AMT network. The redirection message includes the address of a second network device. The third network device then sends a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the third network device.

[0047] Based on the above technical solution, after the third network device receives a redirection message from the first network device indicating a request to join the AMT network, the third network device processes the second network device's request to join the AMT network based on the redirection message. That is, the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device. Therefore, compared to the implementation method where the first network device processes the request after receiving it, this method, where the third network device processes the request, reduces the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0048] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, before the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device, the method includes: the third network device determining that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

[0049] Based on the above technical solution, when the third network device determines that its attributes match those of the second network device, the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device, thereby processing the request. Thus, when multiple network devices (including the first and third network devices, etc.) exist in the AMT network, the load balancing among these multiple network devices is divided based on their different attributes, achieving a certain degree of load balancing and reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single network device.

[0050] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attribute corresponding to the third network device includes the attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0051] Based on the above technical solution, the attributes of the second network device can be reflected by the parity of the address of the second network device. Since the redirection message received by the third network device contains the address of the second network device, the first network device can clearly determine the attributes of the second network device based on the first message, which is easy to implement.

[0052] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the unicast address of the third network device is the same as the unicast address of the first network device; or, the anycast address of the third network device is the same as the anycast address of the first network device.

[0053] Based on the above technical solution, since the destination address of the first message sent by the second network device is the unicast address (or anycast address) of the first network device, and the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device (or the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device), it is ensured that the routing path between the third network device and the second network device is connected. In other words, after the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to indicate the processing of the request to join the AMT network, it is ensured that the third network device can subsequently communicate with the second network device based on the connected routing path.

[0054] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0055] It should be understood that the second network device is the sender of the first message in the AMT network (or the receiver of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the second network device can be the gateway device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the second network device can also have other names, which are not limited in this application. Similarly, the first network device (or the third network device) is the receiver of the first message in the AMT network device (or the sender of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the first network device (or the third network device) can be the relay device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the first network device (or the third network device) can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0056] Similarly, the first message is a Discovery message in the AMT network, and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network is an Advertisement message in the AMT network. With the development of AMT network technology, the first message (and the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network) may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0057] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication apparatus that can implement the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the methods described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. For example, the apparatus can be a first network device, or it can be a component of the first network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or it can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first network device.

[0058] The device includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit;

[0059] The receiving unit is used to receive a first message from a second network device, the first message being used to request the AMT network, and the first message including the address of the second network device;

[0060] The sending unit is used to send a redirection message to a third network device, the redirection message being used to instruct the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device.

[0061] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0062] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is configured to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device.

[0063] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0064] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes parity corresponding to the address of the second network device; the attribute corresponding to the first network device includes an attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0065] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the apparatus further includes a processing unit; the sending unit is further configured to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing unit determines that the third network device is routable.

[0066] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send a keep-alive message; the processing unit is configured to determine that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit receives a response to the keep-alive message within a first time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

[0067] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send an NQA probe message, and the processing unit is configured to determine that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit receives a response to the NQA message within a second time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

[0068] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send a BFD message, and the processing unit determines that the third network device is routable by: determining that the third network device is routable when the receiving unit receives a response to the BFD message within a third time period.

[0069] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device after a fourth duration threshold, the response message including the address of the first network device.

[0070] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device.

[0071] In one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0072] In the fourth aspect of the embodiments of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to execute the steps executed in various possible implementations of the first aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0073] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication apparatus that can implement the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the methods described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. For example, the apparatus can be a second network device, or it can be a component of the second network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or it can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second network device.

[0074] The device includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit;

[0075] The sending unit is used to send a first message, which indicates a request to join the AMT network. The first message includes the address information of the second network device. The receiving unit is used to receive n response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, where n is greater than or equal to 1.

[0076] In one possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send a first request message, wherein the first request message corresponds to a first response message, and the first response message is the first response message received among the n response messages.

[0077] In one possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the apparatus further includes a processing unit, which is configured to send a second request message when the processing unit determines that no response message to the first request message has been received after a preset time threshold. The second request message corresponds to other response messages among the plurality of response messages besides the first response message.

[0078] In one possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a device in the AMT network that serves as a leaf.

[0079] In the fifth aspect of the embodiments of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to execute the steps executed in various possible implementations of the second aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0080] A sixth aspect of this application provides a communication apparatus that can implement the methods of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the methods described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. For example, the apparatus can be a third network device, or it can be a component of a third network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or it can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the third network device.

[0081] The device includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit;

[0082] The receiving unit is used to receive a redirection message from the first network device, the redirection message being used to indicate the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device;

[0083] The sending unit is used to send a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the third network device.

[0084] In one possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the apparatus further includes a processing unit; the sending unit is further configured to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device when the processing unit determines that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

[0085] In one possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attribute corresponding to the third network device includes the attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0086] In one possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the unicast address of the third network device is the same as the unicast address of the first network device; or, the anycast address of the third network device is the same as the anycast address of the first network device.

[0087] In one possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0088] In the sixth aspect of the embodiments of this application, the constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to execute the steps performed in various possible implementations of the third aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0089] A seventh aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store programs or instructions.

[0090] The at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0091] An eighth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store programs or instructions.

[0092] The at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0093] A ninth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store programs or instructions.

[0094] The at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the foregoing third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0095] A tenth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the logic circuit is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the logic circuit is configured to perform the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0096] The eleventh aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-executable instructions; when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the processor executes the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the processor executes the method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0097] The twelfth aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, performs the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, performs the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0098] The thirteenth aspect of this application provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions involved in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions involved in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions involved in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0099] In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0100] The fourteenth aspect of this application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the fourth aspect and the communication device of the sixth aspect described above.

[0101] Optionally, the communication system also includes the communication device described in the fifth aspect above.

[0102] The fifteenth aspect of this application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the seventh aspect and the communication device of the ninth aspect described above.

[0103] Optionally, the communication system also includes the communication device described in the eighth aspect above.

[0104] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects four through fifteen can be found in the technical effects of the different implementation methods in aspects one through three above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0105] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0106] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the application scenario of this application;

[0107] Figure 2 This is another illustration of the application scenario of this application;

[0108] Figure 3 This is another illustration of the application scenario of this application;

[0109] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the multicast joining method provided in this application;

[0110] Figure 5 This is another illustration of the application scenario of this application;

[0111] Figure 6a A schematic diagram of the message format provided in this application;

[0112] Figure 6b Another schematic diagram of the message format provided in this application;

[0113] Figure 7 This is another illustration of the application scenario of this application;

[0114] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application;

[0115] Figure 9 Another schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application;

[0116] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the communication system provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0117] The technical solutions of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0118] The terms "system" and "network" in this application embodiment are used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in this application embodiment are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority, or importance of multiple objects.

[0119] It should be noted that, in this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0120] See Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the system includes multiple customer edge (CE) devices, such as customer edge device 101 and customer edge device 102, as well as other possible customer edge devices; the system also includes multiple network devices, such as network device 103, network device 104 and network device 105, as well as other possible network devices.

[0121] exist Figure 1 In this configuration, user edge device 101 or user edge device 102 is connected to one or more terminal devices, which join the network through the CE device. A terminal device, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), or simply a terminal, is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, or a chip embedded within that device, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. Currently, examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, desktop computers, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and 5G-residential gateways (5G-RG) that support 5G integration.

[0122] Optional, in Figure 1In the diagram, network devices 103, 104, and 105 are devices such as routers, switches, and virtual machines.

[0123] It should be noted that, Figure 1 The connection between the network devices shown and the user edge devices (e.g., user edge device 101 and network device 103, or user edge device 102 and network device 104) can be a wired / wireless connection, and this connection can also be relayed through joining devices. For example, other devices may include radio access network (RAN) nodes (or devices), also known as base stations. Currently, some examples of RAN devices include: generation Node B (gNodeB), transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B (HNB)), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc., in 5G communication systems.

[0124] For example, in Figure 1 In this system, the network device connected to the user edge device is a provider edge (PE) device. The PE device is used to transmit messages between user edge device 101 and user edge device 102. For example, in... Figure 1 In this configuration, network devices 103 and 104 are both PE (Provider Edge) devices. User edge device 101 is connected to carrier edge device 103, and user edge device 102 is connected to carrier edge device 104. Other network devices include carrier (provider, provider) devices, such as network device 105. Carrier edge devices 103 and 104 are connected through one or more carrier (provider, provider) devices 105.

[0125] exist Figure 1In the communication system shown, different devices (including user edge device 101, user edge device 102, network device 103, network device 104, and network device 105, etc.) can support multiple communication modes, such as unicast, multicast, or broadcast. This application mainly relates to the multicast communication mode between different devices.

[0126] Multicast, also known as multi-target broadcast, refers to a communication method in a network where information is transmitted between a sender and multiple receivers. The sender can also be called the multicast source. Multicast is widely used in network services such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), real-time data transmission, and multimedia conferencing. Compared to unicast, it can more effectively save network bandwidth and reduce network load, but it requires all network data communication equipment to support multicast transmission.

[0127] In real-world networks, due to service provider policies or network restrictions, some intermediate nodes between the information sender and receiver may lack multicast capability, preventing the interruption of multicast information transmission. For example, such as... Figure 2 In the scenario shown, the devices and networks in a network lacking multicast capability cannot send the corresponding multicast messages from the source to the receiver using traditional multicast communication.

[0128] Request for comments (RFC) 7450 defines an AMT (Advanced Multicast Media) technology designed to address the aforementioned issues. The essence of an AMT network is to traverse multicast information through devices and networks lacking multicast capability via unicast forwarding, requiring little or no modification to existing network infrastructure. RFC 7450 also defines roles such as relay (i.e., the leaf node of the multicast network connected to the multicast source) and gateway (i.e., the device connected to the multicast receiving terminal). The relay device and the gateway device are connected through an intermediate network lacking multicast capability; the relay device can be called the root node of the intermediate network, and the gateway device can be called the leaf node of that intermediate network.

[0129] For example, such as Figure 2As shown, the main task of the AMT network is to encapsulate multicast information using AMT and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), enabling interconnection between the relay and gateway devices even when the intermediate network domains do not support multicast functionality. Specifically, when multicast information is forwarded from the multicast source to the relay device, the relay device encapsulates the multicast information into IP / UDP unicast packets as needed and forwards them to the corresponding gateway device that needs this multicast information. The gateway device then decapsulates the packets, removes the IP / UDP unicast headers, and continues multicast forwarding, ensuring that the multicast receiver receives the multicast information.

[0130] The implementation process of an AMT network includes a relay discovery phase. In this phase, the gateway device "discovers" (or searches for) the nearest relay device in the corresponding network segment by sending a relaydiscovery message carrying an anycast address, and uses a randomly generated nonce to ensure subsequent verification. Upon receiving the message, the relay device sends a relay advertisement message to the gateway device, informing it of its unicast address. After this phase, the gateway device confirms the relay device it needs to interact with and its unicast address, and can subsequently receive multicast information based on that unicast address. In other words, an AMT network may contain multiple relay devices. When a relay device receives a request from a gateway device, it will establish a connection with that gateway device and transmit multicast information to it.

[0131] As can be seen from the above implementation process, the technical essence of AMT networks is to convert multicast forwarding into unicast forwarding to solve the problem of traversing networks or devices that do not support multicast. This inherently leads to performance loss; that is, when there are multiple multicast receivers, the relay device faces significant forwarding pressure. To address this issue, the current protocol standard RFC7450 lacks consideration for the selection of relay devices and load balancing.

[0132] As described in RFC 7450 above, in an AMT deployment scenario, the process of a gateway device discovering relay devices primarily uses anycast addresses to send the gateway's first discovery message to find the relay in the corresponding address domain. Essentially, the gateway device's discovery message is sent to the relay device with the closest (routing) distance, but this relay device may not be the most suitable one. In other words, the relay device receiving the discovery message is not necessarily able to support the transmission of multicast information from the gateway device. Several examples will illustrate this below.

[0133] (1) If the relay device receiving the discover message has a heavy traffic load, the performance stability of the relay device cannot be guaranteed. For example... Figure 3 In the scenario shown, an AMT network typically includes at least two relay devices (e.g., Figure 3 In scenarios with heavy traffic and high forwarding demands, relay devices (such as "Relay1," "Relay2," and "Relay3") may be the closest nodes to multiple gateway devices. However, this relay device may already be handling too many forwarding tasks from gateway devices, while other relay nodes (such as "Relay2" and "Relay3") may have relatively lighter loads but cannot handle more traffic due to their design. Therefore, excessive load on a single relay device can affect forwarding performance and cause network congestion. Furthermore, when relying on a single relay device, the instability of that single relay device's performance can directly impact a large number of services.

[0134] Therefore, for the "Relay1" device, if the "Relay1" device is already under heavy load, the "Relay1" device may not be able to support the transmission of multicast information from other gateway devices.

[0135] (2) When routes for two or more relay devices may be equivalent in the intermediate network, it is impossible to determine the paired relay device and gateway device. For example, Figure 3In the scenario shown, if "Relay1" and "Relay2" use the same anycast address, and the distance between these two devices is determined by the intermediate network, which may be equivalent for the gateway device, then the gateway device cannot determine whether to send a discovery message to "Relay1" or "Relay2" when sending a discovery message to find the paired relay device. In other words, in this scenario, there is a lack of corresponding mechanisms and rules to guide the gateway device in discovering the appropriate relay device, which may lead to network deployment chaos.

[0136] (3) If a node of a relay device is damaged, the relay device may not be able to forward multicast information to the gateway device after receiving the discovery message from the gateway device. In this case, the corresponding gateway device will experience service interruption, resulting in service instability.

[0137] In summary, in the current implementation of AMT networks, the gateway device relies on anycast addresses to find the nearest relay device as the forwarding node for multicast information. However, this relay device may not be able to support the transmission of multicast information from the gateway device, which can easily lead to transmission interruptions and affect network stability.

[0138] To this end, this application provides a multicast joining method and related equipment to reduce transmission interruptions in AMT networks and improve network stability.

[0139] Please see Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a multicast joining method 100 provided in this application, which includes the following steps.

[0140] S101. The second network device sends the first message.

[0141] In this embodiment, the second network device sends a first message in step S101, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the first message in step S101. The first message is used to request to join the AMT network, and it includes the address of the second network device.

[0142] It should be noted that the "address of the second network device" involved in this application may include the media access control (MAC) address of the second network device, the internet protocol (IP) address of the second network device, or other addresses of the second network device, which are not limited here.

[0143] S102. The first network device sends a redirection message.

[0144] In this embodiment, after receiving the first message in step S101, the first network device generates a redirection message based on the first message. In step S102, the first network device sends the redirection message, and correspondingly, the third network device receives the redirection message in step S102. The redirection message is used to indicate the processing of a request to join the AMT network, and the redirection message includes the address of the second network device.

[0145] It should be understood that the number of third network devices is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The number of third network devices can be 1 or an integer greater than 1, and is not limited here.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0147] It should be understood that the second network device is the sender of the first message in the AMT network (or the receiver of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the second network device can be the gateway device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the second network device can also have other names, which are not limited in this application. Similarly, the first network device (or the third network device) is the receiver of the first message in the AMT network device (or the sender of the response message in the AMT network). The name of the first network device (or the third network device) can be the relay device defined in the current AMT network. As AMT network technology develops, the first network device (or the third network device) can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0148] In one implementation example, the networking method of the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device can be achieved through... Figure 5 Implemented as shown.

[0149] exist Figure 5 In this context, "Relay 1 / Relay 2 / ... / Relay n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 2)" represents n relay devices, and the domain support formed by these n relay devices will come from a multicast source (i.e., Figure 5The system routes and forwards multicast data packets from the "Source" in the header. The first and third network devices are two different relay devices in "Relay1 / Relay2 / ... / Relayn". For example, the first and third network devices can be routers, switches, virtual machines, etc.

[0150] "Gateway 1 / Gateway 2 / ... / Gateway m (m is an integer greater than or equal to 2)" represents m gateway devices, and the domain composed of these m gateway devices is responsible for decapsulating unicast traffic into multicast traffic and sending it to the corresponding multicast receiver (i.e., Figure 5 (Referring to the "Receiver" in the context). The second network device is any one of the m gateway devices. For example, the second network device can be a router, switch, virtual machine, home gateway device, OLT device, or terminal entity.

[0151] In addition, the domains in the intermediate path between relay devices (including “Relay1 / Relay2 / … / Relay n”) and gateway devices (including “Gateway1 / Gateway 2 / … / Gateway m”) do not support multicast capabilities by default. Multicast traffic is encapsulated into unicast traffic by the relay and sent to the gateway device through this segment.

[0152] Optionally, Figure 5 In the implementation shown, it is also necessary to configure the parity group based on the parity attribute of the relay device's own MAC address (or by determining the parity attribute based on user input commands, or by other methods).

[0153] Optionally, Figure 5 The implementation shown also requires configuring a keep-alive mechanism between relay devices, i.e., configuring BFD, NQA, etc. to ensure that other relay devices can be detected in a timely manner as to whether they are reachable by route.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device. Specifically, since the destination address of the first message is the unicast address (or anycast address) of the first network device, ensuring that the routing path between the third network device and the second network device is connected is ensured when the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device (or the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device). In other words, after the first network device sends a redirect message to the third network device to indicate the processing of the request to join the AMT network, it ensures that the third network device can subsequently communicate with the second network device based on the connected routing path.

[0155] In one possible implementation, after receiving the first message sent by the second network device in step S101, the first network device can determine that the first network device is the relay device (or root node) closest to the second network device. In step S102, the first network device can generate a redirection message based on the first message, that is, the first network device reconstructs the first message into a new AMT redirection message and sends it to the third network device. This redirection message contains all the key data in the first message and can play the role of the first message. In other words, the redirection message sent by the first network device in step S102 is used to instruct the third network device to process the request sent by the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0156] For example, the following will be based on Figure 6a and Figure 6b The example shown illustrates the first message received by the first network device in step S101 and the redirection message sent by the first network device in step S102.

[0157] like Figure 6a As shown, the redirect message includes the following fields:

[0158] Version (denoted as V): The default value of V is 0, which is used to indicate the version of the AMT protocol;

[0159] Message Type (Type): The value of Type is 1; it is used to indicate the type of AMT message, so that after the first network device receives a message of this type, it determines that the message is a discovery message based on "Type=1";

[0160] Reserved: Reserved fields;

[0161] Discovery Nonce: Used for verification.

[0162] like Figure 6b As shown, the redirect message includes the following fields:

[0163] Version (denoted as V): The default value of V is 0, which is used to indicate the version of the AMT protocol;

[0164] Message Type: The value of Type can be any value other than 0-7, for example... Figure 6b The value shown is 8; it is used to indicate the AMT message type, so that when other network devices (such as third network devices) receive this type of message, they can determine that the message is an AMT redirection message based on "Type=8";

[0165] Source UDP Port: Indicates the UDP port number on the gateway device (e.g., a second network device) used to receive responses from the relay device;

[0166] Reserved: Reserved fields;

[0167] Source IP Address: The IP address of the interface on the gateway device (e.g., a second network device) used to receive responses from the relay device;

[0168] Discovery Nonce: Used for verification.

[0169] based on Figure 6a and Figure 6b As shown in the implementation, compared with the first message, this redirection message adds at least two fields: the source UDP port number and the source IP address, to indicate the address of the second network device; so that the subsequent third network device can process the request for the second network device to join the AMT network based on the address of the second network device.

[0170] It should be understood that this application relates to Figures 6a to 6b In the frame format shown, the values ​​of the number of bytes (or bits) for different fields and the order of different fields are not limited. Figures 6a to 6b The values ​​of the number of bytes (or bits) for different fields in the frame format shown, and the order of the different fields, are merely an implementation example. Figures 6a to 6b The number of bytes (or bits) for different fields in the frame format shown can also take other values. Figures 6a to 6b The order of the different fields in the frame format shown can also be other field orders; no restriction is imposed here. Furthermore, Figures 6a to 6b Each field in the frame format shown can be implemented independently.

[0171] In one possible implementation, during the implementation of step S102, the first network device can trigger the sending of the redirection message to the third network device based on various implementation methods, which will be described below.

[0172] In the first implementation method, the process of the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device in step S102 includes: when the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

[0173] Specifically, when the first network device determines that its processing capacity has reached a threshold, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device to process the request from the second network device to join the AMT network based on the redirection message. This avoids the situation where the first network device's processing load is too heavy, leading to network instability.

[0174] For example, after the first network device receives the first message sent by the second network device in step S101, the first network device can determine that the first network device is the relay device (or root node) closest to the second network device; thereafter, the first network device can determine whether the processing capacity of the first network device reaches the threshold. If so, the first network device generates a redirection message based on the first message and sends the redirection message to the third network device in step S102.

[0175] Optionally, when the first network device determines that its processing capacity has not reached the threshold, the first network device may not execute the implementation process of step S102, but instead send a response message of the first message to the second network device, so that the second network device can join the AMT network based on the response message of the first message.

[0176] It should be understood that the processing capacity of the first network device can be represented by various parameters, such as CPU utilization and port bandwidth utilization, which are not limited here. Furthermore, the first network device can determine this "threshold" in various ways, such as by pre-configuring the threshold at the factory, determining the threshold based on user input commands, determining the threshold based on multicast source indication information from the AMT network, or determining the threshold through other methods, which are not limited here.

[0177] In the second implementation method, the process of the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device in step S102 includes: when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

[0178] Specifically, when the first network device determines that the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device, whose attributes match those of the second network device, to process the request. Thus, in an AMT network with multiple network devices (including the first and third network devices, etc.), the load balancing among these devices is achieved to some extent by differentiating their attributes, reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single device.

[0179] For example, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes the parity of the address of the second network device; the attribute corresponding to the first network device includes the attribute corresponding to the parity. Specifically, the attribute corresponding to the second network device can be reflected by the parity of the address of the second network device. Since the first message received by the first network device contains the address of the second network device, the first network device can easily determine the attribute corresponding to the second network device based on the first message.

[0180] As an implementation example, such as Figure 7 The implementation example shown, for relay devices in an AMT network, includes a first network device as a "relay-odd device" and a third network device as a "relay-even device"; the implementation process of the first network device may include:

[0181] The relay-odd device responds to a discover message with an odd source address on the gateway. If the relay-odd device receives a discover message with an even source address, it copies the message and redirects it to the relay-even device.

[0182] Optionally, the relay-device may delay responding for X seconds or not respond at all.

[0183] Alternatively, X can take the value from 1 to 3.

[0184] As another implementation example, such as Figure 7The implementation example shown, for relay devices in an AMT network, includes a first network device as a "relay-even device" and a third network device as a "relay-odd device"; the implementation process of the first network device may include:

[0185] The relay-even device responds to discover messages with an even-numbered source address on the gateway. If the relay-even device receives a discover message with an odd-numbered source address, it copies the message and redirects it to the relay-odd device. Optionally, the relay-even device may delay its response by X seconds or not respond at all.

[0186] In the third implementation method, the process of the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device in step S102 includes: when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device, and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

[0187] Specifically, when the first network device determines that the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, and the first network device determines that its processing capacity has reached a threshold, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device to instruct it to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device, whose attributes match those of the second network device, to process the request. This avoids network instability caused by excessive processing load on the first network device. Furthermore, when multiple network devices (including the first and third network devices) exist in the AMT network, the load balancing among them can be achieved to some extent by differentiating their attributes, reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single network device.

[0188] It should be understood that in implementation methods two and three above, "parity of the address" specifically indicates that if the last bit (or the first, second, etc.) of the address is odd, the address is of the "odd" attribute; and if the last bit (or the first, second, etc.) of the address is even, the address is of the "even" attribute. The "attribute corresponding to this parity" can be an attribute pre-determined through negotiation among multiple network devices in the AMT network (including the first network device and the third network device, etc.), an attribute pre-configured at the factory by multiple network devices in the AMT network, an attribute determined by multiple network devices in the AMT network based on their own addresses, or an attribute determined through other means; no limitation is made here.

[0189] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the attributes corresponding to the second network device may also include other attributes, such as the parity of the value corresponding to the sending time of the first message sent by the second network device, the parity of the value corresponding to the receiving time of the first message sent by the second network device being received by the first network device, the size attribute of the last bit (or the first bit, the second bit...) in the address of the second network device (for example, the value greater than or equal to 5 corresponds to the "large" attribute, and the value less than 5 corresponds to the "small" attribute), or other implementation methods, which are not limited here.

[0190] In one possible implementation, before the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device in step S102, the method further includes: the first network device determining that the third network device is routable, and the first network device sending the redirection message to the third network device in step S102.

[0191] Specifically, when the first network device determines that the third network device is routable, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device in step S102 to ensure that after the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, the third network device can process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0192] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the situation where the third network device is unreachable includes at least one of the following: a failure of the third network device, a failure of the routing link between the third network device and the second network device, a failure of the routing link between the third network device and the first network device, or other situations. Several implementation examples will be used to further illustrate this below.

[0193] In Example 1, the process by which the first network device determines that the third network device is routable includes: the first network device sending a keepalive message and receiving a response to the keepalive message within a first time period.

[0194] Specifically, if the first network device receives a response to the keep-alive message within a first time period after sending the keep-alive message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device is able to process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0195] For example, this implementation example can also be called determining whether an IP route has been withdrawn. In this implementation, communication between different relay devices (including the first network device and the third network device) depends on the reachability of the peer route. Both devices publish routes that uniquely identify their addresses, typically using the IP address of their local loopback interface. When publishing routes, they can associate them with interfaces connected to the low-multicast capability network. When an interface connected to the low-multicast capability network fails, the route is withdrawn. Therefore, when the third network device fails completely or its route to the low-multicast capability network becomes unreachable, the first network device can detect the withdrawal of the third network device's route and determine that the peer route is unreachable (e.g., not in place or not working). Conversely, the third network device can also detect the withdrawal of the first network device's route and determine that the peer route is unreachable (e.g., not in place or not working).

[0196] In Example 2, the process by which the first network device determines whether the third network device is routable includes: the first network device sending a network quality analysis (NQA) probe message and receiving a response to the NQA probe message within a second time period.

[0197] Specifically, if the first network device receives a response to the NQA probe message within a first time period after sending the NQA probe message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device is able to process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0198] For example, the process of determining whether an IP route has been revoked in Implementation Example 1 relies on route convergence, which generally results in slow fault detection. In Implementation Example 2, however, the NQA probing method can achieve fault detection at the millisecond (ms) level. Similar to Implementation Example 1, different relay devices (including the first and third network devices) advertise routes that uniquely identify their own device addresses, and these routes can be associated with interfaces connected to the offline multicast capability network. Different relay devices use NQA to probe whether the other end is faulty. NQA can achieve millisecond-level detection; when the other end experiences a complete failure, and the route from this end to the other end has not yet been revoked at the control plane, this end can still perceive that the route to the other end is unreachable (or faulty) because the other end does not respond to the NQA probe.

[0199] In Example 3, the process by which the first network device determines that the third network device is routable includes: the first network device sending a bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) message and receiving a response to the BFD message within a third time period.

[0200] Specifically, if the first network device receives a response to the BFD message within a first time period after sending the BFD message, the first network device determines that the third network device is routable and expects that the third network device is able to process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network.

[0201] For example, different relay devices (including the first network device and the third network device) are mutually deployed to the other end for BFD detection, and the interface of the BFD detection (bfd track) connected to the back-end multicast capability network will not receive the BFD response message from the other end when the entire device of the other end fails or when the interface connected to the back-end multicast capability network fails. Since BFD can achieve millisecond-level detection, it can quickly detect that the route to the other end is unreachable (or faulty).

[0202] S103. The third network device sends a response message.

[0203] In this embodiment, after receiving the redirection message in step S103, the third network device generates a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network based on the redirection message. In step S103, the third network device sends the response message, and correspondingly, the second network device receives the response message in step S103. The response message includes the address of the third network device.

[0204] In one possible implementation, before the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device in step S103, the method further includes: the third network device determining that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

[0205] Specifically, when the third network device determines that its attributes match those of the second network device, the third network device sends a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, thus processing the request. Therefore, when multiple network devices (including the first and third network devices, etc.) exist in the AMT network, the load balancing among these devices is divided based on their different attributes, achieving a certain degree of load balancing and reducing network instability caused by excessive load on any single network device.

[0206] Optionally, the attributes corresponding to the second network device include the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attributes corresponding to the third network device include attributes corresponding to the parity. Specifically, the attributes corresponding to the second network device can be reflected by the parity of the address of the second network device. Since the redirection message received by the third network device contains the address of the second network device, the first network device can easily determine the attributes corresponding to the second network device based on the first message.

[0207] It should be understood that the attributes corresponding to the second network device and the third network device can also be implemented in other ways. For details, please refer to the description in step S102 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0208] In one possible implementation, after the first network device receives the first message from the second network device in step S101, the method further includes: after a fourth time interval, the first network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device, the response message including the address of the first network device. Specifically, the first network device sends the response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device after the fourth time interval, so that even if the third network device cannot process the request of the second network device to join the AMT network (e.g., the third network device is overloaded, the third network device is faulty, the third network device is unreachable, etc.), the second network device can still join the AMT network through the first network device, further improving network stability.

[0209] For example, the fourth duration can be in the range of seconds, such as 1 to 3 seconds.

[0210] Therefore, for the second network device, after sending the first message indicating a request to join the AMT network in step S101, the second network device can receive n response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, that is, the second network device receives one or more response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network. Where n is greater than 1, that is, when the n response messages are multiple response messages, the second network device can join the AMT network through multiple network devices based on these multiple response messages. Therefore, compared to the implementation method where a single network device handles the request to join the AMT network, which is prone to AMT network transmission interruption if the single network device malfunctions, the success rate of the second network device joining the AMT network can be improved by allowing it to join through multiple network devices based on these multiple response messages, thus enhancing network stability.

[0211] Optionally, for the second network device, after step S103, the method further includes: the second network device sending a first request message, wherein the first request message corresponds to a first response message, and the first response message is the first received response message among the n response messages. Specifically, the second network device may also send a first request message corresponding to the first received first response message among the n response messages, wherein when the value of n is greater than 1, that is, when the n response messages are multiple response messages, the second network device can send a first request message corresponding to the first received first response message among the multiple response messages, so as to quickly join the multicast network based on the first request message, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0212] Optionally, after the second network device sends the first request message, the method further includes: when the second network device determines that it has not received a response message to the first request message after a preset time threshold, the second network device sends a second request message, the second request message corresponding to other response messages among the plurality of response messages besides the first response message. Specifically, when the second network device determines that it has not received a response message to the first request message after a preset time threshold, the second network device sends other response messages among the plurality of response messages besides the first response message, so that even if the second network device cannot join the AMT network based on the first request message, the second network device can still join the AMT network based on other response messages, thereby improving the success rate of the second network device joining the AMT network.

[0213] Based on the above technical solution, after the first network device receives the first message from the second network device requesting to join the AMT network in step S101, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device in step S102, instructing the third network device to process the request to join the AMT network. This allows the third network device to process the second network device's request to join the AMT network based on the redirection message in step S103. Therefore, compared to the implementation where the first network device processes the request after receiving it, the implementation where the third network device processes the request reduces the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0214] Furthermore, the above implementation process can also achieve load sharing among different relay devices in the AMT network, which is particularly suitable for scenarios with a large number of gateway devices, high multicast forwarding pressure, and protection requirements for relay devices. This application improves the relay discovery mechanism and rules in the AMT architecture, proposing a novel and stable load sharing scheme that effectively ensures the stability of relay device performance and node protection, thereby improving network quality and stability.

[0215] The embodiments of this application have been described above from the perspective of method. The communication device provided in the embodiments of this application will be described below from the perspective of device.

[0216] Please see Figure 8 This application provides a communication device 800 that can perform the functions of the communication device (including a first network device, a second network device, or a third network device) in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0217] The communication device 800 includes a receiving unit 801 and a transmitting unit 802.

[0218] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the foregoing embodiments, the communication device 800 includes the following implementation process.

[0219] The receiving unit 801 is used to receive a first message from the second network device, the first message being used to request the AMT network, and the first message including the address of the second network device;

[0220] The sending unit 802 is used to send a redirection message to a third network device, the redirection message being used to instruct the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device.

[0221] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0222] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device.

[0223] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device, and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes parity corresponding to the address of the second network device; the attribute corresponding to the first network device includes an attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0225] In one possible implementation, the device further includes a processing unit 803; the sending unit 802 is further configured to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing unit 803 determines that the third network device is routable.

[0226] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a keep-alive message, and the processing unit 803 determines that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit 801 receives a response to the keep-alive message within a first time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

[0227] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is further configured to send an NQA probe message, and the processing unit 803 determines that the third network device is routable by: when the receiving unit 801 receives a response to the NQA message within a second time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

[0228] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a BFD message, and the processing unit 803 determines that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit 801 receives a response to the BFD message within a third time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device after a fourth duration threshold, the response message including the address of the first network device.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, the anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device.

[0231] In one possible implementation, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0232] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the second network device in the foregoing embodiments, the communication device 800 includes the following implementation process.

[0233] The sending unit 802 is used to send a first message, which is used to indicate a request to join the AMT network. The first message includes the address information of the second network device. The receiving unit 801 is used to receive n response messages corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, where n is greater than or equal to 1.

[0234] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a first request message, wherein the first request message corresponds to a first response message, and the first response message is the first response message received among the n response messages.

[0235] In one possible implementation, the device further includes a processing unit 803, and the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a second request message when the processing unit 803 determines that no response message of the first request message has been received after a preset time threshold. The second request message corresponds to other response messages among the plurality of response messages besides the first response message.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a device in the AMT network that acts as a leaf.

[0237] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the third network device in the foregoing embodiments, the communication device 800 includes the following implementation process.

[0238] The receiving unit 801 is used to receive a redirection message from the first network device, the redirection message being used to indicate the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device;

[0239] The sending unit 802 is used to send a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the third network device.

[0240] In one possible implementation, the device further includes a processing unit 803; the sending unit 802 is further configured to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device when the processing unit 803 determines that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

[0241] In one possible implementation, the attribute corresponding to the second network device includes the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attribute corresponding to the third network device includes the attribute corresponding to the parity.

[0242] In one possible implementation, the unicast address of the third network device is the same as the unicast address of the first network device; or, the anycast address of the third network device is the same as the anycast address of the first network device.

[0243] In one possible implementation, the first network device and the third network device are both relay devices or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device or a leaf device in the AMT network.

[0244] It should be noted that the information execution process of each unit of the above-mentioned communication device 800 can be specifically described in the method embodiments shown above in this application, and will not be repeated here.

[0245] This application also provides a communication device 900, see [link to relevant documentation] Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0246] Optionally, the communication device 900 performs an attached Figure 4 and the functions of the first network device in the relevant embodiments; wherein, communication device 1000 and communication device 1100 respectively perform the attached... Figure 4 And the functions of the second and third network devices in the relevant embodiments.

[0247] Optionally, the communication device 900 performs an attached... Figure 4 and the functions of the second network device in the relevant embodiments; wherein, communication device 1000 and communication device 1100 respectively perform the attached... Figure 4 And the functions of the first network device and the third network device in the relevant embodiments.

[0248] Optionally, the communication device 900 performs an attached... Figure 4 and the functions of the third network device in the relevant embodiments; wherein, communication device 1000 and communication device 1100 respectively perform the attached... Figure 4 And the functions of the first network device and the second network device in the relevant embodiments.

[0249] Appendix Figure 9 The communication device 900 shown includes a memory 902 and at least one processor 901.

[0250] Optionally, the processor 901 implements the method in the above embodiments by reading instructions stored in the memory 902, or the processor 901 may also implement the method in the above embodiments by internally stored instructions. When the processor 901 implements the method in the above embodiments by reading instructions stored in the memory 902, the memory 902 stores instructions for implementing the method provided in the above embodiments of this application.

[0251] Optionally, at least one processor 901 is one or more CPUs, either a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0252] Further optionally, at least one processor 901 can also be used to perform the aforementioned Figure 8 The implementation process of the processing unit 803 in the illustrated embodiment, and the corresponding beneficial effects, will not be elaborated here.

[0253] The memory 902 includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory, or optical memory. The memory 92 stores the instructions of the operating system.

[0254] After the program instructions stored in memory 902 are read by at least one processor 901, the communication device executes the corresponding operations in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0255] Optional, attached Figure 9 The communication device shown also includes a network interface 903. The network interface 903 can be a wired interface, such as an FDDI or GE interface; the network interface 903 can also be a wireless interface. The network interface 903 is used for... Figure 4 And the sending and receiving of execution data in related embodiments.

[0256] Alternatively, network interface 903 can also be used to perform the aforementioned Figure 8 The implementation process of the receiving unit 801 and the sending unit 802 in the illustrated embodiment, and the corresponding beneficial effects, will not be elaborated here.

[0257] It should be understood that network interface 903 has the functions of receiving and sending data. The functions of "receiving data" and "sending data" can be integrated into the same transceiver interface, or the functions of "receiving data" and "sending data" can be implemented in different interfaces. This is not limited here. In other words, network interface 903 may include one or more interfaces for implementing the functions of "receiving data" and "sending data".

[0258] After the processor 901 reads the program instructions from the memory 902, other functions that the communication device 900 can perform are described in the preceding method embodiments.

[0259] Optionally, the communication device 900 also includes a bus 904, through which the processor 901 and memory 902 are typically interconnected, or in other ways.

[0260] Optionally, the communication device 900 also includes an input / output interface 905, which is used to connect to an input device to receive relevant configuration information input by the user or other devices that can be linked with the communication device 900. Input devices include, but are not limited to, keyboards, touchscreens, microphones, etc.

[0261] The communication device 900 provided in this application embodiment is used to execute the methods executed by the communication device (first network device or server) provided in the above-described method embodiments, and to achieve the corresponding beneficial effects.

[0262] For example, when communication device 900 performs an attached... Figure 4 In the case of the first network device in the relevant embodiments; after receiving a first message from communication device 1000, communication device 900 sends a redirection message to communication device 1100. This redirection message indicates the processing of a request to join the AMT network, and includes the address of the second network device. Subsequently, communication device 1100 sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to communication device 1000 based on the redirection message. This response message includes the address of the third network device. Therefore, compared to the implementation where communication device 900 processes the request to join the AMT network after receiving it, the implementation where communication device 1100 processes the request reduces the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0263] For example, when communication device 900 performs attached... Figure 4In the case of the function of the second network device in the relevant embodiments; after the communication device 900 sends a first message to the communication device 1000, the communication device 900 receives n response messages from the communication device 1100 (and possibly the communication device 1000), where n is greater than or equal to 1. Therefore, compared to the implementation method in which a single communication device (i.e., the communication device 1000 that receives the first message) processes the request of the communication device 900 to join the AMT network, the failure of the single communication device can easily lead to the interruption of AMT network transmission. Since the communication device 900 can join the AMT network through multiple communication devices based on the multiple response messages, the success rate of the communication device 900 joining the AMT network can be improved, thereby improving network stability.

[0264] For example, when communication device 900 performs attached... Figure 4 In the case of the third network device in the relevant embodiments; when the communication device 900 receives a redirection message from the communication device 1000, the redirection message is used to indicate processing a request to join the AMT network; thereafter, the communication device 900 sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the communication device 1100 based on the redirection message, the response message including the address of the third network device. Therefore, compared to the implementation method where the communication device 1000 processes the request to join the AMT network after receiving it from the communication device 1100, the implementation method where the communication device 900 processes the request to join the AMT network can reduce the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0265] Figure 9 The specific implementation of the communication device shown can be referred to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0266] This application also provides a communication system, see [link to relevant documentation] Figure 10 As shown, Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 10 As shown, this application relates to a first network device, and the second and third network devices can be applied to an AMT network. The AMT network may include multicast sources (e.g., Figure 10 The term "source" refers to the multicast receiver (e.g., the source). Figure 10 (in the context of "receiver"). Figure 10 In this configuration, the first and third network devices can function as relay devices in the AMT network. Optionally, the AMT network may also include other relay devices. Figure 10In this configuration, the second network device can serve as a gateway device in the AMT network. Optionally, the AMT network may also include other gateway devices.

[0267] As an implementation example, Figure 10 In the communication system shown, when the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device apply the method described in the foregoing embodiments, after receiving a first message from the second network device, the first network device sends a redirection message to the third network device. This redirection message indicates the processing of a request to join the AMT network, and includes the address of the second network device. Subsequently, the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device based on the redirection message. This response message includes the address of the third network device. Therefore, compared to the implementation where the first network device processes the request after receiving it from the second network device, the implementation where the third network device processes the request reduces the occurrence of transmission interruptions in the AMT network, thereby improving network stability.

[0268] It should be understood that Figure 10 As shown Figure 10 In the communication system shown, the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device can also apply other methods involved in the foregoing embodiments and achieve corresponding technical effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0269] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units through some interfaces, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0270] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A method of joining a multicast group, characterized by, The method is applied to Automatic Multicast Tunneling (AMT) networks, including: A first network device receives a first message from a second network device, the first message being used to request to join the AMT network, the first message including the address of the second network device; The first network device sends a redirect message to the third network device. The redirect message is used to instruct the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirect message includes the address of the second network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, including: When the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, including: When the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, including: When the attributes corresponding to the second network device do not match the attributes corresponding to the first network device, and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold, the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The attributes corresponding to the second network device include the parity of the address of the second network device; The attributes corresponding to the first network device include those corresponding to the parity.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, Before the first network device sends the redirection message to the third network device, the method further includes: The first network device determines that the third network device is routable and then sends the redirection message to the third network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first network device determines that the third network device is routable, including: The first network device sends a keep-alive message and receives a response to the keep-alive message within a first time period.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first network device determines whether the third network device is routablely reachable by: The first network device sends a Network Quality Analysis (NQA) probe message and receives a response to the NQA probe message within a second time period.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first network device determines that the third network device is routable, including: The first network device sends a bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) message and receives a response to the BFD message within a third time period.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, After the first network device receives the first message from the second network device, the method further includes: After a fourth time interval, the first network device sends a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, and the response message includes the address of the first network device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, The anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

13. A multicast joining method, characterized in that, The method is applied to Automatic Multicast Tunneling (AMT) networks, including: The third network device receives a redirection message from the first network device, the redirection message being used to indicate processing a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device; The third network device sends a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the third network device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, Before the third network device sends a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device, the method includes: The third network device determines that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The attributes corresponding to the second network device include the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attributes corresponding to the third network device include the attributes corresponding to the parity.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The unicast address of the third network device is the same as the unicast address of the first network device; or... The anycast address of the third network device is the same as that of the first network device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that, The first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first network device installed in the Automatic Multicast Tunnel (AMT) network, and includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit is configured to receive a first message from a second network device, the first message being used to request the AMT network, and the first message including the address of the second network device; The sending unit is used to send a redirection message to a third network device. The redirection message is used to instruct the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of the second network device.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The sending unit is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The sending unit is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device.

21. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The sending unit is used to send the redirection message to the third network device when the attribute corresponding to the second network device does not match the attribute corresponding to the first network device, and the processing capacity of the first network device reaches a threshold.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The attributes corresponding to the second network device include the parity of the address of the second network device; The attributes corresponding to the first network device include those corresponding to the parity.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that, The device also includes a processing unit; The sending unit is further configured to send the redirection message to the third network device when the processing unit determines that the route to the third network device is reachable.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, characterized in that, The sending unit is also used to send keep-alive messages; The processing unit is used to determine that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit receives the response of the keep-alive message within a first time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, characterized in that, The sending unit is also used to send Network Quality Analysis (NQA) probe messages; The processing unit is used to determine that the third network device is routable, including: when the receiving unit receives a response to the NQA message within a second time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

26. The apparatus according to claim 23, characterized in that, The sending unit is also used to send bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) messages; The processing unit determines that the third network device is routable by: when the receiving unit receives a response to the BFD message within a third time period, determining that the third network device is routable.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 26, characterized in that, The sending unit is further configured to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device after a fourth time duration threshold, the response message including the address of the first network device.

28. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 27, characterized in that, The unicast address of the first network device is the same as the unicast address of the third network device; or, The anycast address of the first network device is the same as the anycast address of the third network device.

29. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 28, characterized in that, The first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

30. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a third network device located in the Automatic Multicast Tunnel (AMT) network, and includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit is configured to receive a redirection message from a first network device, the redirection message being configured to indicate the processing of a request to join the AMT network, wherein the redirection message includes the address of a second network device; The sending unit is used to send a response message to the second network device corresponding to the request to join the AMT network, the response message including the address of the third network device.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, characterized in that, The device also includes a processing unit; The sending unit is used to send a response message corresponding to the request to join the AMT network to the second network device when the processing unit determines that the attribute corresponding to the third network device matches the attribute corresponding to the second network device.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, characterized in that, The attributes corresponding to the second network device include the parity of the address of the second network device, and the attributes corresponding to the third network device include the attributes corresponding to the parity.

33. The apparatus according to any one of claims 30 to 32, characterized in that, The unicast address of the third network device is the same as the unicast address of the first network device; or... The anycast address of the third network device is the same as that of the first network device.

34. The apparatus according to any one of claims 30 to 33, characterized in that, The first network device and the third network device are both relay devices in the AMT network or root devices in the AMT network, and the second network device is either a gateway device in the AMT network or a leaf device in the AMT network.

35. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes the communication device as described in any one of claims 18 to 29, and the communication device as described in any one of claims 30 to 34.

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