An intent-based intelligent traffic control system and method

Abstract

The application relates to an intention-based intelligent flow control system and method, characterized in that the system comprises an intention management layer, a network management layer and a data forwarding layer; the intention management layer is used for obtaining the user intention of a network user or a network proxy server, performing configuration, management and translation of the user intention of the network user or the network proxy server, and obtaining a translated forwarding application instruction; the network management layer is used for performing optimization implementation according to the translated forwarding application instruction and a current network state, and generating a network forwarding instruction corresponding to the user intention; the data forwarding layer is composed of a plurality of interconnected forwarding units; the forwarding units are used for receiving and storing the network forwarding instruction issued by the network management layer, and performing matching filtering on all passing data packets, and executing the network forwarding instruction matched with the data packets; and the application can be widely applied to the field of communication and network technology.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication and network technology, and in particular to an intent-based intelligent traffic control system and method. Background Technology

[0002] As the internet gradually becomes an infrastructure for economic development, users' demands for network services are becoming increasingly diversified, and networks that provide corresponding services based on user intent are becoming a trend in network technology development.

[0003] However, traditional networks have heterogeneous forwarding units in the data transmission plane and lack methods for implementing centralized control, which makes it difficult for the network to provide differentiated services to users through unified management and control. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the purpose of this invention is to provide an intent-based intelligent traffic control system and method to solve the difficulty of providing differentiated services to users.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: In a first aspect, it provides an intent-based intelligent traffic control system, including an intent management layer, a network management layer, and a data forwarding layer;

[0006] The intent management layer is used to obtain the user intent of network users or network proxy servers, configure, manage and translate the user intent of network users or network proxy servers, and obtain the translated forwarding request instruction.

[0007] The network management layer is used to optimize the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network state, and generate network forwarding instructions corresponding to the user's intent.

[0008] The data forwarding layer consists of interconnected forwarding units. Each forwarding unit receives and stores network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer, performs matching and filtering on all passing data packets, and executes network forwarding instructions that match the data packets.

[0009] Furthermore, the intent management layer includes a user intent API configuration interface, a user intent API management server, a user intent database, a transcriber, a network management layer proxy server, and a network database.

[0010] The User Intent API configuration interface is used for user authentication; obtaining user intents generated and issued by network users or network proxy servers and reporting them to the User Intent API management server; and returning the configuration results of the User Intent API management server to network users or network proxy servers.

[0011] The user intent API management server is used to verify the legitimacy of the user intent of each network user, manage the user intent API currently used by all network users in the entire network, sign user contracts with network users or network proxy servers, and create, modify, delete and query user intent API templates. It also maintains the user intent database to store user intent APIs, user intent API templates and currently valid user intents.

[0012] The translator is used to translate user intents into forwarding request instructions that are understandable and supported by the network, according to the definition of the user intent API.

[0013] The network management layer proxy server is used to understand and support the set of forwarding request instructions sent by the network management layer, and to maintain and store the network database.

[0014] Furthermore, the network management layer is equipped with a forwarding instruction configuration interface, a resource database, a network resource management server, and a data forwarding layer driver;

[0015] The forwarding instruction configuration interface is used to receive forwarding request instructions translated by one or more intent management layer entities, preprocess them, and send them to the network resource management server; and when the data forwarding layer experiences a network state change, it distributes the modification message of the forwarding request instruction set issued by the network resource management server to the corresponding intent management layer.

[0016] The resource database is used to store the real-time collected status of each forwarding unit and the status of the data links between the forwarding units;

[0017] The network resource management server is used to obtain the service-level resource allocation result based on the status of each forwarding unit, the status of the data link between the forwarding units, and the preprocessed forwarding request instruction;

[0018] The data forwarding layer driver is used to maintain the device model, main parameters and real-time status of different forwarding units, and generate network forwarding instructions supported by the forwarding unit and send them to the corresponding forwarding unit according to the service-level resource allocation results and the device model, main parameters and real-time status of the corresponding forwarding unit.

[0019] Furthermore, each of the aforementioned forwarding units includes a network forwarding instruction table, a flow classifier, and an instruction processor;

[0020] The flow classifier is used to perform matching filtering when a data packet arrives, and to find the network forwarding instruction with the highest priority among the network forwarding instructions that match the corresponding characteristics of the data packet;

[0021] The instruction processor is used to execute the actions specified by the highest priority network forwarding instruction;

[0022] The network forwarding instruction table is used to maintain all network forwarding instructions issued to the current forwarding unit and to clear network forwarding instructions that meet the failure conditions or exceed the automatic failure time.

[0023] Secondly, an intent-based intelligent traffic control method is provided, including:

[0024] The user intent of a network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer into corresponding network forwarding instructions and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer.

[0025] Each forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer receives and stores network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer, and performs matching and filtering on all passing data packets, executing the network forwarding instructions that match the data packets.

[0026] Furthermore, before the user intent of the network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit of the data forwarding layer, the following steps are also included:

[0027] Network users or network proxy servers enter into user contracts with the network through the intent management layer;

[0028] Network users or network proxy servers create user intents by calling legitimate user intent APIs, representing the network services that network users expect to receive in a network-understandable form;

[0029] The data forwarding layer manages network resources.

[0030] Furthermore, the user intent of the network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit of the data forwarding layer, including:

[0031] The network management layer collects the status of each forwarding unit within the data forwarding layer and the status of the data links between forwarding units in real time.

[0032] The intent management layer collects user intents from each network user or network proxy server in real time, and configures, manages and translates user intents, and sends the translated forwarding request instructions to the network management layer.

[0033] The network management layer optimizes the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network status, and generates a network forwarding instruction corresponding to the user's intent, which is then sent to the corresponding forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer.

[0034] The User Intent API configuration interface returns a successful configuration result to each network user.

[0035] Furthermore, the intent management layer collects user intents from each network user or network proxy server in real time, and configures, manages, and translates these user intents to obtain translated forwarding request instructions, which are then sent to the network management layer, including:

[0036] Network users or network proxy servers generate and distribute user intents to the user intent API configuration interface of the intent management layer. After user authentication, the user intent API configuration interface sends the user intent to the user intent API management server.

[0037] The User Intent API Management Server performs a valid verification of the user intent of each network user or network proxy server.

[0038] The translator translates each user intent after validity verification into one or more network-understandable and supported forwarding request instructions. The translated forwarding request instructions are then forwarded to the network resource management server through the forwarding instruction configuration interface of the network management layer.

[0039] Thirdly, a processing device is provided, including computer program instructions, wherein when the computer program instructions are executed by the processing device, they are used to implement the steps corresponding to the above-described intention-based intelligent traffic control method.

[0040] Fourthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein computer program instructions are stored on the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by a processor, are used to implement the steps corresponding to the above-described intention-based intelligent flow control method.

[0041] The present invention has the following advantages due to the adoption of the above technical solutions:

[0042] 1. This invention enables network users to explain their intentions to the network, and the network provides services based on the user's intentions, thereby satisfying the user's specific needs.

[0043] 2. The resource allocation and service scheduling processes based on user intent can be automatically implemented by the network without requiring manual changes to network configuration.

[0044] In summary, this invention can be widely applied in the fields of communication and network technology. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts. In the drawings:

[0046] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of user intent API configuration provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of network configuration provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0049] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0050] It should be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “described” as used herein may also include the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and “having” are inclusive and therefore indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not construed as requiring them to be performed in a particular order described or illustrated unless the order of performance is explicitly indicated. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.

[0051] Although terms such as first, second, third, etc., may be used in this document to describe multiple elements, components, regions, layers, and / or segments, these elements, components, regions, layers, and / or segments should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or segment from another. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms used herein do not imply order or sequence. Therefore, the first element, component, region, layer, or segment discussed below may be referred to as the second element, component, region, layer, or segment without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments.

[0052] The intent-based intelligent traffic control system and method provided in this invention, through the establishment of an intent management layer, a network management layer, and a data forwarding layer, enables the network to provide quality of service assurance for each service, and significantly improves the network's link bandwidth utilization.

[0053] Example 1

[0054] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides an intent-based intelligent traffic control system, including an intent management layer 1, a network management layer 2, and a data forwarding layer 3.

[0055] The intent management layer 1 is used to interact with network users or network proxy servers that need to forward data, obtain the user intent of the network user or network proxy server, configure, manage and translate the user intent of the network user or network proxy server, and obtain the translated forwarding request instruction.

[0056] Network management layer 2 is used to optimize the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network status, and generate network forwarding instructions corresponding to the user's intent.

[0057] The data forwarding layer 3 is composed of several interconnected forwarding units 31. The forwarding unit 31 is used to receive and store network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer 2, and to match and filter all passing data packets (e.g., services) and execute network forwarding instructions that match the data packets.

[0058] In a preferred embodiment, the intent management layer 1 and the network management layer 2 are implemented by a set of network controllers, a set of forwarding units 31 constitute the data forwarding layer 3, and the set of network controllers constitutes the corresponding intent management layer 1 and network management layer 2. The set of network controllers forms a hierarchical, master-slave structure, and the master network controller can partially control the slave network controllers.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment, network users, as the source of intent and services, are the service objects of the intelligent traffic control system. In some scenarios, network users sign an SLA (Service-Level Agreement) with a network proxy server, which then generates user intents such as service requests and requests for network resources. User intents include various service requests such as quality of service assurance, user authentication, network security, and traffic engineering. These intents are composed of one or more user intent APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) invoked by the network user or the network proxy server. A user intent API is defined as follows: it includes an API name, API parameters, and forwarding instructions 1 to m. The API name includes an API ID (a unique identifier for the user intent API), a user ID (a unique identifier for the user), the number of user service features n, the number of forwarding instructions m, and user service features X1, X2…X… n The forwarding instruction m includes the forwarding instruction ID (a unique identifier for the forwarding instruction) and the number of parameters l. m and forwarding instruction parameter Y 11 ,Y 12 …Y 11m .

[0060] Specifically, all API parameters are specified by the network user during creation, and the creation process requires verification of the API parameters and the legality of the forwarding instructions invoked.

[0061] In a preferred embodiment, the intent management layer 1 can be physically located on either the network proxy server side or the network user side; therefore, one or more instantiated intent management layer 1 entities may exist within the same network domain. The intent management layer 1 includes a user intent API configuration interface 11, a user intent API management server 12, a user intent database 13, a transpiler 14, a network management layer proxy server 15, and a network database 16.

[0062] User intent API configuration interface 11 is used for user authentication; obtaining user intent from network users or network proxy servers and reporting it to user intent API management server 12; and returning the configuration results of user intent API management server 12 to network users or network proxy servers.

[0063] The user intent API management server 12 is used to verify the legitimacy of user intents for each network user, manage all user intent APIs currently used by network users throughout the network, sign user contracts with network users or network proxy servers, and create, modify, delete, and query user intent API templates. It also maintains the user intent database 13, storing user intent APIs, user intent API templates, and currently valid user intents. Specifically, the user intent API template simplifies the creation process of commonly used user intent APIs. Its definition is the same as the user intent API, and the API parameters are specified by the template, making the API writing process transparent to the user.

[0064] Translator 14 is used to translate user intents into forwarding request instructions that are understandable and supported by the network, based on the definition of the user intent API. Forwarding request instructions include requests for services such as switching, protocol conversion, label and data modification, traffic monitoring, and traffic control.

[0065] The network management layer proxy server 15 acts as a proxy for the set of understandable and supported forwarding request instructions sent by the network management layer 2, and maintains the network database 16 for storage.

[0066] Specifically, the user contract content includes user ID, user information, user service agreement type and user billing standard. Among them, the user ID is the user identifier within the network. Each ID is uniquely assigned to a network user by the network controller. The user information includes the network user's IP address, port number and other user information related to the exchange process, which is uploaded by the network user to the intent management layer 1.

[0067] In a preferred embodiment, the network management layer 2 is provided with a forwarding instruction configuration interface 21, a resource database 22, a network resource management server 23, and a data forwarding layer driver 24.

[0068] The forwarding instruction configuration interface 21 serves as a bidirectional interface between the intent management layer 1 and the network management layer 2. It is used to receive forwarding request instructions translated by one or more intent management layer 1 entities, perform preprocessing, and then send them to the network resource management server 23. When the data forwarding layer 3 experiences a change in network status due to device modifications or network errors, it distributes the modification message of the forwarding request instruction set issued by the network resource management server 23 to the network management layer proxy server 15 of the corresponding intent management layer 1 entity.

[0069] Resource database 22 is used to store the status of each forwarding unit 31 in the real-time data forwarding layer 3 and the status of the data links between forwarding units 31.

[0070] The network resource management server 23 is used to obtain the service-level resource allocation result based on the status of each forwarding unit 31 in the data forwarding layer 3, the status of the data link between the forwarding units 31, and the preprocessed forwarding request instruction, so as to allocate network resources such as storage and link capacity to network users for service transmission.

[0071] The data forwarding layer driver 24 serves as the interface between the network management layer 2 and each forwarding unit 31 in the data forwarding layer 3. It is used to maintain the device model, main parameters and real-time status of different forwarding units 31, receive the service-level resource allocation results that the network resource management server 23 needs to send to the data forwarding layer 3, and generate network forwarding instructions supported by the forwarding unit 31 according to the device model, main parameters and real-time status of the corresponding forwarding unit 31 and send them to the corresponding forwarding unit 31.

[0072] Specifically, for each service, the resource allocation result includes user ID, number of user service characteristics n, number of service transmission multipaths u, and user service characteristics X1, X2…X. n Service transmission paths P1, P2…P u Transmission bandwidths B1, B2…B along each path u Total transmission amounts D1, D2…D along each path u And the effective time T of the allocation results.

[0073] In a preferred embodiment, each forwarding unit 31 includes a network forwarding instruction table, a flow classifier 311, and an instruction processor 312.

[0074] The flow classifier 311 is used to perform matching filtering when a data packet (e.g., a service) arrives. That is, according to a certain matching algorithm, it finds the network forwarding instruction with the highest priority among the network forwarding instructions that the data packet matches the corresponding characteristics (e.g., service characteristics).

[0075] Instruction processor 312 is used to execute the actions specified by the highest priority network forwarding instructions.

[0076] The network forwarding instruction table is used to maintain all network forwarding instructions issued to the current forwarding unit 31. Network forwarding instructions that meet the failure conditions or exceed the automatic failure time are cleared. The size of the network forwarding instruction table of different forwarding units 31 varies depending on the size of their services.

[0077] Specifically, in this embodiment of the invention, the forwarding unit 31 refers to any network device that performs service forwarding and whose forwarding behavior is controlled by the network controller. The forwarding unit 31 has functions such as statistically reporting its own status, receiving and executing network forwarding instructions from the network controller, matching data frames with network forwarding instructions and executing the matching instructions. The status of the forwarding unit 31 includes: 1) data rate, frame rate, connected link capacity and real-time load, bit error rate, etc. of each port; 2) currently valid network forwarding instructions and historical logs of network forwarding instructions; 3) its own state machine status.

[0078] In a preferred embodiment, the network forwarding instruction includes a filtering instruction, a processing instruction, and a TTL (Time to Live) instruction, wherein:

[0079] The filtering instruction consists of several quadruples, including feature field offset, feature field length, field value, and mask.

[0080] The processing instructions consist of several instructions taken from the processing instruction set.

[0081] The TTL instruction is used to indicate the effective time of a network forwarding instruction in the forwarding unit 31, including the effective time, the expiration condition, and the automatic expiration time. The effective time indicates the time when the network forwarding instruction begins to take effect, the expiration condition indicates the conditions under which the network forwarding instruction will no longer be effective, and the automatic expiration time indicates the time when the network forwarding instruction will be automatically regarded as an expired instruction and become invalid by the switching unit if the expiration condition is not met.

[0082] In a preferred embodiment, the processing instructions in the network forwarding instructions include, but are not limited to, forwarding instructions, drop instructions, bandwidth control instructions, reporting instructions, and processing instruction addition / modification instructions, wherein:

[0083] The forwarding command is used to forward data frames to a specified port of the forwarding unit 31, and supports multicast.

[0084] The drop command is used to discard data frames directly.

[0085] Bandwidth control commands are used to limit the maximum bandwidth used by forwarding services when a certain forwarding command is executed.

[0086] The reporting command is used to upload data frames to the network controller. This command is only valid in out-of-band networking. When the network controller exists as a special user in the network using in-band networking, this command can be replaced by the forwarding command.

[0087] The processing instruction add / modify instruction is used to add processing instructions to the current forwarding unit 31 or modify existing instructions on the current forwarding unit 31. This instruction is only valid in in-band networking.

[0088] In a preferred embodiment, the message sent by the network user to the intent management layer 1 further includes a resource request message, which includes service characteristics and service requirements, wherein:

[0089] Business characteristics include the protocol type used by the business. The protocol type used by the business must be included in the user business protocol type specified in the user contract; otherwise, the business cannot obtain network services. Business characteristics also include the business's feature fields, field values, and masks. The feature fields consist of the offset relative to the start position of the data frame and the field length. The field values ​​are numerical values ​​corresponding to the field length.

[0090] Service requirements include, but are not limited to, service start time, service end time, service peak bandwidth, service average bandwidth, service latency, and service data volume.

[0091] In a preferred embodiment, the network controller refers to the component located at the center of the network that makes decisions and controls the network forwarding units 31. The network controller has functions such as maintaining network status, running resource optimization algorithms, and generating network forwarding instructions. The network status includes: 1) network topology, including the connection relationships of the network forwarding units 31 and the capacity of connected links; 2) the current routing table, including the forwarding units 31 directly connected to each user ID, and several reachable paths between the various forwarding units 31. A control path exists between the network controller and the forwarding units 31, which can be implemented using in-band networking or out-of-band networking. In in-band networking, the network controller exists as a special user in the network, and the control path shares bandwidth with the data path. In out-of-band networking, the control path between the network controller and the control unit forms an independent network, which is only used for transmitting control signaling. Each forwarding unit 31 and the network controller maintain time synchronization.

[0092] Example 2

[0093] This embodiment provides an intent-based intelligent traffic control method, including the following steps:

[0094] 1) A network user or network proxy server (the following example is a network user) enters into a user contract with the network through the intent management layer 1 to stipulate the type of user service agreement, the instruction permissions that the network user can use to express user intent, and the user billing standard.

[0095] Specifically, user service protocol types include standard protocols and custom protocols. Standard protocols are those known in the network protocol stack and have recognized standards, including the IP protocol suite. For network users using such protocols, only the protocol name and version number need to be specified. Custom protocols are private protocols and encapsulation structures defined by network users according to their specific needs, such as encoding. For such protocols and encapsulation structures, network users need to describe the frame structure they use for transmission to the network, including the meaning, location, and valid values ​​of feature fields.

[0096] Specifically, the instruction permissions that network users can use to express their intentions are a subset of the forwarding instructions supported by the network. The forwarding instructions supported by the network are determined by the control capabilities of the network management layer 2 and the processing capabilities of the data forwarding layer 3, including but not limited to forwarding instructions, drop instructions, flow control instructions, status reporting instructions, protocol adaptation instructions, etc.

[0097] Specifically, the user billing standard specifies the weight of the services transmitted by a network user in the allocation of network resources and the fees payable. The user billing standard is determined by the network operator based on market interests, and this standard can vary depending on the network user's location in the network topology and the characteristics of the user's services. After the network user contract is signed, the user billing standard for each network user is as follows:

[0098] [Unit bandwidth weight, unit traffic cost] = f(service volume, source / destination users, service requirements)

[0099] This function is used to calculate the bandwidth weight of the service unit and the cost per unit of traffic after the network user contract is signed. The bandwidth weight of the service unit is used by the network user to apply for service transmission resources from the network, and the cost per unit of traffic is used by the network operator to charge the network user.

[0100] 2) Network users create user intents by calling legitimate user intent APIs, which represent the network services that network users expect to receive in a network-understandable form. The user intent API is created for the convenience and readability of network users. It can support network users to develop dedicated APIs or instantiate user intent APIs by applying user intent API templates.

[0101] like Figure 2 As shown, before a network user needs to use network transmission services, a user intent API needs to be created; when a network user's needs change, they can choose to create a new user intent API or modify an existing one; when a user intent API is no longer needed, the network user should delete it to free up storage space. The specific process is as follows:

[0102] 2.1) Creating and modifying user intent APIs:

[0103] 2.1.1) The network user sends a user intent API creation request to the user intent API management server 12, and the user intent API management server 12 provides the user intent API to be created or the user intent API template to be called.

[0104] 2.1.2) The network user calls the user intent API template from the user intent database 13 for the user intent API to be created. If the user intent API template is not called, this step is skipped.

[0105] 2.1.3) The user intent API to be created is sent to the network management layer proxy server 15. The network management layer proxy server 15 verifies whether the forwarding instruction called by the user intent API to be created is within the forwarding request instruction set stored in the network database 16, and verifies whether its configured parameters are valid.

[0106] 2.1.4) If the user intent API to be created passes the validation, the user intent API is created and written to the user intent database 13; if the user intent API to be created fails the validation, this step is skipped.

[0107] 2.1.5) Return the API creation result of the user intent to the network user.

[0108] 2.2) Modify the User Intent API:

[0109] 2.2.1) The network user sends a user intent API modification request to the user intent API management server 12. The user intent API management server 12 provides the ID of the user intent API to be modified and the modified parameter value.

[0110] 2.2.2) The network user reads the existing user intent API with the corresponding user intent API ID from the user intent database 13 and replaces the parameter value with the given parameter value.

[0111] 2.2.3) The modified user intent API is sent to the network management layer proxy server 15. The network management layer proxy server 15 verifies whether the forwarding instruction called by the modified user intent API is within the forwarding request instruction set stored in the network database 16, and verifies whether its modified parameters are valid.

[0112] 2.2.4) If the modified user intent API passes the validation, modify the user intent API and write it to the user intent database 13; if the modified user intent API fails the validation, skip this step.

[0113] 2.2.5) Return the user intent API modification result to the network user.

[0114] 2.3) Delete User Intent API:

[0115] 2.3.1) The network user sends a user intent API deletion request to the user intent API management server 12, and the user intent API management server 12 provides the ID of the user intent API to be deleted.

[0116] 2.3.2) The network user reads the existing user intent API with the corresponding user intent API ID from the user intent database 13 and deletes it.

[0117] 2.3.3) Return the user intent API deletion result to the network user.

[0118] 3) Data forwarding layer 3 manages network resources.

[0119] Specifically, network resource management is the foundation for realizing user intentions on the network. The network resources that need to be managed include device resources and link resources. Among them, device resources include the switching capacity, packet classification capability, forwarding operation capability, buffering capability, and computing capability of each forwarding unit 31 in the data forwarding layer 3. Forwarding operation capability refers to the ability to support operations corresponding to different forwarding instructions. Link resources include the channel capacity, transmission protocol, and link characteristics of each link, including the spatial distribution of the link, transmission delay, bit error rate, and other time-varying characteristics.

[0120] Specifically, most network resources addressed by network resource management are inherent attributes of network devices and links, changing only when network devices and links malfunction or in special scenarios such as time-varying spatial networks with varying topologies. Therefore, data forwarding layer 3 does not need to periodically report this information to network management layer 2; it only needs to report changes when network resources are transmitted.

[0121] 4) such as Figure 3 As shown, when a network user has a usable user intent API and the network resource management server 23 has collected network resource information, the network user's user intent is generated by the intent management layer 1 and the network management layer 2 into a corresponding network forwarding instruction and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit 31 of the data forwarding layer 3. Specifically:

[0122] 4.1) The network management layer 2 collects the status of each forwarding unit 31 in the data forwarding layer 3 and the status of the data links between forwarding units 31 in real time.

[0123] 4.2) The intent management layer 1 acquires the user intents of each network user in real time, and configures, manages, and translates the user intents, then sends the translated forwarding request instruction to the network management layer 2:

[0124] 4.2.1) The network user generates and sends the user intent to the user intent API configuration interface 11 of the intent management layer 1. After the user intent API configuration interface 11 authenticates the user, it sends the user intent to the user intent API management server 12. The user intent API configuration interface 11 returns the configuration result to each network user if the network user fails to pass the authentication.

[0125] Specifically, the user intent generation process requires the user to call the user intent API that the user created and activated. The authentication process of the user intent API configuration interface 11 ensures that only network users who have signed a user contract and have the necessary permissions can initiate network configuration, and it also ensures the independence of network users, meaning that network users can only generate user intents for their own business transmissions and cannot affect the business of other users.

[0126] 4.2.2) The User Intent API Management Server 12 performs a validity check on the user intent of each network user. The User Intent API Configuration Interface 11 returns the configuration result to each network user for user intents that fail the validity check.

[0127] Specifically, the verification process is as follows: query the current network user's valid user intent API and its legal parameters in the user intent database 13, and verify the validity and parameter legality of each user intent API called.

[0128] 4.2.3) Translator 14 translates each user intent after legality verification into one or more network-understandable and supported forwarding request instructions, which are used to request transmission resources from network management layer 2. The translated forwarding request instructions are forwarded to network resource management server 23 through forwarding instruction configuration interface 21 of network management layer 2.

[0129] 4.3) The network management layer 2 optimizes the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network state, and generates a network forwarding instruction corresponding to the user's intent, which is then sent to the corresponding forwarding unit 31 of the data forwarding layer 3:

[0130] 4.3.1) The network resource management server 23 performs resource optimization allocation based on the forwarding request instructions of each network user and the network resource information stored in the resource database 22. The user intent API configuration interface 11 returns the allocation results to each network user.

[0131] Specifically, the resource allocation process can flexibly select appropriate resource allocation algorithms based on the network's own strategy, supporting continuous updates and upgrades of the resource allocation algorithms. The resource optimization allocation result corresponds one-to-one with the forwarding request instruction, and can be represented as a forwarding response instruction (including a user feature set, allocation indicator bit, forwarding instruction set, and time constraint). The allocation indicator bit indicates whether the forwarding request instruction is accepted and network resources are allocated; True indicates allocation, and False indicates no allocation. The user intent API configuration interface 11 returns the allocation result to the network user.

[0132] 4.3.2) The network resource management server 23 sends a forwarding response instruction with the allocation indicator bit set to True to the data forwarding layer driver 24. The data forwarding layer driver 24 splits each received forwarding response instruction into network forwarding instructions supported by the forwarding unit 31 it needs to pass through, and integrates and encapsulates different network forwarding instructions sent to the same forwarding unit 31 in the order of issuance before sending them to the corresponding forwarding unit 31.

[0133] 4.4) User Intent API Configuration Interface 11 returns a successful configuration result to each network user.

[0134] 5) Each forwarding unit 31 of the data forwarding layer 3 receives and stores the network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer 2, and performs matching and filtering on all passing data packets, and executes the network forwarding instructions that match the data packets.

[0135] Example 3

[0136] This embodiment provides a processing device corresponding to the intent-based intelligent traffic control method provided in Embodiment 2. The processing device can be applied to client processing devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, etc., to execute the method of Embodiment 2.

[0137] The processing device includes a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and a bus. The processor, memory, and communication interface are connected via the bus to enable communication between them. The memory stores computer programs that can run on the processing device. When the processing device runs the computer program, it executes the intent-based intelligent flow control method provided in Embodiment 2.

[0138] In some implementations, the memory may be high-speed random access memory (RAM), and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device.

[0139] In other implementations, the processor can be any type of general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP), and there is no limitation here.

[0140] Furthermore, the logical instructions in the aforementioned memory can be implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0141] Those skilled in the art will understand that the structure of the above-described computing device is only a partial structure related to the solution of this application and does not constitute a limitation on the computing device to which the solution of this application is applied. A specific computing device may include more or fewer components, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0142] Example 4

[0143] This embodiment provides a computer program product corresponding to the intent-based intelligent traffic control method provided in Embodiment 2. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium on which computer-readable program instructions for executing the intent-based intelligent traffic control method described in Embodiment 2 are loaded.

[0144] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that holds and stores instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any combination thereof.

[0145] The computer-readable storage medium provided in the above embodiments has a similar implementation principle and technical effect to the above method embodiments, and will not be described again here.

[0146] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart... Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0147] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0148] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0149] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention. The structure, connection method and manufacturing process of each component can be varied. All equivalent transformations and improvements made on the basis of the technical solution of the present invention should not be excluded from the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intent-based intelligent flow control system, characterized in that, This includes the intent management layer, network management layer, and data forwarding layer; The intent management layer is used to obtain the user intent of network users or network proxy servers, configure, manage and translate the user intent of network users or network proxy servers, and obtain the translated forwarding request instruction. The network management layer is used to optimize the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network state, and generate a network forwarding instruction corresponding to the user's intent. The data forwarding layer is composed of several interconnected forwarding units. The forwarding unit is used to receive and store network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer, and to match and filter all passing data packets, and execute network forwarding instructions that match the data packets. Each of the aforementioned forwarding units includes a network forwarding instruction table, a flow classifier, and an instruction processor; The flow classifier is used to perform matching filtering when a data packet arrives, and to find the network forwarding instruction with the highest priority among the network forwarding instructions that match the corresponding characteristics of the data packet; The instruction processor is used to execute the actions specified by the highest priority network forwarding instruction; The network forwarding instruction table is used to maintain all network forwarding instructions issued to the current forwarding unit and to clear network forwarding instructions that meet the failure conditions or exceed the automatic failure time. The network forwarding instructions include filtering instructions, processing instructions, and TTL instructions, wherein: The filtering instruction consists of several quadruples, including feature field offset, feature field length, field value, and mask. The processing instruction consists of several instructions taken from the processing instruction set; The TTL instruction includes an effective time, an expiration condition, and an automatic expiration time.

2. The intent-based intelligent traffic control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The intent management layer includes a user intent API configuration interface, a user intent API management server, a user intent database, a transcriber, a network management layer proxy server, and a network database. The User Intent API configuration interface is used for user authentication. Obtain user intents generated and distributed by network users or network proxy servers, and report them to the user intent API management server; And return the configuration results of the user intent API management server to the network user or network proxy server; The user intent API management server is used to verify the legitimacy of the user intent of each network user, manage the user intent API currently used by all network users in the entire network, sign user contracts with network users or network proxy servers, and create, modify, delete and query user intent API templates. It also maintains the user intent database to store user intent APIs, user intent API templates and currently valid user intents. The translator is used to translate user intents into forwarding request instructions that are understandable and supported by the network, according to the definition of the user intent API. The network management layer proxy server is used to understand and support the set of forwarding request instructions sent by the network management layer, and to maintain and store the network database.

3. The intent-based intelligent traffic control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The network management layer includes a forwarding instruction configuration interface, a resource database, a network resource management server, and a data forwarding layer driver. The forwarding instruction configuration interface is used to receive forwarding request instructions translated by one or more intent management layer entities, and send them to the network resource management server after preprocessing. And when the data forwarding layer experiences a network state change, it distributes the modification message of the forwarding request instruction set issued by the network resource management server to the corresponding intent management layer; The resource database is used to store the real-time collected status of each forwarding unit and the status of the data links between the forwarding units; The network resource management server is used to obtain the service-level resource allocation result based on the status of each forwarding unit, the status of the data link between the forwarding units, and the preprocessed forwarding request instruction; The data forwarding layer driver is used to maintain the device model, main parameters and real-time status of different forwarding units, and generate network forwarding instructions supported by the forwarding unit and send them to the corresponding forwarding unit according to the service-level resource allocation results and the device model, main parameters and real-time status of the corresponding forwarding unit.

4. An intent-based intelligent traffic control method, characterized in that, include: The user intent of a network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer into corresponding network forwarding instructions and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer. Each forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer receives and stores network forwarding instructions issued by the network management layer, and performs matching and filtering on all passing data packets, executing network forwarding instructions that match the data packets; Each forwarding unit includes a network forwarding instruction table, a flow classifier, and an instruction processor; The flow classifier is used to perform matching filtering when a data packet arrives, and to find the highest priority network forwarding instruction among the network forwarding instructions that match the corresponding characteristics of the data packet; The instruction processor is used to execute the actions specified by the highest priority network forwarding instruction; The network forwarding instruction table is used to maintain all network forwarding instructions issued to the current forwarding unit and to clear network forwarding instructions that meet the failure conditions or exceed the automatic failure time. Network forwarding commands include filtering commands, processing commands, and TTL commands, among which: The filtering instruction consists of several quadruples, including feature field offset, feature field length, field value, and mask. The processing instruction consists of several instructions taken from the processing instruction set; The TTL instruction includes an effective time, an expiration condition, and an automatic expiration time.

5. The intention-based intelligent traffic control method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Before the user intent of the network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer and sent to the corresponding forwarding unit of the data forwarding layer, the following steps are also included: Network users or network proxy servers enter into user contracts with the network through the intent management layer; Network users or network proxy servers create user intents by calling legitimate user intent APIs, representing the network services that network users expect to receive in a network-understandable form; The data forwarding layer manages network resources.

6. The intention-based intelligent traffic control method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The user intent of the network user or network proxy server is generated by the intent management layer and the network management layer into corresponding network forwarding instructions, which are then sent to the corresponding forwarding units in the data forwarding layer, including: The network management layer collects the status of each forwarding unit within the data forwarding layer and the status of the data links between forwarding units in real time. The intent management layer collects user intents from each network user or network proxy server in real time, and configures, manages and translates user intents, and sends the translated forwarding request instructions to the network management layer. The network management layer optimizes the implementation based on the translated forwarding request instruction and the current network status, and generates a network forwarding instruction corresponding to the user's intent, which is then sent to the corresponding forwarding unit in the data forwarding layer. The User Intent API configuration interface returns a successful configuration result to each network user.

7. The intention-based intelligent traffic control method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The intent management layer collects user intents from each network user or network proxy server in real time, and configures, manages, and translates these user intents. The translated forwarding request instructions are then sent to the network management layer, including: Network users or network proxy servers generate and distribute user intents to the user intent API configuration interface of the intent management layer. After user authentication, the user intent API configuration interface sends the user intent to the user intent API management server. The User Intent API Management Server performs a valid verification of the user intent of each network user or network proxy server. The translator translates each user intent after validity verification into one or more network-understandable and supported forwarding request instructions. The translated forwarding request instructions are then forwarded to the network resource management server through the forwarding instruction configuration interface of the network management layer.

8. A processing apparatus, characterized in that, It includes computer program instructions, wherein when executed by a processing device, the computer program instructions are used to implement the steps corresponding to the intent-based intelligent traffic control method according to any one of claims 4-7.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions, wherein when executed by a processor, the computer program instructions are used to implement the steps corresponding to the intent-based intelligent traffic control method according to any one of claims 4-7.

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