Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and related equipment, which are used for indicating different network measurement technologies through information at different positions of a message on a transmission path where the message is located, so that communication equipment on the path can realize network measurement based on different network measurement technologies. In the method, first equipment receives a first message, the first message comprises first information, and the first information is used for indicating to carry out first network measurement on the first message; the first device sends a second message based on the first message, the second message comprises second information, the second information is used for indicating to carry out second network measurement on the second message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the second message.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the development of communication networks, network measurement is very important for network management and optimization. For example, network status monitoring, network fault analysis, network security defense, and even network intelligence all rely on network measurement.

[0003] Currently, network measurement can be achieved through a variety of network measurement technologies, such as In-Situflow information telemetry (iFIT), In-band flow analyzer (IFA) or In-band network telemetry (INT). Among them, during the transmission of the message in the network, the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) on the path where the message is located needs to record the measurement results based on the same network measurement technology to achieve network measurement. In other words, during the implementation of the network measurement, the communication equipment on the path where the message is located needs to support the same network measurement technology.

[0004] However, in a communication network, different communication devices may support different network measurement technologies, which will cause the communication devices on the path where the message is located to be unable to perform network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, thereby causing network measurement failure. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which are used to indicate different network measurement technologies through information located at different positions of the message on the transmission path where the message is located, so that the communication equipment on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0006] The first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a first device, or the method is executed by some components in the first device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first device. In the first aspect and its possible implementation, the method is described as being executed by a first device, and the first device can be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a firewall, a virtual switch, a virtual router, and an intelligent network card. In the method, the first device receives a first message, and the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message; the first device sends a second message based on the first message, and the second message includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the first message received by the first device includes first information indicating that the first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, and thereafter, the second message sent by the first device based on the first message includes second information indicating that the second network measurement is to be performed on the second message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, and different network measurement technologies are generally indicated by information located at different positions in the message (e.g., field / message header, etc.). In other words, during the transmission of the message, the first device and / or the first N (N is a positive integer) hop devices of the first device, the device supporting the first network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to a network measurement technology based on the first information located at the first position in the message; and the first device and / or the first M (M is a positive integer) hop devices after the first device, the device supporting the second network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to another network measurement technology based on the second information located at the second position in the message. Therefore, compared to the implementation method in which the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) on the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, in the above technical scheme, on the transmission path where the message is located, different network measurement technologies are indicated by information located at different positions of the message, so that the communication equipment on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0008] In the present application, the information for indicating that a network measurement is performed on a message may be located in the message header of the message. For example, the first information may be located in the message header of the first message, and the second information may also be located in the message header of the second message. Generally, a message header may include one or more fields. In the first message, the first information may be carried in the message header of the first message and / or a field in the message header of the first message. Accordingly, the first position of the first information in the first message may be understood as the position of the message header in the first message and / or the position of the field in the message header of the first message. Similarly, in the second message, the second information may be carried in the message header of the second message and / or a field in the message header of the second message. Accordingly, the second position of the second information in the second message may be understood as the position of the message header in the second message and / or the position of the field in the message header of the second message.

[0009] In other words, the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, which can be understood as the message header used to carry the first information in the first message is different from the message header used to carry the second information in the second message. And / or, the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, which can be understood as the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the second information in the second message are the same message header, and the field in the first message that carries the first information through the message header is different from the field in the second message that carries the second information through the message header.

[0010] It should be understood that the process of the first device sending the second message based on the first message can be understood as, on the transmission path of the first message, the first device acts as a forwarding device (or forwarding node, or routing forwarding device, etc.) on the transmission path, and when the first device receives the first message and determines that the first message needs to be forwarded, the first device modifies the first message into the second message and sends the second message to the next hop node (such as the second device mentioned later). In other words, the payload of the first message can be the same as the payload of the second message.

[0011] It should be understood that the first message received by the first device may come from a third device on the message transmission path, and the third device may be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, an intelligent network card, etc., which is not limited here. Among them, the source device of the first message may be a server, a personal computer, a virtual machine, etc. Optionally, the source device of the first message may be the third device, or a device directly connected to the third device, or a device connected to the third device through one hop or multiple hops, which is not limited here.

[0012] Optionally, in the process of the first device modifying the first message into the second message, the first device may add the second information based on the first information in the first message to obtain the second message, or the first device may map the first information in the first message to the second information to obtain the second message. The first device may delete the first information in the second message or retain the first information, which is not limited here.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second message also includes the first information, and the first information is located at a first position in the second message.

[0014] Based on the above technical solution, in addition to the second information, the second message sent by the first device may also include first information for indicating that a first network measurement is to be performed on the second message, so that the recipient of the second message can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0015] In addition, for the receiver of the second message, when the second message includes the first information and the second information, the receiver can execute at least one network measurement process corresponding to the first information and the second information based on network configuration preferences or capability preferences, etc., compared with the implementation method in which the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) in the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, the flexibility of network measurement implementation can be improved.

[0016] It should be understood that, in the case where both the first message and the second message include the first information, the position of the first information in the first message and the position of the second information in the second message may be the same. Accordingly, the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the first information in the second message may be the same. Alternatively, the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the first information in the second message may be the same, and the field in the first message that carries the first information through the message header is the same as the field in the second message that carries the first information through the message header.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first message also includes a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information; the second message also includes a second measurement result, where the second measurement result is obtained based on processing of the first measurement result.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result. In other words, the first message received by the first device may include the measurement result obtained based on the first information; accordingly, the second message sent by the first device based on the first message may include the second measurement result obtained based on the first measurement result. In other words, when a network measurement technology indicated by the first information in the first message is modified to another network measurement technology indicated by the second information in the second message, the measurement result carried by the second message may indicate (or include) the first measurement result to avoid the loss of the measurement result, which can improve the network measurement performance.

[0019] Optionally, the first device may perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain a third measurement result. In the process of the first device modifying the first message into the second message, the first device may process the third measurement result and the first measurement result obtained based on a network measurement technology indicated by the first information into (or map to) a second measurement result obtained by another network measurement technology indicated by the second information. For example, the second measurement result may include the original measurement data of the third measurement result and the original measurement data of the first measurement result. For another example, the second measurement result may include a fused measurement result obtained by combining the third measurement result and the first measurement result (e.g., weighted average, summed average, etc.).

[0020] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first device sending a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0021] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the communication device can send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. Thus, after the first device performs network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain the third measurement result, the first device can send the third measurement result to the controller, so that the controller can subsequently perform the network analysis corresponding to the network measurement.

[0022] Optionally, the controller is used to receive measurement results of multiple network devices and perform network analysis, and the controller can be a server, a virtual machine, or other device (or, the controller can be a software system running in a server, a virtual machine, or other device). The controller can have other names, such as network management equipment, network management system, network management software, analyzer, network analyzer, network measurement analyzer, network quality analyzer, etc.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, the first information or the second information used to indicate network measurement may include at least one of the above items, so that the network measurement may include one or more of delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection to provide multiple network measurement methods.

[0025] It should be noted that, in the case where the first information or the second information includes different information contents, the first information or the second information can perform network measurement on the message in a variety of ways.

[0026] In an implementation example, taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message, which can be understood as: the delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of delay detection and / or a network measurement of packet loss detection for the first message.

[0027] In another implementation example, still taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes path detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message. It can be understood that the path detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of path detection of the message flow (or data flow) where the first message is located.

[0028] Optionally, the path detection information is carried in a field (eg, a field in a message header) or in a message header.

[0029] Optionally, the delay detection information and the packet loss detection information can be carried in different fields respectively. For example, when the first information or the second information includes delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, these three items of information can be carried in the same message header, that is, the same message header carries the three items of information through three different fields respectively.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first position or the second position is located at any one of the following: an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) message header, an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) message header, a virtual extensible local area network (Vxlan) header, a generation routing encapsulation (GRE) header, a generic network virtualization encapsulation (GENEVE) header, an in-band flow analyzer (IFA) header, an in-band flow analysis metadata (IFAMetadata) header, an in-Situ flow information telemetry (iFIT) header, an in-Situ operation administration and maintenance Trace Option-Types (IOAM Trace Option-Types) header, and an in-Situ operation administration and maintenance direct exporting Option-Types (IOAM DEX) header. Option-Type) header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

[0031] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be implemented through any of the above items. In other words, the first information or the second information can be located in one of the above-mentioned multiple message headers to enhance the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0033] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of a differentiated services code point (DSCP), an explicit congestion notification (ECN), or a Flags field;

[0034] When the first position is located in the IPv6 message header, the first information is carried in a traffic class field;

[0035] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the reserved field;

[0036] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0037] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0038] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0039] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0040] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0041] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0042] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0043] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in an Options field;

[0044] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in an Option Data field.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0046] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0047] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0048] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0049] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0050] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0051] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0052] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0053] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0054] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0055] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0056] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0057] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0058] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be located in one of a plurality of different message headers, wherein the first information or the second information can be carried by the corresponding field in one of the message headers to provide a specific implementation method for the first information and the second information.

[0059] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method also includes: the first device receives third information, the third information indicating that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0060] Based on the above technical solution, the first device may also receive the third information, and clarify the capability of the next hop node based on the third information. Accordingly, when the first device clarifies that the next hop node has the capability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the next hop node does not have the capability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, after receiving the first message, the first device may modify the first message carrying the first information into a second message carrying the second information, so that the next hop node can perform network measurement based on the second information to avoid measurement failure.

[0061] The second aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a first device, or the method is executed by some components in the first device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first device. In the second aspect and its possible implementation, the method is described as being executed by a first device, and the first device can be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, and a smart network card. In the method, the first device determines a first message, and the first message includes first information and second information. The first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, and the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the first device sends the first message.

[0062] Based on the above technical solution, the first message sent by the first device includes first information indicating that the first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, and the first message also includes second information indicating that the second network measurement is to be performed on the second message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the first information in the second message, and different network measurement technologies are generally indicated by information located at different positions in the message (such as fields / message headers, etc.). In other words, during the transmission of the message, the first device and / or the M (M is a positive integer) hop devices after the first device, the device supporting the first network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to a network measurement technology based on the first information located at the first position in the message, and the device supporting the second network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to another network measurement technology based on the second information located at the second position in the message. Therefore, compared with the implementation method in which the communication device (such as the forwarding device) on the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, in the above technical solution, on the transmission path where the message is located, different network measurement technologies are indicated by information located at different positions of the message, so that the communication devices on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0063] In addition, for the receiver of the first message, when the first message includes the first information and the second information, the receiver can execute at least one network measurement process corresponding to the first information and the second information based on network configuration preferences or capability preferences, etc., compared with the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) in the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, the flexibility of network measurement implementation can be improved.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first device receives a third message, the third message does not include the first information and / or the second information; the first device determines the first message including: the first device determines the first message based on the third message.

[0065] Based on the above technical solution, after the first device receives a third message that does not include the first information and / or the second information, the first device can determine the first message based on the third message, that is, the first device can obtain the first message after adding the first information and / or the second information in the third message, so that the subsequent recipient of the first message can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information in the first message.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, when the third message does not include the second information and the third message includes the first information, the first message includes the first measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the first information; or, when the third message does not include the first information and the third message includes the second information, the first message includes the second measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the second information.

[0067] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result. In other words, when the third message received by the first device includes the first information or the second information, the third message may include the measurement result obtained based on the first information or the second information, and accordingly, the first message determined by the first device based on the third message may include the first measurement result or the second measurement result obtained based on the measurement result, so as to avoid the loss of the measurement result and improve the network measurement performance.

[0068] It should be understood that in the above technical solution, the third message received by the first device may come from a third device on the message transmission path, and the third device may be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, an intelligent network card, etc., which is not limited here. Among them, the source device of the third message may be a server, a personal computer, a virtual machine, etc. Optionally, the source device of the third message may be the third device, or a device directly connected to the third device, or a device connected to the third device through one hop or multiple hops, which is not limited here.

[0069] Optionally, in addition to being determined by the first device based on the received third message, the first message may also be a message locally generated by the first device, that is, the first device may serve as a source device of the first message.

[0070] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first device sending a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0071] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the communication device can send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. Thus, after the first device performs network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain the third measurement result, the first device can send the third measurement result to the controller, so that the controller can subsequently perform the network analysis corresponding to the network measurement.

[0072] Optionally, the controller is used to receive measurement results of multiple network devices and perform network analysis, and the controller can be a server, a virtual machine, etc. The controller can have other names, such as network management equipment, analyzer, network analyzer, network measurement analyzer, network quality analyzer, etc.

[0073] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0074] Based on the above technical solution, the first information or the second information used to indicate network measurement may include at least one of the above items, so that the network measurement may include one or more of delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection to provide multiple network measurement methods.

[0075] It should be noted that, in the case where the first information or the second information includes different information contents, the first information or the second information can perform network measurement on the message in a variety of ways.

[0076] In an implementation example, taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message, which can be understood as: the delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of delay detection and / or a network measurement of packet loss detection for the first message.

[0077] In another implementation example, still taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes path detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message. It can be understood that the path detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of path detection of the message flow (or data flow) where the first message is located.

[0078] Optionally, the path detection information is carried in a field (eg, a field in a message header) or in a message header.

[0079] Optionally, the delay detection information and the packet loss detection information can be carried in different fields respectively. For example, when the first information or the second information includes delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, these three items of information can be carried in the same message header, that is, the same message header carries the three items of information through three different fields respectively.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: an IPv4 packet header, an IPv6 packet header, a Vxlan header, a GRE header, a GENEVE header, an IFA header, an IFA Metadata header, an iFIT header, an IOAM Trace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, or a GENEVE extension header.

[0081] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the first message can be implemented through any of the above items. In other words, the first information or the second information can be located in one of the above-mentioned multiple message headers to enhance the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0082] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0083] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0084] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0085] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0086] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0087] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0088] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0089] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0090] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0091] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0092] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0093] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0094] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0095] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0096] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0097] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0098] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0099] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0100] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0101] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0102] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0103] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0104] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0105] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0106] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0107] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0108] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the first message can be located in one of a plurality of different message headers, wherein the first information or the second information can be carried by a corresponding field in one of the message headers to provide a specific implementation method for the first information and the second information.

[0109] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first device receives third information, the third information indicating that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0110] Optionally, for the first device, the next hop node may be the second device described later.

[0111] Based on the above technical solution, the first device may also receive the third information and clarify the capability of the next hop node based on the third information. Accordingly, when the first device is clear that the next hop node has the capability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the next hop node has the capability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, the first device may carry the first information and the second information in the first message sent, so that the next hop node can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to avoid measurement failure.

[0112] The third aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second device, or the method is executed by some components in the second device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second device. In the third aspect and its possible implementation, the method is described as being executed by the second device, and the second device can be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, and an intelligent network card. In the method, the second device receives a first message, and the first message includes first information and second information. The first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, and the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the second device performs the first network measurement based on the first information and / or performs the second network measurement based on the second information.

[0113] Based on the above technical solution, the first message received by the second device includes first information indicating that the first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, and the first message also includes second information indicating that the second network measurement is to be performed on the second message. Thereafter, the second device can perform the first network measurement based on the first information and / or perform the second network measurement based on the second information. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the first information in the second message, and different network measurement technologies are generally indicated by information located at different positions in the message (such as fields / message headers, etc.). In other words, during the transmission of the message, the first device and / or the M (M is a positive integer) hop devices after the first device, the device supporting the first network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to a network measurement technology based on the first information located at the first position in the message, and the device supporting the second network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to another network measurement technology based on the second information located at the second position in the message. Therefore, compared to the implementation method in which the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) on the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, in the above technical scheme, on the transmission path where the message is located, different network measurement technologies are indicated by information located at different positions of the message, so that the communication equipment on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0114] In addition, for the second device, when the first message includes the first information and the second information, the second device can execute at least one network measurement process corresponding to the first information and the second information based on network configuration preferences or capability preferences, etc., compared with the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) in the path where the message is located only based on the same network measurement technology to perform network measurement, the flexibility of network measurement implementation can be improved.

[0115] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second device sending a second message based on the first message, the second message including the first information and / or the second information.

[0116] Based on the above technical solution, after the second device receives the first message containing the first information and the second information, the second device can send a second message based on the first message, and the second message includes the first information and / or the second information, so that the recipient of the second message can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0117] Optionally, when the next hop node of the second device is the destination device, since the next hop node may not have the need or capability for network measurement, the second message sent by the second device based on the first message may not include the first information and the second information.

[0118] Optionally, when the next hop node of the second device is not the destination device, the second message sent by the second device may also be forwarded by the next hop node, so that the destination device obtains the payload in the second message based on the forwarding of the next hop node. Since the next hop node may have the need or capability for network measurement, for this reason, the second device may determine whether the second message carries the first information and / or the second information based on the capability information of the next hop node. For example, when the next hop node has the capability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, the second message may include the first information. For another example, when the next hop node has the capability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information, the second message may include the first information.

[0119] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first message also includes a first measurement result and / or a second measurement result, the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the second information; the second message also includes a third measurement result, and the third measurement result is obtained based on the first measurement result and / or the second measurement result.

[0120] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result. In other words, the first message received by the second device may include the measurement result obtained based on the first information and / or the second information; accordingly, the second message sent by the second device based on the first message may include a third measurement result obtained based on the measurement result, so as to avoid the loss of the measurement result and improve the network measurement performance.

[0121] Optionally, the second device may perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain a local measurement result. In the process of the second device modifying the first message into the second message, the first device may process the local measurement result and the first measurement result obtained based on the first information and / or the second measurement result obtained based on the second information to obtain a third measurement result.

[0122] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second device sending a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0123] Based on the above technical solution, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the communication device can send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. Thus, after the second device performs network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain the third measurement result, the second device can send the third measurement result to the controller, so that the controller can subsequently perform network analysis corresponding to the network measurement.

[0124] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0125] Based on the above technical solution, the first information or the second information used to indicate network measurement may include at least one of the above items, so that the network measurement may include one or more of delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection to provide multiple network measurement methods.

[0126] It should be noted that, in the case where the first information or the second information includes different information contents, the first information or the second information can perform network measurement on the message in a variety of ways.

[0127] In an implementation example, taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message, which can be understood as: the delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of delay detection and / or a network measurement of packet loss detection for the first message.

[0128] In another implementation example, still taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes path detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message. It can be understood that the path detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of path detection of the message flow (or data flow) where the first message is located.

[0129] Optionally, the path detection information is carried in a field (eg, a field in a message header) or in a message header.

[0130] Optionally, the delay detection information and the packet loss detection information can be carried in different fields respectively. For example, when the first information or the second information includes delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, these three items of information can be carried in the same message header, that is, the same message header carries the three items of information through three different fields respectively.

[0131] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: an IPv4 packet header, an IPv6 packet header, a Vxlan header, a GRE header, a GENEVE header, an IFA header, an IFA Metadata header, an iFIT header, an IOAM Trace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, or a GENEVE extension header.

[0132] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be implemented through any of the above items. In other words, the first information or the second information can be located in one of the above-mentioned multiple message headers to enhance the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0133] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0134] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0135] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0136] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0137] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0138] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0139] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0140] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0141] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0142] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0143] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0144] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0145] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0146] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0147] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0148] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0149] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0150] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0151] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0152] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0153] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0154] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0155] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0156] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0157] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0158] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0159] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be located in one of a plurality of different message headers, wherein the first information or the second information can be carried by the corresponding field in one of the message headers to provide a specific implementation method for the first information and the second information.

[0160] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the method also includes: the second device sends third information, the third information indicating that the second device has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicating that the second device has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information.

[0161] Based on the above technical solution, the second device can also send the third information to the previous hop node (for example, the first device), so that the previous hop node can clarify the capability of the second device based on the third information. Correspondingly, when the first device is clear that the next hop node has the capability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the next hop node has the capability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, the first device can carry the first information and the second information in the first message sent, so that the next hop node can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to avoid measurement failure.

[0162] In a fourth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The device includes a corresponding unit or module for executing the above method. The unit or module included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a first device, or the device can be a component in the first device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device.

[0163] The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; the transceiver unit is used to receive a first message, the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message; the processing unit is used to determine a second message based on the first message; the transceiver unit is also used to send a second message, the second message includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the second message.

[0164] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the second message also includes the first information, and the first information is located at a first position in the second message.

[0165] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first message also includes a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information; the second message also includes a second measurement result, where the second measurement result is obtained based on processing of the first measurement result.

[0166] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0167] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0168] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0169] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first position or the second position is located at any one of the following: an Internet Protocol version 4 IPv4 message header, an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message header, a virtual extensible local area network Vxlan header, a generic routing encapsulation GRE header, a generic network virtualization encapsulation GENEVE header, an in-band flow analysis IFA header, an in-band flow analysis metadata IFA Metadata header, an in-flow information telemetry iFIT header, an in-flow management and maintenance tracking option type IOAMTrace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, and a GENEVE extension header.

[0170] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0171] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of a Differentiated Services Code Point DSCP, an Explicit Congestion Notification ECN, or a Flags field;

[0172] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in a traffic type Traffic Class field;

[0173] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the reserved field;

[0174] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0175] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0176] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0177] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0178] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0179] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0180] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0181] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the optional Options field;

[0182] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the optional data Option Data field.

[0183] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0184] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0185] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0186] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0187] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0188] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0189] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0190] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0191] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0192] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0193] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0194] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0195] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0196] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0197] In a fifth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The device includes a corresponding unit or module for executing the above method. The unit or module included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a first device, or the device can be a component in the first device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device.

[0198] The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is used to determine a first message, the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement to be performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate a second network measurement to be performed on the first message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the transceiver unit is used to send the first message.

[0199] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a third message, which does not include the first information and / or the second information; the processing unit is used to determine the first message including: the processing unit is used to determine the first message based on the third message.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, when the third message does not include the second information and the third message includes the first information, the first message includes the first measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the first information; or, when the third message does not include the first information and the third message includes the second information, the first message includes the second measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the second information.

[0201] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the processing unit is further used to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0202] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0203] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0204] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: an IPv4 packet header, an IPv6 packet header, a Vxlan header, a GRE header, a GENEVE header, an IFA header, an IFA Metadata header, an iFIT header, an IOAM Trace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, or a GENEVE extension header.

[0205] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0206] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0207] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0208] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0209] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0210] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0211] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0212] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0213] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0214] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0215] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0216] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0217] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0218] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0219] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0220] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0221] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0222] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0223] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0224] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0225] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0226] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0227] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0228] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0229] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0230] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0231] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the processing unit is also used to receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0232] In a sixth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect. The device includes a corresponding unit or module for executing the above method. The unit or module included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a second device, or the device can be a component in the second device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second device.

[0233] The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; the transceiver unit is used to receive a first message, the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement to be performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate a second network measurement to be performed on the first message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the processing unit is used to perform the first network measurement based on the first information and / or perform the second network measurement based on the second information.

[0234] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send a second message based on the first message, and the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0235] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first message also includes a first measurement result and / or a second measurement result, the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the second information; the second message also includes a third measurement result, and the third measurement result is obtained based on the first measurement result and / or the second measurement result.

[0236] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0237] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0238] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0239] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: an IPv4 packet header, an IPv6 packet header, a Vxlan header, a GRE header, a GENEVE header, an IFA header, an IFA Metadata header, an iFIT header, an IOAM Trace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, or a GENEVE extension header.

[0240] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0241] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0242] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0243] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0244] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0245] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0246] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0247] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0248] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0249] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0250] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0251] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0252] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0253] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0254] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0255] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0256] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0257] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0258] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0259] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0260] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0261] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0262] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0263] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0264] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0265] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0266] In a possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to send third information, wherein the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information.

[0267] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is used to execute a program or instruction stored in a memory so that the device implements the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0268] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is used to execute a program or instruction stored in a memory so that the device implements the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0269] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is used to execute a program or instruction stored in a memory so that the device implements the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0270] The tenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, comprising at least one logic circuit and an input and output interface; the logic circuit is used to execute the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation method of the first aspect.

[0271] In the eleventh aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to execute a method as in the aforementioned second aspect or any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

[0272] The twelfth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, comprising at least one logic circuit and an input-output interface; the logic circuit is used to execute a method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0273] In a thirteenth aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing computer instructions; when the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the processor executes the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or the processor executes the method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0274] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product (or computer program), which includes instructions. When the instructions in the computer program product are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the processor executes the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or the processor executes the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0275] In the fifteenth aspect of the present application, a chip system is provided, which includes a communication interface and a processor, wherein the communication interface and the processor are coupled to support a communication device to implement the functions involved in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to support a communication device to implement the functions involved in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or to support a communication device to implement the functions involved in the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0276] In a possible design, the chip system may also include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system also includes an interface circuit, which provides program instructions and / or data for the at least one processor.

[0277] The sixteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the fourth aspect, or the communication system includes the communication device of the fifth aspect and the communication device of the sixth aspect, or the communication system includes the communication device of the seventh aspect, or the communication system includes the communication device of the eighth aspect and the communication device of the ninth aspect, or the communication system includes the communication device of the tenth aspect, or the communication system includes the communication device of the eleventh aspect and the communication device of the twelfth aspect.

[0278] Optionally, the communication system also includes other devices in the above implementation manner.

[0279] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fourth to sixteenth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different implementation methods in the first to third aspects mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0280] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario provided for this application;

[0281] Figure 2a Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0282] Figure 2b A schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0283] Figure 3 Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0284] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an implementation of the communication method provided in this application;

[0285] Figure 5a Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0286] Figure 5b Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0287] Figure 5c Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0288] Figure 5d Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0289] Figure 5e Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0290] Figure 5f Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0291] Figure 5g Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0292] Figure 5h Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0293] Figure 5i Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0294] Figure 5j Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0295] Figure 5k Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0296] Figure 5l Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0297] Figure 6a Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0298] Figure 6b Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0299] Figure 6c Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0300] Figure 6d A schematic diagram of message processing provided for this application;

[0301] Figure 6e Another schematic diagram of message processing provided for this application;

[0302] Figure 6f Another schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0303] Figure 6g Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0304] Figure 6h Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0305] Figure 6i Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0306] Figure 6j Another schematic diagram of the message format provided for this application;

[0307] Figure 7a Another implementation diagram of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0308] Figure 7bAnother schematic diagram of the application scenario provided for this application;

[0309] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided for this application;

[0310] Fig. 9 Another implementation schematic diagram of the communication device provided in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0311] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0312] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following (single)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single (single) or plural (single). 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 words such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0313] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0314] It should be understood that in the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will take corresponding actions under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require that the device must have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0315] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between various embodiments or implementations can refer to each other. In each embodiment of this application, and each implementation method / implementation method / implementation method in each embodiment, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments and each implementation method / implementation method / implementation method in each embodiment are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments and each implementation method / implementation method / implementation method in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation methods, implementation methods or implementation methods according to their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0316] To facilitate understanding of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the system architecture of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below. It is understandable that the system architecture described in the embodiment of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0317] See also Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the system includes multiple customer edge (CE) devices, such as customer edge device 101 and customer edge device 102, and other customer edge devices that may exist; the system also includes multiple network devices, such as network device 103, network device 104, network device 105 and network device 106, and other network devices that may exist.

[0318] exist Figure 1 In the present invention, the user edge device can be used as the entry device of the message flow (or data flow) transmitted by the communication system. In this case, the user edge device can be connected to the sending end of the message flow, that is, the device indicated by the source address information of the message flow; accordingly, the user edge device can be called a source device, a source node, etc. Alternatively, the user edge device can be used as the egress device of the message flow transmitted by the communication system. In this case, the user edge device can be connected to the receiving end of the message flow, that is, the device indicated by the destination address information of the message flow; accordingly, the user edge device can be called a destination device, a destination node, etc. Among them, the sending end of the message flow or the receiving end of the message flow can be a terminal device, a server, a virtual machine, and other devices with data transmission and reception requirements.

[0319] Optionally, in Figure 1In the example, the network device can also be used as a source device or a destination device. For example, the network device 103 can be used as a source device to send data to the network device 104 as the destination device through forwarding by other devices. For another example, the network device 103 can be used as a source device to send data to the user edge device 102 as the destination device through forwarding by other devices.

[0320] With the development of communication networks, network measurement is very important for network management and optimization. For example, network status monitoring, network fault analysis, network security defense, and even network intelligence all rely on network measurement. Figure 1 For example, the network device may be a router, a switch, a firewall, a virtual switch, a virtual router, a smart network card, etc. These network devices may be used to transmit a message flow from one user edge device to another user edge device and perform network measurement on the message flow (or one or more messages in the message flow); or, these network devices may be used as a measurement device for a message flow (or one or more messages in a message flow) to perform network measurement on a message flow (or one or more messages in a message flow) transmitted from one user edge device to another user edge device.

[0321] It can be understood that the device (such as the first device, the second device, etc.) used to perform the communication method in the present application can be Figure 1 A network device used to forward message flows. In other words, the network device can measure the message flows it transmits.

[0322] Currently, network measurement can be achieved through a variety of network measurement technologies, such as In-Situflow information telemetry (iFIT), In-band flow analyzer (IFA) or In-band network telemetry (INT). Among them, during the transmission of the message in the network, the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) on the path where the message is located needs to record the measurement results based on the same network measurement technology to achieve network measurement. In other words, during the implementation of the network measurement, the communication equipment on the path where the message is located needs to support the same network measurement technology.

[0323] It should be noted that the implementation of network measurement technology depends on the message header and / or message header field carried in the message. For example, iFIT can be a network measurement technology. During the message forwarding process, the message can indicate through the iFIT header carried by the message that the network measurement corresponding to iFIT needs to be performed on the message. For another example, IFA can be a network measurement technology. During the message forwarding process, the message can indicate through the IFA header carried by the message that the network measurement corresponding to IFA needs to be performed on the message.

[0324] Generally, when different messages carry network measurement instructions through the same message header (and / or message header field), the network measurement implemented based on the different messages can be understood as network measurement implemented based on the same network measurement technology. For example, when two different messages both carry iFIT headers, during the forwarding process of the two messages, the forwarding device can perform network measurement based on the iFIT headers carried by the two messages. At this time, it can be understood that the two messages are network measurements implemented by the iFIT network measurement technology.

[0325] Accordingly, in the case where different messages carry network measurement indications through different message headers (and / or fields of message headers), the network measurement implemented based on the different messages can be understood as network measurement implemented based on different network measurement technologies. For example, in the case where one message carries an iFIT header and another message carries an IFA header, during the forwarding process of the one message, the forwarding device can implement network measurement based on the iFIT header, and during the forwarding process of the other message, the forwarding device can implement network measurement based on the IFA header. At this time, it can be understood that the two messages are network measurements implemented by different network measurement technologies.

[0326] As an implementation example, the following will combine Figure 2a and Figure 2b The example shown here describes the implementation process of the iFIT solution. Figure 2a As shown, in the implementation of iFIT, the devices involved may include network devices (i.e. Figure 2a Device 1, Device 2, Device 3) and the network management system (analyzer). Figure 2a In the example, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the message source device is IP1, and the IP address of the message destination device is IP2. That is, after the data message sent by IP1 is forwarded by device 1, device 2 and device 3 in sequence, IP2 can receive the data message from IP1, which specifically includes the following implementation process.

[0327] Step 1: The data message sent by IP1 to IP2 arrives at device 1.

[0328] Step 2: Device 1 adds an iFIT message header to the data message sent by IP1 (it can be encapsulated in different positions according to the data message format).

[0329] Exemplary iFIT message header format Figure 2b As shown, it includes the following fields:

[0330] Flow ID, "L / D / R / R" indicates the bit of the coloring mark, the next header indicates the extended data type, flow ID extension (Flow ID Ext), "E / Fra / F / R" indicates the statistical mode / data flow direction and other information, extended length (denoted as Len), reserved (Reserved, referred to as R), trace type (Trace Type), timestamp (seconds) (Timestamp) (S), timestamp (nanoseconds) (Timestamp) (nS).

[0331] exist Figure 2a In the example, the iFIT message header added by device 1 to the data message can be understood as device 1 adding path detection information to the data message, so that other subsequent devices can clearly indicate the need to perform path detection on the data message based on the iFIT message header.

[0332] Optionally, device 1 uses the L bit and D bit in the iFIT message header to perform packet loss and delay detection: for example, device 1 will periodically flip the L bit to 0 / 1 to count whether there is packet loss in the statistical data message, and will select 1 message in each cycle to set the D bit to 1 for delay measurement. In other words, the "L" field in the iFIT message header added by device 1 to the data message can be understood as adding packet loss detection information to the data message, so that other subsequent devices can clearly perform packet loss detection information on the data message based on the "L" field; the "D" field in the iFIT message header added by device 1 to the data message can be understood as adding delay detection information to the data message, so that other subsequent devices can clearly perform delay detection information on the data message based on the "D" field.

[0333] Step 3: Device 1 performs traffic statistics based on the values ​​of the L and D bits in the iFIT message header and message characteristics, including the number of messages, number of bytes, timestamp, inbound / outbound interfaces, and other information, and then forwards the data message to device 2 based on the local forwarding table.

[0334] Step 4: Device 2 performs traffic statistics based on the values ​​of the L and D bits in the iFIT message header and message characteristics, including the number of messages, number of bytes, timestamp, inbound / outbound interfaces, and other information, and then forwards the data message to device 3 based on the local forwarding table.

[0335] Step 5: Device 3 performs traffic statistics based on the values ​​of the L and D bits in the iFIT message header and message characteristics, including the number of messages, number of bytes, timestamp, input / output interface, etc., and then removes the iFIT message header from the data message and sends it to IP2.

[0336] In the implementation process of the above steps 3 to 5, after each statistical cycle ends, device 1, device 2, and device 3 respectively report the statistical information related to the data message sent from IP1 to IP2 to the network management system (analyzer). The network management system (analyzer) calculates the forwarding path of the data message in the network according to the input / output interface reported by the device, calculates whether there is packet loss in the data message sent from IP1 to IP2 according to the number of messages and bytes reported by the device, and calculates the forwarding delay of the data message in the network according to the timestamp information sent by the device.

[0337] However, in a communication network, different communication devices may support different network measurement technologies, which will cause the communication devices on the path where the message is located to be unable to perform network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, thereby causing network measurement failure. Figure 2a and Figure 2b Taking implementation as an example, when there may be devices in the communication network that do not support iFIT technology, the iFIT solution cannot be deployed end-to-end, and the user's needs for end-to-end analysis of data message forwarding packet loss / path / delay information within the network cannot be met.

[0338] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which are used to indicate different network measurement technologies through information located at different positions of the message on the transmission path where the message is located, so that the communication devices on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies. The following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0339] As an example scenario, Figure 3 The shown scenario is a schematic diagram of a scenario of the communication method provided in this application.

[0340] exist Figure 3 In the example, the source device and the destination device are devices that need to communicate with each other in the network, such as personal computers, servers, virtual machines, switches, routers, etc. In addition, the third device / first device / second device are network devices that are interconnected in the network, such as routers, switches, firewalls, virtual switches, virtual routers, smart network cards, etc. The message sent by the source device 1 to the destination device can reach the destination device after being forwarded by the third device / first device / second device.

[0341] Optionally, in Figure 3 In the example, the source device and the destination device may be connected via at least two network devices. The figure takes the number of the at least two network devices as 3 as an example. The number of the at least two network devices may also be greater than 3, for example Figure 3 There may be one or more network devices between the source device and the third device. Figure 3 There may be one or more network devices between the third device and the source device. Figure 3 There may be one or more network devices between the first device and the second device in the embodiment. Figure 3 There may be one or more network devices between the second device and the destination device, which is not limited here.

[0342] Optionally, in Figure 3 In the network, the controller (or network management equipment, network management system, network management software, analyzer, network analyzer, network measurement analyzer, network quality analyzer, etc.) is the software / hardware system for managing network devices in the network. It sends configurations to network devices according to user settings or analyzes information reported by the devices.

[0343] See also Figure 4 , is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0344] S401. A first device receives the first message, wherein the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to instruct to perform a first network measurement on the first message.

[0345] It should be understood that in step S401, the first message comes from a device on the message transmission path, which may be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, an intelligent network card, etc., which is not limited here. Figure 4 The method shown can be applied to Figure 3 In the scenario shown, for example, the third device, the first device and the second device act as forwarding devices to forward the message sent by the source device to the destination device. In this case, the first message comes from the third device on the message transmission path. Figure 3 As shown, the source device of the first message can be a server, a personal computer, a virtual machine, etc.

[0346] Optionally, the source device of the first message may be the third device, or may be a device directly connected to the third device, or may be a device connected to the third device via one hop or multiple hops, which is not limited here.

[0347] Optionally, in Figure 3In the example, there may be one or more hops of forwarding / relay devices between different devices. For example, the third device may be a device directly connected to the first device, or there may be one or more hops of forwarding / relay devices between the third device and the first device. For another example, the first device may be a device directly connected to the second device, or there may be one or more hops of forwarding / relay devices between the first device and the second device.

[0348] S402. The first device sends a second message, and correspondingly, the second device receives the second message, wherein the second message includes second information, the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the second message.

[0349] In the present application, the information for indicating that a network measurement is performed on a message may be located in the message header of the message. For example, the first information may be located in the message header of the first message, and the second information may also be located in the message header of the second message. Generally, a message header may include one or more fields. In the first message, the first information may be carried in the message header of the first message and / or a field in the message header of the first message. Accordingly, the first position of the first information in the first message may be understood as the position of the message header in the first message and / or the position of the field in the message header of the first message. Similarly, in the second message, the second information may be carried in the message header of the second message and / or a field in the message header of the second message. Accordingly, the second position of the second information in the second message may be understood as the position of the message header in the second message and / or the position of the field in the message header of the second message.

[0350] In other words, the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, which can be understood as the message header used to carry the first information in the first message is different from the message header used to carry the second information in the second message. And / or, the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, which can be understood as the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the second information in the second message are the same message header, and the field in the first message that carries the first information through the message header is different from the field in the second message that carries the second information through the message header.

[0351] In a possible implementation, the first position of the first information in the first message in step S401 (or the second position of the second information in the second message in step S402) is located in any one of the following: an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) message header, an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) message header, a virtual extensible local area network (Vxlan) header, a generation routing encapsulation (GRE) header, a generic network virtualization encapsulation (GENEVE) header, an in-band flow analyzer (IFA) header, an in-band flow analysis metadata (IFA Metadata) header, an in-situ flow information telemetry (iFIT) header, an in-situ operation administration and maintenance Trace Option-Types (IOAM TraceOption-Types) header, an in-situ operation administration and maintenance direct export optional type (In-Situ operationadministration and maintenance direct exporting Option-Types, IOAM DEX Option-Type) header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

[0352] Thus, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be implemented through any of the above items. In other words, the first information or the second information can be located in one of the above-mentioned multiple message headers to enhance the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0353] For ease of understanding, the following will combine Figure 5a to Figure 5l The illustrated implementation examples describe implementations of a first position and a second position.

[0354] In an implementation example, Figure 5aAs shown, when the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the differentiated services code point (DSCP), explicit congestion notification (ECN), or flags fields. Similarly, when the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN, or Flags fields.

[0355] In another implementation example, Figure 5b As shown, when the first position is located in the IPv6 message header, the first information is carried in the traffic type (Traffic Class) field. Similarly, when the second position is located in the IPv6 message header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field. Similarly,

[0356] In another implementation example, Figure 5c As shown, when the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one item of the R bit and the Reserved field; similarly, when the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one item of the R bit and the Reserved field.

[0357] In another implementation example, Figure 5d As shown, when the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one item of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; similarly, when the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one item of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields.

[0358] In another implementation example, Figure 5e As shown, when the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field; similarly, when the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field.

[0359] In another implementation example, Figure 5f As shown, when the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit; similarly, when the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit.

[0360] In another implementation example, Figure 5gAs shown, when the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; similarly, when the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit.

[0361] In another implementation example, Figure 5h As shown, when the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L, D bits, and the Reserved field; similarly, when the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in the L, D bits, and the Reserved field.

[0362] At least one of

[0363] In another implementation example, Figure 5i As shown, when the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one item of the Flags field and the Reserved field; similarly, when the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one item of the Flags field and the Reserved field.

[0364] In another implementation example, Figure 5j As shown, when the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one item of the Flags field and the Reserved field; similarly, when the second position is located in the IOAMDEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one item of the Flags field and the Reserved field.

[0365] Optionally, in addition to Figure 5i and Figure 5j In addition to the IOAM Trace Option-Types header and IOAM DEXOption-Type header shown, the first position (or the second position) can also be located in the IOAM MetaData header. For example, the first information (or the second information) is carried in the ingress port number (Ingress Port ID), egress port number (Egress Port ID), ingress device timestamp (In TimeStamp), forwarding delay (Forwarding Delay) and other fields in the IOAM MetaData header.

[0366] In another implementation example, Figure 5kAs shown, when the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field; similarly, when the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field.

[0367] In another implementation example, Figure 5l As shown, when the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field; similarly, when the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0368] It should be understood that this application Figure 5a or Figure 5l In the frame format shown, the number of bytes (or bits) of different fields and the order of different fields are not limited. Figure 5a or Figure 5l The values ​​of the number of bytes (or bits) of different fields in the frame format and the order of different fields are only an implementation example. Figure 5a or Figure 5l The values ​​of the number of bytes (or bits) of different fields in the frame format shown can also be other values. Figure 5a or Figure 5l The order of different fields in the frame format shown can also be other field orders, which are not limited here. Figure 5a or Figure 5l The different fields in the frame format shown can be implemented independently.

[0369] Based on the above technical solution, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the second message can be located in one of a plurality of different message headers, wherein the first information or the second information can be carried by the corresponding field in one of the message headers to provide a specific implementation method for the first information and the second information.

[0370] It should be noted that the first information / second information is carried in a certain field, which can be understood as, when the value of the field is a predefined value / preconfigured value, the meaning of the field is the first information / second information. In other words, during the message forwarding process, after receiving a message carrying the field, the message forwarding device (such as the first device, the second device, etc.) can determine whether the message carries an indication of network measurement based on the value of the field. For example, the first device can determine whether the received first message carries the first information based on the value of the field, and the second device can determine whether the received first message carries the second information based on the value of the field. For example, Figure 5hTaking the implementation process of the iFIT header in as an example, when the "L" bit is "1", it means that the first network measurement indicated by the first information includes packet loss detection (or the second network measurement indicated by the second information includes packet loss detection), and when the "D bit" is "1", it means that the first network measurement indicated by the first information includes delay detection (or the second network measurement indicated by the second information includes delay detection).

[0371] It should be understood that in step S402, the process of the first device sending the second message based on the first message can be understood as, on the transmission path of the first message, the first device acts as a forwarding device (or forwarding node, or routing forwarding device, etc.) on the transmission path, and when the first device receives the first message and determines that the first message needs to be forwarded, the first device modifies the first message into the second message and sends the second message to the next hop node (such as the second device mentioned later). In other words, the payload of the first message can be the same as the payload of the second message.

[0372] Optionally, in the process of the first device modifying the first message into the second message, the first device may add the second information based on the first information in the first message to obtain the second message, or the first device may map the first information in the first message to the second information to obtain the second message. The first device may delete the first information in the second message or retain the first information, which is not limited here.

[0373] In a possible implementation, when the first device modifies the first message to obtain the second message, the first device may modify the value of an existing field in the first message to obtain the second message, that is, the second information is carried in the existing field in the first message. This modification method can be called a data message modification method, that is, when performing network measurement, no new fields are needed, and some bits already in the message are used as message tags. Exemplarily, the second information can be obtained through the above Figure 5a to Figure 5e Any of the above methods can be used to implement the .

[0374] In another possible implementation, during the process of the first device modifying the first message to obtain the second message, the first device may modify the first message by adding a new field (or a new message header) in addition to the existing fields contained in the first message, that is, the second information is carried in the new field (or the new message header) in addition to the existing fields contained in the first message. This modification method can be called adding a detection field method, that is, adding a new field (or a new message header) when performing network measurement, and using the new field (or the field in the new message header) as a message tag. Exemplarily, the second information can be obtained through the above Figure 5f to Figure 5l Any of the above methods can be used to implement the .

[0375] In a possible implementation, the first information carried by the first message in step S401 or the second information carried by the second message in step S402 includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information. Thus, the network measurement may include one or more of delay detection, path detection, and packet loss detection, so as to provide multiple network measurement methods.

[0376] Optionally, the path detection information is carried in a field (eg, a field in a message header) or in a message header.

[0377] Optionally, the delay detection information and the packet loss detection information can be carried in different fields respectively. For example, when the first information or the second information includes delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, these three items of information can be carried in the same message header, that is, the same message header carries the three items of information through three different fields respectively.

[0378] It should be noted that the first network measurement and the second network measurement may be completely the same measurement or partially the same measurement.

[0379] For example, when the first network measurement indicated by the first information includes delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection corresponding to the three information: delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, if the first device determines that itself and / or the next-hop device (for example, the second device) supports delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection based on the second network side, the second network measurement indicated by the second information in the second message sent by the first device also includes delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection.

[0380] For another example, when the first network measurement indicated by the first information includes delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection corresponding to the three information: delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, if the first device determines that itself and / or the next-hop device (for example, the second device) supports one part of the detection based on the second network side but does not support another part of the detection (for example, supports delay detection but does not support path detection and packet loss detection), the second network measurement indicated by the second information in the second message sent by the first device also includes delay detection but does not include path detection and packet loss detection.

[0381] For another example, when the first network measurement indicated by the first information includes the delay detection corresponding to the delay detection information, if the first device determines that itself and / or the next-hop device (for example, the second device) supports three network measurements based on the second network side supporting delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection, the second network measurement indicated by the second information in the second message sent by the first device may include three network measurements: delay detection, path detection and packet loss detection.

[0382] For example, the delay detection information, the path detection information and the packet loss detection information can be obtained through the above Figure 5a to Figure 5l The fields in any of the modes are carried.

[0383] For example, Figure 5a For example, delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information can be carried in the DSCP, ECN and Flags fields in the IPv4 message respectively.

[0384] For example, Figure 5b For example, delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information can be respectively carried in different bits of the Traffic Class field in the IPv6 message.

[0385] For example, Figure 5f For example, path detection information can be carried in the IFIT Header (that is, when the message receiving end determines that the message carries the IFIT Header, it determines that path detection needs to be performed on the message), delay detection information and packet loss detection information can be carried in the D bit and L bit in the IFIT Header respectively.

[0386] It should be noted that, in the case where the first information or the second information includes different information contents, the first information or the second information can perform network measurement on the message in a variety of ways.

[0387] In an implementation example, taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message, which can be understood as: the delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of delay detection and / or a network measurement of packet loss detection for the first message.

[0388] In another implementation example, still taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes path detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message. It can be understood that the path detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of path detection of the message flow (or data flow) where the first message is located.

[0389] Optionally, the path detection information may be referred to as a flow detection flag, wherein the flow detection flag is used to identify that a message needs to be subjected to flow detection in order to implement path detection.

[0390] Similarly, packet loss detection information can carry a packet loss detection tag. The packet loss detection tag is used to detect packet loss statistics of data packets, and its length can be 1 bit. For example, the data packet tags in the same cycle of a detection task are consistent, and the tags of adjacent detection cycles are flipped 0 / 1; for example, if the packet loss detection tag of the nth cycle is 0, the packet loss detection tag of the n+1th cycle is 1, and the packet loss detection tag of the n+2th cycle is 0.

[0391] Similarly, the delay detection information can carry a delay detection tag, which is used to detect the delay statistics of the data message, and can be 1 bit long. One or more data messages are selected for tagging in each cycle, and the devices along the way report the timestamp of the message with the delay detection tag set.

[0392] It should be noted that the packet loss detection mark and the delay detection mark can be used independently, for example, only the packet loss detection mark is used when the packet loss detection function is needed, and only the delay detection mark is used when the delay detection function is needed; the packet loss detection mark and the delay detection mark are also used at the same time according to the usage scenario to support both the packet loss detection and delay detection functions. In addition, as shown above, the three items of information, namely, delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information, can be carried in the first message or the second message by modifying the message, or by adding a detection field to the first message or the second message.

[0393] In a possible implementation, the second message sent by the first message in step S402 also includes the first information, and the first information is located at a first position in the second message. Specifically, in addition to the second information, the second message sent by the first device may also include first information for indicating that a first network measurement is to be performed on the second message, so that a receiver of the second message can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0394] In addition, for the receiver of the second message, when the second message includes the first information and the second information, the receiver can execute at least one network measurement process corresponding to the first information and the second information based on network configuration preferences or capability preferences, etc., compared with the implementation method in which the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) in the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, the flexibility of network measurement implementation can be improved.

[0395] It should be understood that, in the case where both the first message and the second message include the first information, the position of the first information in the first message and the position of the second information in the second message may be the same. Accordingly, the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the first information in the second message may be the same. Alternatively, the message header used to carry the first information in the first message and the message header used to carry the first information in the second message may be the same, and the field in the first message that carries the first information through the message header is the same as the field in the second message that carries the first information through the message header.

[0396] Optionally, the second message sent by the first message in step S402 may not include the first information, so that the receiver of the second message can perform network measurement based on the second information carried in the second message.

[0397] Optionally, the case where the second message does not include the first information can be called single-layer message tag mapping, and the case where the second message includes the first information can be called double-layer tag mapping. Single-layer tag mapping can mean that the network device removes the original message tag when performing message tag mapping, and retains the mapped message tag, that is, after the network device performs message tag mapping, the message carries a layer of new tags. For example, Figure 4 In the implementation process shown, the second message sent by the first device carries the second information but does not carry the first information. The double-layer tag mapping may mean that the network device retains the original message tag when performing message tag mapping and adds a new tag to the message. After the network device performs message tag mapping, the message will carry two layers of tags. For example, Figure 4 In the illustrated implementation process, the second message sent by the first device carries the second information and the first information.

[0398] In one possible implementation, Figure 4 The method shown also includes: the first device receives third information, the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller. Specifically, the first device can also receive the third information and clarify the capability of the next hop node based on the third information. Accordingly, when the first device clarifies that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, after receiving the first message, the first device can modify the first message carrying the first information into a second message carrying the second information, so that the next hop node can perform network measurement based on the second information to avoid measurement failure.

[0399] In a possible implementation, the first message received by the first device in step S401 also includes a first measurement result, which includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information; accordingly, the second message sent by the first device in step S402 also includes a second measurement result, which is obtained based on the first measurement result.

[0400] Specifically, after a communication device on the transmission path of a message performs network measurement and obtains a measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result. In other words, the first message received by the first device may include a measurement result obtained based on the first information; correspondingly, the second message sent by the first device based on the first message may include a second measurement result obtained based on the first measurement result. In other words, when a network measurement technology indicated by the first information in the first message is modified to another network measurement technology indicated by the second information in the second message, the measurement result carried by the second message may indicate (or include) the first measurement result to avoid the loss of the measurement result, thereby improving the network measurement performance.

[0401] As an implementation example, the first measurement result in the first message is carried in Figure 5g Take the IFA Metadata header (that is, the first information is carried in one or more bits in the IFA Metadata header) as an example, and the second measurement result in the second message is carried in the IOAM MetaData header (that is, the first information is carried in one or more bits in the IOAM MetaData header) as an example.

[0402] Table 1 shows the fields and their descriptions contained in the IFA MetaData header.

[0403] Table 1

[0404]

[0405] Table 2 shows the fields and their descriptions contained in the IOAM MetaData header.

[0406] Table 2

[0407]

[0408] Generally, during the message forwarding process, if a device receives a message containing an IFA MetaData header, and the device supports network measurement based on the IFA MetaData header, the device will add an IFA MetaData header to the received message to carry the local measurement results through the newly added IFA MetaData header. In other words, the message forwarded by the device to the next-hop node will carry one or more IFA MetaData headers existing in the original received message, as well as the newly added IFA MetaData header by the device. Similarly, during the message forwarding process, if a device receives a message containing an IOAM MetaData header, and the device supports network measurement based on the IOAM MetaData header, the device will add an IOAM MetaData header to the received message to carry the local measurement results through the newly added IOAM MetaData header. In other words, the message forwarded by the device to the next-hop node will carry one or more IOAM MetaData headers existing in the original received message, as well as the newly added IOAM MetaData header by the device.

[0409] In the above technical solution, the first message received by the first device contains an IFA MetaData header, but the first device maps the measurement result in the IFA MetaData header to an IOAM MetaData header, so that the next-hop node (i.e., the second device) can perform network measurement based on the IOAM MetaData header, which can avoid the measurement failure of the second device due to the inability to support the IFA MetaData header. Correspondingly, the first device can map the measurement result in the IFA MetaData header carried by the first message to the measurement result in the IOAM MetaData header carried by the second message. In other words, the first device will map one or more IFA MetaData headers carried by the first message to corresponding one or more IOAM MetaData headers, and the first device will add an additional IOAM MetaData header to carry the local measurement results of the first device. As an implementation example, the mapping process is shown in Table 3 below.

[0410] Table 3

[0411]

[0412] Optionally, the first device may perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain a third measurement result. In the process of the first device modifying the first message into the second message, the first device may process the third measurement result and the first measurement result obtained based on a network measurement technology indicated by the first information into (or map to) a second measurement result obtained by another network measurement technology indicated by the second information. For example, the second measurement result may include the original measurement data of the third measurement result and the original measurement data of the first measurement result. For another example, the second measurement result may include a fused measurement result obtained by merging the third measurement result and the first measurement result.

[0413] In one possible implementation, Figure 4 In the method shown, the method also includes: the first device sends a third measurement result to the controller, and the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0414] Specifically, after a communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain a measurement result, the communication device can send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. Thus, after a first device performs network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain a third measurement result, the first device can send the third measurement result to the controller, so that the controller can subsequently perform network analysis corresponding to the network measurement.

[0415] Optionally, the controller is used to receive measurement results of multiple network devices and perform network analysis, and the controller can be a server, a virtual machine, etc. The controller can have other names, such as network management equipment, analyzer, network analyzer, network measurement analyzer, network quality analyzer, etc.

[0416] Optionally, for the first device, the first device may execute sending a third measurement result to the controller, and / or the second message sent by the first device based on the first message may include a second measurement result obtained by processing based on the first measurement result. In other words, the first device may send the measurement result to the controller so that the controller performs analysis of the measurement result based on the summarized information; and / or, the first device may also send a message carrying the local measurement result to the next hop node so that the egress node of the message can perform analysis of the measurement result based on the information carried by the message (or after the egress node of the message sends it to the controller, the controller can perform analysis of the measurement result based on the information carried by the message).

[0417] based on Figure 4In the technical solution shown, the first message received by the first device in step S401 includes first information indicating that the first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, and thereafter, the second message sent by the first device based on the first message in step S402 includes second information indicating that the second network measurement is to be performed on the second message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message, and different network measurement technologies are generally indicated by information located at different positions in the message (e.g., field / message header, etc.). In other words, during the transmission of the message, the first device and / or the first N (N is a positive integer) hop devices of the first device, the device supporting the first network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to a network measurement technology based on the first information located at the first position in the message; and the first device and / or the first M (M is a positive integer) hop devices after the first device, the device supporting the second network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to another network measurement technology based on the second information located at the second position in the message. Therefore, compared to the implementation method in which the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) on the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, in the above technical scheme, on the transmission path where the message is located, different network measurement technologies are indicated by information located at different positions of the message, so that the communication equipment on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0418] For ease of understanding, the following will combine Figure 6a The scenario shown above Figure 4 The communication method shown is described as an example.

[0419] like Figure 6a As shown in the figure, the data message sent by device 1 as the source device to device 2 as the destination device is forwarded by network device 1, network device 2, and network device 3 in sequence before reaching device 2. The network device will mark the data message when forwarding it, and will also count the message input / output interface, message number and other information according to the marking statistics; the network management system (analyzer) collects the traffic statistics generated on the network device, and then analyzes the forwarding path, packet loss rate, forwarding delay and other information of the data message in the network.

[0420] It is understandable that, as mentioned above Figure 4 In the process shown, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result; or, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the communication device may send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. If the measurement result of the network measurement is achieved through the former, Figure 6aIn the case where the network management system (analyzer) may not be included and the measurement results of the network measurement are realized by the latter, Figure 6a The network management system (analyzer) may be included and the network measurement results are analyzed by the network management system (analyzer). Figure 6a In the example, the measurement results of the network measurement are analyzed by the network management system (analyzer).

[0421] It should be noted that Figure 6a The network device 1 can be the above Figure 4 The third device in Figure 6a The network device 2 can be the above Figure 4 The first device in Figure 6a The network device 3 can be the above Figure 4 The second device in. Figure 6a The implementation process of each role is as follows.

[0422] Network administrator: When a network administrator needs to perform network measurement between device 1 and device 2 during business anomalies or routine operation and maintenance, the network administrator can deploy the data packet configuration information to be detected to network device 1 through a network management system (analyzer) or other device configuration tools.

[0423] Device 1: Device 1 needs to send a data message (such as an IPv4 message or an IPv6 message) to device 2. Device 1 sends the message to network device 1 according to the local forwarding table entry.

[0424] Network device 1: After receiving the message sent by device 1, network device 1 identifies the need to perform network quality measurement based on the message header and device configuration, then adds tag 1 to the data message, and measures the statistical information of the data message forwarding in network device 1 based on tag 1 (such as input / output interface, number of messages, number of bytes, timestamp, etc.); then network device 1 forwards the data message carrying tag 1 to network device 2 according to the forwarding table entry.

[0425] Network device 2: After receiving the data packet, network device 2 identifies the need for network quality measurement based on the tag 1 carried in the data packet (recording statistical information of the data packet forwarding in network device 2, such as input / output interface, number of packets, number of bytes, timestamp, etc.). At the same time, network device 2 will map tag 1 in the packet to tag 2 according to the tag mapping method, and then forward the packet carrying tag 2 to network device 3 according to the forwarding table entry.

[0426] It should be understood that the process of network device 2 receiving the data message carrying tag 1 from network device 1 is the aforementioned Figure 4In the example of an implementation in which the first device receives the first message from the third device. And the process in which the network device 2 sends the data message carrying the tag 2 to the network device 3 is recorded as the aforementioned Figure 4 An implementation example in which a first device sends a second message to a second device.

[0427] Optionally, network device 2 can map tag 1 to tag 2 based on the configuration. In one implementation example, the network administrator sends the message tag mapping configuration to network device 2 through the command line and the network management system (analyzer). The configuration content mainly includes the mapping source tag method (tag 1), the mapping destination tag method (tag 2), and the tag type that needs to be mapped (path detection information, packet loss detection information, delay detection information). The network administrator can select network device 2 to map one or more tag types when forwarding messages according to the scenario and device capabilities. For example, if the user has multiple detection purposes at the same time, and network device 2 and subsequent devices support it, multiple tag types can be selected (here the tag type refers to the path detection tag, the packet loss detection tag, and the delay detection tag), for example, carrying these three tags at the same time. For another example, if the user only needs the path detection and packet loss detection functions (or the subsequent devices of network device 2 do not support the delay detection function), network device 2 can only map the path detection tag and the packet loss detection tag.

[0428] It should be understood that Figure 6a In the implementation example shown, Mark 1 is an implementation example of the first information in the above text, and Mark 2 is an implementation example of the second information in the above text, that is, Mark 1 and Mark 2 can be carried in the above Figure 5a to Figure 5l The different fields in any two figures shown.

[0429] As an implementation example, when network device 2 performs message label mapping, after receiving a message carrying label 1, network device 2 forwards the message according to the forwarding table entry, and at the same time maps one or more message information (path detection information, packet loss detection information, delay detection information) in label 1 to information in label 2 according to the message label mapping configuration.

[0430] For example, in the case where the tag 1 carries the path detection information, the network device 2 can determine which tag method to use when mapping the tag according to the network administrator / network management system (analyzer) configuration when forwarding the message. As shown above, the tag 1 can be the first information described above, and the first information can be carried in the message by modifying the message or by adding a detection field. Exemplarily, the mapping process can be implemented based on the following Table 4.

[0431] Table 4

[0432]

[0433] For another example, when tag 1 carries packet loss detection information, the tag length of the packet loss detection information can be 1 bit and periodically flipped between 0 and 1. Network device 2 determines whether to map the packet loss detection tag in tag 1 (source tag) carried in the message to the packet loss detection tag in tag 2 (destination tag) according to the message tag mapping configuration; if packet loss detection tag mapping is required, the packet loss detection tag mapping method performed by network device 2 is shown in Table 5.

[0434] Table 5

[0435] Packet loss detection information in Mark 1 Packet loss detection information in Mark 2 0 0 1 1

[0436] For example, when tag 1 carries delay detection information, the tag length of the delay detection information can be 1 bit, and network device 2 determines whether to map the delay detection tag carried in tag 1 in the message to the delay detection tag in tag 2 (destination tag) according to the message tag mapping configuration; if delay detection tag is required, the delay detection tag mapping method of network device 2 is shown in Table 6 below.

[0437] Table 6

[0438] Delay detection information in Mark 1 Delay detection information in Mark 2 0 0 1 1

[0439] Network device 3: After receiving the data packet, network device 3 identifies the need for network quality measurement based on tag 2 carried by the data packet, measures the statistical information of the data packet forwarding in network device 3 (such as input / output interface, number of packets, number of bytes, timestamp, etc.) based on tag 2, and then removes all tags carried by the data packet and forwards the data packet to device 2 according to the forwarding table entry.

[0440] Device 2: Device 2 receives a data packet without a tag from network device 3.

[0441] Network management system (analyzer): The gateway system (analyzer) collects traffic statistics information recorded on network device 1, network device 2, and network device 3 according to the agreed network quality measurement period, and analyzes the path, packet loss, and delay statistics of the data message sent from device 1 to device 2 within the network based on the traffic statistics information.

[0442] As an implementation example, tag 1 can be Figure 5f In the IFIT Header, tag 2 can be Figure 5a The IPv4 header in Figure 6a In the scenario shown, if the network device 1 is based on the aforementioned Figure 2aIn the example shown, if a message carrying the IFIT Header is sent to the network device 2, it is possible that the network device 2 may discard the message or transparently transmit the message because the network device 2 does not support the IFIT technology, thereby making it impossible to perform network measurement of the message between the network device 1 and the network device 2. Figure 6a In the implementation process shown, network device 1 can map tag 1 to tag 2 that can be recognized by network device 2 (or network device 2 has the ability to perform network measurements based on tag 2), so that network device 2 can perform corresponding network measurements based on tag 2, thereby enabling network measurements of the message to be performed between network device 1 and network device 2.

[0443] As mentioned above Figure 4 As shown, the second message sent by the first device in step S402 may not carry the first information (ie, single-layer label mapping), or may carry the first information (ie, double-layer label mapping). Figure 6a In the implementation process shown, the network device 2 is used as an implementation example of the first device. The network device 2 can use the following two methods when performing label mapping:

[0444] Method 1: Figure 6a As shown, the network device 2 removes the label 1 carried in the data message, and then adds the label 2 to the data message, that is, single-layer label mapping.

[0445] In method 1, network device 1 sends a data packet carrying a tag (tag 1). There may be n (n>=0) network devices supporting message tag 1 between network device 1 and network device 2, and these network devices can perform network measurement based on tag 1. In addition, the data packet received by network device 2 carries tag 1, and network device 2 performs message tag mapping while forwarding the message, and then sends the data packet carrying only 1 layer tag (tag 2) to network device 3. Among them, there may be n (n>=0) network devices supporting tag 2 between network device 2 and network device 3, and these network devices can perform network measurement using message tag 2. Thereafter, network device 3 receives the message carrying the message tag (tag 2), removes the message tag, and forwards the message to device 2 (i.e., the destination device).

[0446] Method 2: Figure 6b As shown, network device 2 retains label 1 carried in the data message, and then adds label 2 to the data message, that is, double-layer label mapping. Figure 6b The behavior of each role can refer to the above Figure 6a Description.

[0447] In the second mode, network device 1 sends a data message carrying a tag (tag 1), and there may be n (n>=0) network devices supporting message tag 1 between network device 1 and network device 2, and these network devices may perform network measurement based on tag 1. In addition, the data message received by network device 2 carries tag 1, and after network device 2 forwards and performs tag mapping, the message carries both tag 1 and tag 2. Among them, there may be n (n>=0) network devices supporting tag 2 between network device 2 and network device 3, and these devices may perform network measurement using tag 1 and / or tag 2.

[0448] exist Figure 6b In the example shown, network device 3 may be the last device that supports tag 2. After receiving a message that carries two layers of tags (tag 1 and tag 2), network device 3 removes tag 2 from the message when forwarding it, and forwards the message that only carries tag 1 to the next-hop device. There may be n (n>=0) network devices that support tag 2 between network device 3 and network device 4, and these devices use message tag 1 to perform network measurement. After that, network device 4 may be the last-hop device that supports tag 1. It receives a message that only carries one layer of tags (tag 1). Network device 4 performs network quality measurement based on tag 1 in the message, and then removes the message tag and forwards it to device 2 (i.e., the destination device).

[0449] Optionally, in Figure 6b In the implementation process shown, network device 1 and network device 2 may be the same device, that is, tag 1 and tag 2 are added at the same time.

[0450] Optionally, in Figure 6b In the illustrated implementation process, network device 3 and network device 4 may be the same device, that is, mark 1 and mark 2 are removed at the same time.

[0451] exist Figure 6a In the implementation process shown, mark 1 is an implementation example of the first information in the above text, and mark 2 is an implementation example of the second information in the above text. Accordingly, the first information or the second information (namely mark 1 or mark 2) may include at least one of path measurement information, packet loss detection information, and delay detection information. Figure 6a The scenario shown is an exemplary description of network measurement based on Marker 1 or Marker 2.

[0452] like Figure 6c As shown, in Figure 6a In the implementation process shown in the figure, each network device such as network device 1, network device 2 and network device 3 can send measurement results to the network management system (analyzer), and the measurement results can be used as Figure 6cThat is, the measurement results obtained by network device 1 based on tag 1 can be carried in statistical table 1, the measurement results obtained by network device 2 based on tag 1 and / or tag 2 can be carried in statistical table 2, and the measurement results obtained by network device 3 based on tag 2 can be carried in statistical table 5.

[0453] Optionally, the information contained in any of the above statistical tables includes at least one of a flow identifier (e.g., a quintuple, a triplet, an IP equivalent), an input / output interface, and a statistical period identifier. Optionally, the information contained in any of the statistical tables may also include one or more of information such as the number of packets, the number of bytes, and a timestamp.

[0454] As an implementation example, when label 1 and label 2 carry path measurement information, the above-mentioned network devices 1 / 2 / 3 record the input / output interface information of the data packet on the device when performing traffic statistics. The network management system collects the statistical results reported by the hop-by-hop devices and analyzes the forwarding path of the data packet within the network based on the input / output interface information contained in the statistical results.

[0455] As another implementation example, when the tag 1 and the tag 2 carry the packet loss measurement information, each network device can Figure 6d The measurement results are determined in the manner shown.

[0456] a) Network device 1 marks the packet loss detection mark of each data message as 0 or 1, flipping it once in each cycle. The number of messages with the packet loss detection mark of 1 in the i-th cycle is counted as n1[i], and the number of messages with the packet loss detection mark of 0 in the i+1-th cycle is counted as n1[i+1].

[0457] b) Network device 2 counts the number of packets with a packet loss detection ratio of 1 in the i-th cycle as n2[i] based on the packet loss detection tag in tag 1, and maps the packet loss detection tag in tag 1 (value is 1) to the packet loss detection tag in tag 2 (value is 1); Network device 2 counts the number of packets with a packet loss detection tag of 0 in the i+1-th cycle as n2[i+1], and maps the packet loss detection tag in tag 1 (value is 0) to the packet loss detection tag in tag 2 (value is 0).

[0458] c) Network device 3 counts the number of packets with a packet loss detection ratio mark of 1 in the i-th cycle as n3[i] according to the packet loss detection mark in mark 2, and counts the number of packets with a packet loss detection ratio mark of 1 in the i+1-th cycle as n3[i+1].

[0459] d) Network device 1, network device 2, and network device 3 report the statistical information of the number of messages in each period to the network management system (analyzer). The network management system (analyzer) calculates the network packet loss information of the data message forwarding in the network based on the number of messages in the statistical information. For example, the analysis results obtained by the network management system (analyzer) are shown in Table 7 below.

[0460] Table 7

[0461]

[0462] Optionally, during the above implementation process, network device 1 and network device 2 may have other support tags 1 for network measurement, and network device 2 and network device 3 may have other support tags 2 for network measurement. The network management system / analyzer will also calculate the packet loss number / rate between devices based on the message number information reported by these devices.

[0463] As another implementation example, when the tag 1 and the tag 2 carry the delay measurement information, each network device can Figure 6e The measurement results are determined in the manner shown.

[0464] a) Network device 1 marks the delay detection flag in the flag 1 of a data message in the i-th cycle as 1, and obtains the timestamp t1[i]; marks the D coloring position 1 of a data message in the i+1-th cycle, and obtains the timestamp t1[i+1].

[0465] b) Network device 2 receives a service message with a delay detection flag set to 1 in tag 1 of the i-th cycle data message, obtains timestamp t2[i], and maps the delay detection flag (value is 1) in tag 1 to the delay detection flag (value is 1) in tag 2; Network device 2 receives a service message with a delay detection flag set to 1 in tag 1 of the i+1-th cycle data message, obtains timestamp t2[i+1], and maps the delay detection flag (value is 1) in tag 1 to the delay detection flag (value is 1) in tag 2;

[0466] c) Network device 3 receives the service message with the delay detection flag set to 1 in tag 1 of the data message of the i-th cycle, and obtains the timestamp t3[i]; Network device 2 receives the service message with the delay detection flag set to 1 in tag 1 of the data message of the i+1th cycle, and obtains the timestamp t3[i+1];

[0467] d) Network device 1, network device 2, and network device 3 report the statistical information of the number of messages in each period to the network management system (analyzer). The network management system (analyzer) calculates the delay of forwarding the data message in the network based on the timestamp information in the statistical information. For example, the analysis results obtained by the network management system (analyzer) are shown in Table 8 below.

[0468] Table 8

[0469]

[0470] Optionally, during the above implementation process, there may be other devices between network device 1 and network device 2 that support network measurement with tag 1, and there may be other devices between network device 2 and network device 3 that support network quality measurement with tag 2. The network management system / analyzer will also calculate the delay between devices based on the timestamp information reported by these devices.

[0471] As mentioned above Figure 4 An application example of the method shown in the figure is as follows: the tag 1 is a Vxlan tag and the tag 2 is an IFIT tag. Figure 6f The illustrated scenario provides an exemplary description of the above implementation process.

[0472] like Figure 6f As shown, a Vxlan tunnel is established between network device 1 and network device 5, and the Vxlan marking method is supported for path detection marking; network devices 2, 3, and 4 forward according to the Vxlan outer IP address, and the iFIT marking method is supported for path detection marking; the network administrator uses the message marking mapping scheme to perform network quality detection on the data message sent from device 1 to device 2. It should be understood that Figure 6f The implementation process of each role can refer to the above Figure 6a Description.

[0473] Step a. The network administrator configures network device 1, network device 2, network device 3, network device 4, and network device 5 through the network management system (analyzer) or command line mode. The main configuration is shown in Table 9 below.

[0474] Table 9

[0475]

[0476] Step b. Device 1 sends a data packet with a destination IP address of device 2 and no path detection tag to network device 1. For example, the message format of a data packet without a path detection tag is as follows: Figure 6g shown.

[0477] Step c. The network device 1 identifies the data message according to the traffic characteristics to be detected and needs to perform network quality measurement. The network device 1 adds Vxlan message encapsulation. After adding Vxlan message encapsulation, the message format is as follows: Figure 6h shown.

[0478] Step d. After adding Vxlan message encapsulation, network device 1 uses the reserved field in the Vxlan message header to mark the message, add path detection mark, packet loss detection mark, and delay detection mark. The message format is as follows: Figure 6i As shown, the Vxlan tag in the Vxlan message header includes an M bit, an L bit, and a D bit.

[0479] M bit: Path detection flag, set to 1 for messages that need to be detected.

[0480] L bit: packet loss detection mark, using 0 / 1 flipping to mark two adjacent cycles. The L bit of the i-th cycle is set to 1, the L bit of the i+1-th cycle is set to 0, and the L bit of the i+2-th cycle is set to 1.

[0481] D bit: delay detection flag. When delay detection is required, n messages (n>=1) are selected in each cycle and the D bit is set to 1.

[0482] Optionally, network device 1 may use any bit of the reserved field in the Vxlan message header, such as Figure 6i This is just an example of implementation.

[0483] Step e. Network device 1 periodically flips the packet loss detection flag (L bit), selects one or more packets to set the experimental detection flag (D bit), and performs flow statistics on the data packets carrying the flag based on the method of network quality measurement based on the flag mapping.

[0484] Step f. Network device 2 receives a message carrying a Vxlan message header and a Vxlan tag. Network device 2 uses the tag to perform traffic statistics based on the method of network quality measurement based on tag mapping. In addition, network device 2 needs to map the tag in the Vxlan message header to a tag in the iFIT message header mode according to configuration identification. Network device 2 needs to add an iFIT message header tag to the message according to the M bit in the Vxlan message header, and the L bit and D bit are mapped to the L bit and D bit in the iFIT message header, such as Figure 6j shown.

[0485] It should be understood that the process in which the network device 2 receives the message carrying the Vxlan tag from the network device 1 in step f is the aforementioned Figure 4 In addition, the process of network device 2 sending a message carrying the iFIT tag to network device 3 is recorded as the aforementioned Figure 4 An implementation example in which a first device sends a second message to a second device.

[0486] Step g. Then network device 2 sends the device carrying the Vxlan reserved field mark and the iFIT message header mark to network device 3, network device 3 performs network quality measurement according to the iFIT message header mark, and then network device 3 sends the message to network device 4.

[0487] Step h. Network device 4 performs network quality measurement according to the method of measuring network quality by iFIT message header marking; since network device 5 does not support network quality measurement by iFIT message marking, network device 4 removes the iFIT message header marking and then sends the message carrying the Vxlan reserved field marking to network device 5.

[0488] Step i. Network device 5 performs network quality measurement according to the method of measuring network quality based on the Vxlan reserved field mark. Then network device 5 removes the Vxlan message header encapsulation as a Vxlan termination node and sends the original data message to device 2:

[0489] Step j. Network devices 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 periodically send statistical information to the network management system / analyzer. The network management system (analyzer) presents end-to-end forwarding path / packet loss / delay statistical information based on the statistical results sent by network devices 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5.

[0490] pass Figure 6f to Figure 6j From the implementation process of the above steps, it can be seen that the mixed networking of devices supporting Vxlan message marking and devices supporting iFIT message marking supports hop-by-hop and end-to-end path / delay / packet loss detection capabilities. In addition, network device 2 maps the vxlan reserved field dyeing mark to the iFIT message mark, and performs path / packet loss / delay statistics based on the mapping mark. Thus, different types of devices can use different marking methods when measuring the quality of the flow network, and different types of markings perform message statistics based on the mapping relationship, and the statistical results can be compared and calculated. In addition, the statistical results of different devices and different marking types can be compared, calculated and analyzed to calculate the quality of message forwarding in the network.

[0491] See also Figure 7a , is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0492] S701. A first device sends a first message, and a second device receives the first message accordingly, wherein the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the first message.

[0493] S702. The second device performs network measurement. Specifically, the second device performs the first network measurement based on the first information and / or performs the second network measurement based on the second information.

[0494] In one possible implementation, Figure 7a The method shown in the method further includes: the first device receives a third message, the third message does not include the first information and / or the second information; the first device determines the first message including: the first device determines the first message based on the third message. Specifically, after the first device receives the third message that does not include the first information and / or the second information, the first device can determine the first message based on the third message, that is, the first device can obtain the first message after adding the first information and / or the second information to the third message, so that the subsequent receiver of the first message can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information in the first message.

[0495] In a possible implementation, when the third message does not include the second information and the third message includes the first information, the first message includes the first measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the first information; or, when the third message does not include the first information and the third message includes the second information, the first message includes the second measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the second information. Specifically, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the message forwarded by the communication device may include the measurement result. In other words, in the case where the third message received by the first device includes the first information or the second information, the third message may include the measurement result obtained based on the first information or the second information, and accordingly, the first message determined by the first device based on the third message may include the first measurement result or the second measurement result obtained by processing based on the measurement result, so as to avoid the loss of the measurement result and improve the network measurement performance.

[0496] As an implementation example, Figure 3 As shown, before step S701, the third message received by the first device may come from a third device on the message transmission path; in other words, the first device may modify the third message into the first message in the process of forwarding the third message, and then send the first message to the next-hop device (such as the second device) on the message forwarding path. The third device may be a communication device such as a router, a switch, a virtual machine, a virtual switch, a smart network card, etc., which is not limited here. The source device of the third message may be a server, a personal computer, a virtual machine, etc.; and the source device of the third message may be the third device, or a device directly connected to the third device, or a device connected to the third device through one hop or multiple hops, which is not limited here.

[0497] Optionally, in step S701, in addition to being determined by the first device based on the received third message, the first message may also be a message generated locally by the first device, that is, the first device may serve as a source device of the first message.

[0498] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first device sends a third measurement result to the controller, and the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information. Specifically, after the communication device on the transmission path of the message performs network measurement to obtain the measurement result, the communication device can send the measurement result to the controller, so that the controller performs network analysis corresponding to the network measurement based on the measurement results from multiple communication devices. Thus, after the first device performs network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to obtain the third measurement result, the first device can send the third measurement result to the controller, so that the controller can subsequently perform network analysis corresponding to the network measurement.

[0499] Optionally, the controller is used to receive measurement results of multiple network devices and perform network analysis, and the controller can be a server, a virtual machine, etc. The controller can have other names, such as network management equipment, analyzer, network analyzer, network measurement analyzer, network quality analyzer, etc.

[0500] In a possible implementation, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information. Specifically, the first information or the second information used to indicate network measurement may include at least one of the above items, so that the network measurement may include one or more of delay detection, path detection, and packet loss detection, so as to provide multiple network measurement methods.

[0501] It should be noted that, in the case where the first information or the second information includes different information contents, the first information or the second information can perform network measurement on the message in a variety of ways.

[0502] In an implementation example, taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message, which can be understood as: the delay detection information and / or packet loss detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of delay detection and / or a network measurement of packet loss detection for the first message.

[0503] In another implementation example, still taking the first information as an example, when the first information includes path detection information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement of the first message. It can be understood that the path detection information in the first information is used to indicate a network measurement of path detection of the message flow (or data flow) where the first message is located.

[0504] Optionally, the path detection information is carried in a field (eg, a field in a message header) or in a message header.

[0505] Optionally, the delay detection information and the packet loss detection information can be carried in different fields respectively. For example, when the first information or the second information includes delay detection information, path detection information and packet loss detection information, these three items of information can be carried in the same message header, that is, the same message header carries the three items of information through three different fields respectively.

[0506] In a possible implementation, the first position or the second position is located in any of the following: IPv4 message header, IPv6 message header, Vxlan header, GRE header, GENEVE header, IFA header, IFA Metadata header, iFIT header, IOAM Trace Option-Types header, IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header. Specifically, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the first message can be implemented by any of the above items. In other words, the first information or the second information can be located in one of the above multiple message headers to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0507] In a possible implementation manner, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0508] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0509] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0510] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0511] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0512] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0513] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0514] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0515] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0516] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0517] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0518] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0519] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0520] In a possible implementation manner, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0521] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0522] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0523] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0524] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0525] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0526] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0527] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0528] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0529] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0530] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0531] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0532] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0533] Specifically, the first position of the first information in the first message or the second position of the second information in the first message can be located in one of a plurality of different message headers, wherein the first information or the second information can be carried by a corresponding field in one of the message headers to provide a specific implementation method for the first information and the second information.

[0534] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: the first device receives third information, the third information indicating that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0535] Optionally, for the first device, the next hop node may be the second device described later.

[0536] Specifically, the first device may also receive the third information and clarify the capability of the next hop node based on the third information. Accordingly, when the first device is clear that the next hop node has the capability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the next hop node has the capability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information, the first device may carry the first information and the second information in the first message sent, so that the next hop node can perform network measurement based on the first information and / or the second information to avoid measurement failure.

[0537] based on Figure 7a In the technical solution shown, the first message sent by the first device includes first information indicating that the first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, and the first message also includes second information indicating that the second network measurement is to be performed on the second message. The first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the first information in the second message, and different network measurement technologies are generally indicated by information located at different positions in the message (such as fields / message headers, etc.). In other words, during the transmission of the message, the first device and / or the M (M is a positive integer) hop devices after the first device, the device supporting the first network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to a network measurement technology based on the first information located at the first position in the message, and the device supporting the second network measurement can perform a network measurement corresponding to another network measurement technology based on the second information located at the second position in the message. Therefore, compared with the implementation method in which the communication device (such as the forwarding device) on the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, in the above technical solution, on the transmission path where the message is located, different network measurement technologies are indicated by information located at different positions of the message, so that the communication devices on the path can implement network measurement based on different network measurement technologies.

[0538] In addition, for the receiver of the first message, when the first message includes the first information and the second information, the receiver can execute at least one network measurement process corresponding to the first information and the second information based on network configuration preferences or capability preferences, etc., compared with the communication equipment (such as forwarding equipment) in the path where the message is located only performs network measurement based on the same network measurement technology, the flexibility of network measurement implementation can be improved.

[0539] It should be noted that Figure 7a In the method shown, the implementation of the first information and / or the second information can refer to the aforementioned Figure 4 and description of related embodiments.

[0540] As Figure 7a An application example of the method shown in the figure is as follows: the following example takes tag 1 as a Vxlan tag and tag 2 as an IFIT tag. Figure 7b The illustrated scenario provides an exemplary description of the above implementation process.

[0541] like Figure 7bAs shown, the network device 1 adds Vxlan message tags and iFIT message tags at the same time when performing Vxlan encapsulation. The network device 1 marks the Vxlan reserved field and the iFIT message at the same time when performing packet loss / delay bit marking, and performs path / packet loss / delay statistics based on the tags. Thus, other subsequent network devices can perform network measurements based on at least one of the Vxlan message tags and the iFIT message tags. In addition, it supports scenarios where Vxlan encapsulation nodes and iFIT function nodes are coupled (i.e., the same node performs Vxlan encapsulation and supports iFIT marking). In addition, in the above implementation process, Vxlan marking and iFIT marking are completed simultaneously by the same device, supporting scenarios where Vxlan encapsulation and path detection nodes are coupled.

[0542] It should be noted that Figure 7b In the application example shown, the implementation process of each device can refer to the above Figure 6f and description of related embodiments.

[0543] See also Figure 8 An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, and the communication device 800 can implement the functions of the communication device (ie, the first device or the second device) in the above method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiment.

[0544] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the aforementioned first device, the communication device includes a transceiver unit 801 and a processing unit 802; the transceiver unit 801 is used to receive a first message, the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message; the processing unit 802 is used to determine a second message based on the first message; the transceiver unit 801 is also used to send a second message, the second message includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message.

[0545] In a possible implementation manner, the second message further includes the first information, and the first information is located at a first position in the second message.

[0546] In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information; the second message further includes a second measurement result, where the second measurement result is obtained based on processing of the first measurement result.

[0547] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 801 is further configured to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0548] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0549] In a possible implementation manner, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0550] In a possible implementation, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: an Internet Protocol version 4 IPv4 message header, an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message header, a virtual extensible local area network Vxlan header, a generic routing encapsulation GRE header, a generic network virtualization encapsulation GENEVE header, an in-band flow analysis IFA header, an in-band flow analysis metadata IFA metadata header, an in-flow information telemetry iFIT header, an in-flow management and maintenance tracking option type IOAM Trace Option-Types header, an IOAM DEX Option-Type header, an IPv6 extension header, and a GENEVE extension header.

[0551] In a possible implementation manner, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0552] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of a Differentiated Services Code Point DSCP, an Explicit Congestion Notification ECN, or a Flags field;

[0553] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in a traffic type Traffic Class field;

[0554] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the reserved field;

[0555] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0556] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0557] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0558] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0559] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0560] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0561] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0562] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the optional Options field;

[0563] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the optional data Option Data field.

[0564] In a possible implementation manner, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0565] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0566] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0567] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0568] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0569] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0570] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0571] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0572] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0573] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0574] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0575] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0576] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0577] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 801 is also used to receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0578] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the aforementioned first device, the communication device includes a transceiver unit 801 and a processing unit 802; the processing unit 802 is used to determine a first message, the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement to be performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate a second network measurement to be performed on the first message, the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the transceiver unit 801 is used to send the first message.

[0579] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 801 is also used to receive a third message, which does not include the first information and / or the second information; the processing unit 802 is used to determine the first message including: the processing unit 802 is used to determine the first message based on the third message.

[0580] In a possible implementation, when the third message does not include the second information and the third message includes the first information, the first message includes the first measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the first information; or, when the third message does not include the first information and the third message includes the second information, the first message includes the second measurement result obtained by processing the measurement result obtained based on the second information.

[0581] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 802 is further configured to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0582] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0583] In a possible implementation manner, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0584] In a possible implementation, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: IPv4 packet header, IPv6 packet header, Vxlan header, GRE header, GENEVE header, IFA header, IFA Metadata header, iFIT header, IOAM TraceOption-Types header, IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

[0585] In a possible implementation manner, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0586] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0587] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0588] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0589] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0590] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0591] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0592] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0593] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0594] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0595] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0596] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0597] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0598] In a possible implementation manner, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0599] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0600] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0601] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0602] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0603] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0604] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0605] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0606] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0607] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0608] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0609] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0610] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0611] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 802 is also used to receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

[0612] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the aforementioned second device, the communication device includes a transceiver unit 801 and a processing unit 802; the transceiver unit 801 is used to receive a first message, the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate a first network measurement to be performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate a second network measurement to be performed on the first message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the processing unit 802 is used to perform the first network measurement based on the first information and / or perform the second network measurement based on the second information.

[0613] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 801 is further configured to send a second message based on the first message, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0614] In a possible implementation, the first message also includes a first measurement result and / or a second measurement result, the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the second information; the second message also includes a third measurement result, and the third measurement result is obtained based on the first measurement result and / or the second measurement result.

[0615] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 801 is further configured to send a third measurement result to the controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0616] In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

[0617] In a possible implementation manner, the path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

[0618] In a possible implementation, the first position or the second position is located in any one of the following: IPv4 packet header, IPv6 packet header, Vxlan header, GRE header, GENEVE header, IFA header, IFA Metadata header, iFIT header, IOAM TraceOption-Types header, IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

[0619] In a possible implementation manner, the first position and the first information satisfy any of the following:

[0620] When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0621] When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0622] When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0623] When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0624] When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0625] When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit;

[0626] When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0627] When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0628] When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0629] When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0630] When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field;

[0631] When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0632] In a possible implementation manner, the second position and the second information satisfy any of the following:

[0633] When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields;

[0634] When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field;

[0635] When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field;

[0636] When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields;

[0637] When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field;

[0638] When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit;

[0639] When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit;

[0640] When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field;

[0641] When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0642] When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field;

[0643] When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field;

[0644] When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

[0645] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 801 is further used to send third information, where the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information.

[0646] It should be noted that the information execution process and other contents of each unit of the above-mentioned communication device 800 can be specifically referred to the description in the method embodiment shown in the above-mentioned application, and will not be repeated here.

[0647] The present application also provides a communication device 900, see Fig. 9 As shown, Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0648] Attached Fig. 9 The communication device 900 shown includes a memory 902 and at least one processor 901 .

[0649] Optionally, the processor 901 implements the method in the above embodiment by reading instructions stored in the memory 902, or the processor 901 may also implement the method in the above embodiment through internally stored instructions. In the case where the processor 901 implements the method in the above embodiment by reading instructions stored in the memory 902, the memory 902 stores instructions for implementing the method provided in the above embodiment of the present application.

[0650] Optionally, the at least one processor 901 is one or more CPUs, or a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0651] Further optionally, at least one processor 901 may also be configured to execute the aforementioned Figure 8 The corresponding implementation process of the processing unit 802 in the illustrated embodiment and the corresponding beneficial effects achieved are not described in detail here.

[0652] The memory 902 includes but is not limited to RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory, or optical memory, etc. The memory 902 stores operating system instructions.

[0653] After the program instructions stored in the memory 902 are read by the at least one processor 901, the communication device performs corresponding operations in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0654] Optionally, attach Fig. 9 The communication device shown also includes a network interface 903. The network interface 903 may be a wired interface, such as an FDDI or GE interface; the network interface 903 may also be a wireless interface. The network interface 903 is used to connect to the attached Figure 3 And related embodiments perform data transmission and reception.

[0655] Further optionally, the network interface 903 can also be used to perform the aforementioned Figure 8 The corresponding implementation process of the transceiver unit 801 in the illustrated embodiment and the corresponding beneficial effects achieved are not described in detail here.

[0656] It should be understood that the network interface 903 has the functions of receiving data and sending data, and the functions of "receiving data" and "sending data" can be integrated in the same transceiver interface, or the functions of "receiving data" and "sending data" can be implemented in different interfaces respectively, which is not limited here. In other words, the network interface 903 may include one or more interfaces for implementing the functions of "receiving data" and "sending data".

[0657] After the processor 901 reads the program instructions in the memory 902 , other functions that the communication device 900 can execute are described in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0658] Optionally, the communication device 900 further includes a bus 904 , and the processor 901 and the memory 902 are usually connected to each other via the bus 904 , and may also be connected to each other in other ways.

[0659] Optionally, the communication device 900 further includes an input / output interface 905, which is used to connect to an input device and receive relevant configuration information input by a user or other devices that can be linked with the communication device 900 through the input device. The input device includes but is not limited to a keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, and the like.

[0660] The communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to execute the methods performed by the communication devices (first device or second device) provided in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, and achieve corresponding beneficial effects.

[0661] As an implementation example, the communication device 900 executes the attached Figure 4 And the function of the first device in the related embodiments; wherein the communication device 1000 performs the attached Figure 4The communication device 900 is used to receive a first message, the first message includes first information, the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message; the communication device 900 is used to determine a second message based on the first message; the communication device 900 is also used to send a second message to the communication device 1000, the second message includes second information, the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the second message.

[0662] As another implementation example, the communication device 900 performs the functions of the first device in FIG. 7 and related embodiments; wherein the communication device 1000 performs the functions of other devices (e.g., the second device) in FIG. 7 and related embodiments. The communication device 900 is used to determine a first message, the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message, and the first position of the first information in the first message is different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the communication device 900 is used to send the first message to the communication device 1000.

[0663] As another implementation example, the communication device 900 performs the function of the second device in FIG. 7 and related embodiments; wherein the communication device 1000 performs the function of other devices (e.g., the first device) in FIG. 7 and related embodiments. The communication device 900 is used to receive a first message from the communication device 1000, the first message including first information and second information, the first information being used to indicate that a first network measurement is to be performed on the first message, the second information being used to indicate that a second network measurement is to be performed on the first message, the first position of the first information in the first message being different from the second position of the second information in the first message; the communication device 900 is also used to perform the first network measurement based on the first information and / or the second network measurement based on the second information.

[0664] Fig. 9 The specific implementation methods of the communication device shown can refer to the descriptions in the aforementioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0665] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which at least includes a first device for executing the aforementioned method embodiment, or the communication system includes a first device and a second device for executing the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0666] It should be understood that in the communication system, each network device may also apply other methods involved in the aforementioned embodiments and achieve corresponding technical effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0667] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0668] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first message, where the first message includes first information, and the first information is used to instruct to perform a first network measurement on the first message; A second message is sent based on the first message, the second message includes second information, the second information is used to indicate a second network measurement is performed on the second message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the second message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second message also includes the first information, and the first information is located at a first position in the second message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first message also includes a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information; The second message also includes a second measurement result, where the second measurement result is obtained based on the first measurement result.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third measurement result is sent to a controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: Delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first position or the second position is located at any of the following: Internet Protocol Version 4 IPv4 packet header, Internet Protocol Version 6 IPv6 packet header, Virtual Extensible Local Area Network Vxlan header, Generic Routing Encapsulation GRE header, Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation GENEVE header, In-band Flow Analysis IFA header, In-band Flow Analysis Metadata IFA Metadata header, In-flow Information Telemetry iFIT header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Tracking Option Type IOAMTrace Option-Types header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Direct Export Optional Type IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of a Differentiated Services Code Point DSCP, an Explicit Congestion Notification ECN, or a Flags field; When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in a traffic type Traffic Class field; When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the reserved field; When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one item in the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit; When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in an optional Options field; When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in an optional data Option Data field; When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields; When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field; When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit; When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field; When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node does not have the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine a first message, where the first message includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, the second information is used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the first message; Send the first message.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a third message, wherein the third message does not include the first information and / or the second information; Determining the first message includes: The first message is determined based on the third message.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that When the third message does not include the second information and the third message includes the first information, the first message includes a first measurement result obtained by processing a measurement result obtained based on the first information; or, When the third message does not include the first information and the third message includes the second information, the first message includes a second measurement result obtained by processing a measurement result obtained based on the second information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third measurement result is sent to a controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: Delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that The first position or the second position is located at any of the following: Internet Protocol Version 4 IPv4 packet header, Internet Protocol Version 6 IPv6 packet header, Virtual Extensible Local Area Network Vxlan header, Generic Routing Encapsulation GRE header, Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation GENEVE header, In-band Flow Analysis IFA header, In-band Flow Analysis Metadata IFA Metadata header, In-flow Information Telemetry iFIT header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Tracking Option Type IOAMTrace Option-Types header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Direct Export Optional Type IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields; When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field; When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit; When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field; When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field; When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields; When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field; When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit; When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field; When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the next hop node has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information; wherein the third information comes from the next hop node or the controller.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first message, the first message including first information and second information, the first information being used to indicate that a first network measurement is performed on the first message, the second information being used to indicate that a second network measurement is performed on the first message, and a first position of the first information in the first message is different from a second position of the second information in the first message; The first network measurement is performed based on the first information and / or the second network measurement is performed based on the second information.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second message is sent based on the first message, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first message also includes a first measurement result and / or a second measurement result, the first measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the first information, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result obtained based on the second information; The second message also includes a third measurement result, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first measurement result and / or the second measurement result.

22. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: A third measurement result is sent to a controller, where the third measurement result is obtained based on the first information and / or the second information.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that The first information or the second information includes at least one of the following: Delay detection information, path detection information, and packet loss detection information.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The path detection information is carried in a field or in a message header.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that The first position or the second position is located at any of the following: Internet Protocol Version 4 IPv4 packet header, Internet Protocol Version 6 IPv6 packet header, Virtual Extensible Local Area Network Vxlan header, Generic Routing Encapsulation GRE header, Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation GENEVE header, In-band Flow Analysis IFA header, In-band Flow Analysis Metadata IFA Metadata header, In-flow Information Telemetry iFIT header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Tracking Option Type IOAMTrace Option-Types header, In-flow Management and Maintenance Direct Export Optional Type IOAM DEX Option-Type header, IPv6 extension header, GENEVE extension header.

26. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, characterized in that When the first position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the first information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields; When the first position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the first information is carried in the Traffic Class field; When the first position is located in the Vxlan header, the first information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the GRE header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the first position is located in the GENEVE header, the first information is carried in the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IFA header, the first information is carried in the R bit; When the first position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the first position is located in the iFIT header, the first information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the first information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the first position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the first information is carried in the Options field; When the first position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the first information is carried in the Option Data field; When the second position is located in the IPv4 packet header, the second information is carried in at least one of the DSCP, ECN or Flags fields; When the second position is located in the IPv6 packet header, the second information is carried in the Traffic Class field; When the second position is located in the Vxlan header, the second information is carried in at least one of the R bit and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the GRE header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Reserved0 and Reserved1 fields; When the second position is located in the GENEVE header, the second information is carried in the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IFA header, the second information is carried in the R bit; When the second position is located in the IFA Metadata header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the C bit, and the R bit; When the second position is located in the iFIT header, the second information is carried in at least one of the L bit, the D bit, and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM Trace Option-Types header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IOAM DEX Option-Type header, the second information is carried in at least one of the Flags field and the Reserved field; When the second position is located in the IPv6 extension header, the second information is carried in the Options field; When the second position is located in the GENEVE extension header, the second information is carried in the Option Data field.

27. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending third information, wherein the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the second network measurement based on the second information and / or the third information indicates that the second device has the ability to perform the first network measurement based on the first information.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: including a transceiver unit and a processing unit; The transceiver unit and the processing unit are used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; or, the transceiver unit and the processing unit are used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 18; or, the transceiver unit and the processing unit are used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 27.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory; The memory is used to store programs or instructions; The at least one processor is used to execute the program or instruction so that the communication device implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or so that the communication device implements the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 18, or so that the communication device implements the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 27.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27 is implemented.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

32. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system comprises a first device, wherein the first device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; or, the communication system comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 18, and the second device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 27.

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