Wide area network dynamic link switching system and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a wide area network dynamic link switching system and method, and belongs to the technical field of network communication. A wide area network comprises a private line network, the Internet and a mobile network, the system comprises at least two sites, each site internally comprises a plurality of terminal devices, the terminal devices are connected through a local area network, and route transmission is carried out based on an OSPF protocol. The terminal devices of different sites are connected through a plurality of first network tunnels on the private line network or the Internet to form a plurality of wired links; and the terminal devices of different stations are also connected through a second network tunnel on the mobile network to form a wireless link. According to the invention, the normal transmission of network data is ensured, the processing efficiency of network resources is improved, the fault handling capacity is improved, and the high availability demand of user services is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of network communication. Specifically, the present invention relates to a wide area network dynamic link switching system and method. Background Art

[0002] Tunnel networks are usually used to establish secure private connections on public networks (such as the Internet), such as using the IPsec protocol (RFC 4301) and the L2TP protocol (RFC 2661) to encrypt tunnels, but cannot adaptively switch according to the link type; the VXLAN protocol (RFC 7348) is used for large-scale virtual network expansion, but is not linked with routing policies. The traditional routing protocols BGP (Border Gateway Protocol, RFC 4271) are used for routing decisions across autonomous systems (AS), and OSPF (Open Shortest Path First, RFC 2328) calculates the shortest path within the domain through the SPF algorithm, both lacking centralized intelligent scheduling; mobile networks are usually used as static backups for wired links and lack the ability to automatically switch in case of failures.

[0003] In summary, in the prior art, there is insufficient multi-protocol collaboration. BGP and OSPF operate independently and cannot jointly calculate the optimal paths across domains and within domains, resulting in low resource utilization. Tunnel protocols are rigid. The IPsec protocol and the VXLAN protocol rely on manual configuration and cannot dynamically switch according to the link type; when mobile networks are used as backup links, manual intervention is required for failure switching, and the recovery time exceeds the second level, which cannot meet the high-availability requirements.

[0004] Therefore, the present invention proposes a wide area network dynamic link switching system and method. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and proposes a wide area network dynamic link switching system and method to achieve the following objectives: ensure the normal transmission of network data, improve the processing efficiency of network resources, improve the ability to respond to failures, and guarantee the high-availability requirements of user services.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A wide area network dynamic link switching system, where the wide area network includes a dedicated line network, the Internet, and a mobile network. The system includes at least two sites, and each site internally includes multiple terminal devices. The terminal devices are connected through a local area network and perform routing transmission based on the OSPF protocol. The terminal devices between different sites are connected through multiple first network tunnels on the dedicated line network or the Internet to form multiple wired links; the terminal devices between different sites are also connected through a second network tunnel on the mobile network to form a wireless link.

[0007] Preferably, the wireless link uses the OSPF protocol to perform routing transmission with the terminal devices of the corresponding site through the second network tunnel.

[0008] Preferably, there are multiple groups of BGP neighbors between the terminal devices of different sites, and each group of BGP neighbors is connected through a first network tunnel on a dedicated line network or the Internet to form multiple equivalent routes for route transmission on a wired link.

[0009] Preferably, the first network tunnel adopts a VXLAN tunnel.

[0010] Preferably, the second network tunnel adopts an L2TP tunnel.

[0011] Meanwhile, the present application also proposes a method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network, and the method includes:

[0012] Construct VXLAN tunnels between the terminal devices of different sites, and each group of VXLAN tunnels constructs BGP neighbors. Each group of BGP neighbors forms multiple equivalent routes on a dedicated line network or the Internet for route transmission on a wired link;

[0013] Construct L2TP tunnels on the mobile network between the terminal devices of different sites to form a wireless link, and the wireless link performs route transmission with the terminal devices of the corresponding site through the OSPF protocol;

[0014] When any wired link fails, the corresponding terminal device marks the corresponding group of BGP neighbors as faulty, synchronizes the fault information to other groups of BGP neighbors, and at the same time switches to other normal wired links to continue route transmission;

[0015] When all wired links fail, the site switches to the wireless link to continue route transmission.

[0016] Preferably, the OSPF Cost of the wireless link is dynamically set based on the signal strength and bandwidth utilization rate, that is:

[0017] Cost = 1000×(1 - RSRP / maximum value)+100×(bandwidth utilization rate / 100);

[0018] wherein, RSRP represents the signal strength.

[0019] Preferably, introduce the BGP routes in the VXLAN tunnel into the local area network OSPF protocol.

[0020] Preferably, the OSPF routes introduced by the wired link have a smaller Cost than the OSPF routes of the wireless link, and the OSPF routes introduced from the wired link are preferred; when the wired link fails, automatically switch to the OSPF routes of the wireless link to carry key services.

[0021] Preferably, the OSPF Cost of the BGP route introduced into the LAN OSPF protocol is set to 1.

[0022] The technical effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention constructs a logical layer - two link through the VXLAN protocol, shields the differences of dedicated lines, converts the complex multi - routing and multi - protocol network into a logically direct - connected tunnel network, reduces the network complexity, effectively solves the problem of insufficient coordination among different network protocols, and improves the processing efficiency of network resources. Multiple wired links of the present invention are redundant and backup each other and dynamically participate in load sharing, can be automatically switched during a failure, and at the same time, a wireless link is configured as a backup when all wired links fail, ensuring the normal transmission of network data, improving the fault response ability, and guaranteeing the high - availability requirements of user services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a wide - area network dynamic link switching system provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The following will further describe in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings through the description of the embodiments, aiming to help those skilled in the art have a more complete, accurate and in - depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention and facilitate its implementation. It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. used in this application are only for the convenience of describing the technical solution to distinguish different components, and do not limit this application. To make the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the present invention is explained and illustrated through the following embodiments.

[0025] The wide - area network includes a dedicated - line network, the Internet, a mobile network, etc. Commonly, network information is transmitted through the IPsec protocol on the Internet between terminal devices. The dedicated - line network is also a kind of the Internet, which is a dedicated network provided by an operator for terminal devices. Compared with the public Internet, the data transmission speed is faster. The mobile network is built based on mobile communication technologies such as 4G and 5G and is commonly used as a backup for the Internet. Due to the co - existence of multiple types of networks in the wide - area network, the entire wide - area network has a complex and diverse multi - routing and multi - protocol network. At the same time, there is a lack of coordination among different network protocols, increasing the burden on the wide - area network and lacking the ability to respond to faults.

[0026] This embodiment discloses a wide - area network dynamic link switching system, as Figure 1As shown in the figure, the system includes at least two sites. Each site includes multiple terminal devices (CPEs) internally. The terminal devices are connected through a local area network and perform routing transmission based on the OSPF protocol. The terminal devices of different sites are connected through multiple first network tunnels on a dedicated line network or the Internet to form multiple wired links; the terminal devices of different sites are also connected through a second network tunnel on a mobile network to form a wireless link.

[0027] In specific implementation, compared with the single wired link in the prior art, the multiple wired links in this embodiment form redundant backups with each other, and the multiple wired links dynamically participate in load sharing. At the same time, when any wired link fails, it can be automatically switched to other normal wired links; when all wired links fail, there is still a wireless link as the last route to carry critical services.

[0028] Specifically, the wireless link in this embodiment uses the OSPF protocol to perform routing transmission with the terminal devices of the corresponding site through the second network tunnel. The network topology of the wireless link may change due to factors such as device movement and signal coverage. The OSPF protocol has the characteristic of fast convergence, which can timely sense the change of the network topology and recalculate the optimal route. For example, when a terminal device switches from the coverage area of one base station to that of another base station during movement, the OSPF protocol can quickly update the routing information to ensure that data can continue to be accurately transmitted to the terminal device.

[0029] In this embodiment, the first network tunnel between the terminal devices of different sites performs routing transmission through the BGP protocol. Specifically, there are multiple groups of BGP neighbors between the terminal devices of different sites, that is, multiple groups of BGP neighbors are set on each terminal device through multiple wired links. Each group of BGP neighbors is connected through the first network tunnel on a dedicated line network or the Internet to form multiple equivalent routes for routing transmission on the wired link.

[0030] All the first network tunnels in this embodiment adopt VXLAN tunnels. By using the VXLAN protocol to construct a logical layer 2 link to shield the differences of dedicated lines, whether it is a high-speed dedicated line or a public Internet, for the logical layer 2 link based on VXLAN, it is only a data transmission channel; it transforms the complex and diverse multi-routing and multi-protocol network into a logically directly connected tunnel network, reducing the network complexity; at the same time, the logically directly connected tunnel network constructed by VXLAN enables cross-network communication based on the VXLAN tunnel, reducing the direct interaction between different protocols, so as to solve the problem of insufficient coordination of different network protocols.

[0031] The second network tunnel adopts an L2TP tunnel. L2TP is a layer 2 tunnel protocol that combines functions such as authentication and encryption of the PPP protocol and can well adapt to the PPP-based access method in the mobile network. At the same time, L2TP can well support mobility management. When the terminal device switches between different base stations or access points, the L2TP tunnel can be dynamically adjusted and maintained through relevant mobility management protocols (such as Mobile IP, etc.) to ensure that the user's communication is not interrupted.

[0032] At the same time, according to the above-mentioned wide area network dynamic link switching system, this embodiment also proposes a wide area network dynamic link switching method, which includes:

[0033] Construct VXLAN tunnels between terminal devices at different sites. Each group of VXLAN tunnels constructs BGP neighbors, and each group of BGP neighbors forms multiple equivalent routes on the dedicated network or the Internet for route transmission on the wired link;

[0034] Construct an L2TP tunnel on the mobile network between terminal devices at different sites to form a wireless link, and the wireless link performs route transmission with the terminal devices at the corresponding sites through the OSPF protocol;

[0035] When any wired link fails, the corresponding terminal device marks the corresponding BGP neighbor group as faulty and synchronizes the fault information to other BGP neighbor groups, and at the same time switches to other normal wired links to continue route transmission;

[0036] When all wired links fail, the site switches to the wireless link to continue route transmission.

[0037] Specifically, the OSPF Cost of the wireless link can be dynamically set based on the signal strength and bandwidth utilization rate, that is:

[0038] Cost = 1000×(1 - RSRP / maximum value) + 100×(bandwidth utilization rate / 100);

[0039] Among them, RSRP represents the signal strength.

[0040] The quality and bandwidth status of the wireless link will change over time. For example, the movement of the terminal device causes the signal strength to change, or the load in different regions of the network changes. Dynamically setting the OSPF Cost enables the network to adjust the route according to the real-time link state, so that data is preferentially transmitted through high-quality (such as high bandwidth and low latency) links, thereby optimizing network resource allocation and improving the overall network performance.

[0041] Meanwhile, to achieve the optimal paths for joint computing across domains and within a domain and improve resource utilization, in this embodiment, the BGP routes in the VXLAN tunnel are introduced into the local area network OSPF protocol, so that the terminal devices within the local area network can understand the reachable paths of the external network. Combining with the optimal calculation of OSPF, more efficient wired links can be selected to realize the integrated intelligent scheduling of internal and external network routing information and improve the network transmission efficiency.

[0042] Since the OSPF Cost of the wireless link is dynamic, to ensure that the OSPF routes introduced from the VXLAN tunnel have priority under normal circumstances and the wireless link always serves as a backup, in this embodiment, the OSPF Cost of the BGP routes introduced from the wired link into the BGP routes in the local area network OSPF protocol is set to 1. Practically speaking, it will always be smaller than the OSPF Cost of the wireless link. The OSPF routes introduced from the wired link have a smaller OSPF Cost than those from the wireless link, so the OSPF routes introduced from the wired link are preferred; when the wired link fails, it automatically switches to the OSPF routes of the wireless link to carry critical services.

[0043] In this embodiment, after integrating the underlying dedicated line network and Internet link through the VLXAN protocol, the calculation accuracy of the routing path is increased by 40%. At the same time, multiple wired links participate in load sharing dynamically, avoiding the original manual link switching, making more efficient use of the link bandwidth, and reducing the dedicated line bandwidth cost by 30%. In case of a failure, multiple wired links switch dynamically, and there is also a wireless link as the final guarantee, reducing the fault recovery time from the original minute level to the sub-second level, thus ensuring the high availability requirements of user services.

[0044] The present invention has been described exemplarily in combination with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited by the above methods. As long as various non-substantive improvements are made by adopting the method concept and technical solution of the present invention; or without improvement, the above concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wide area network dynamic link switching system, wherein the wide area network includes a dedicated line network, the Internet, and a mobile network, and is characterized by: The system includes at least two sites, each of which includes multiple terminal devices. The terminal devices are connected through a local area network and routed based on the OSPF protocol. The terminal devices at different sites are connected through multiple first network tunnels on a dedicated network or the Internet to form multiple wired links; the terminal devices at different sites are also connected through a second network tunnel on a mobile network to form a wireless link.

2. A wide area network dynamic link switching system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wireless link uses the OSPF protocol to perform routing transmission with the terminal equipment of the corresponding site through the second network tunnel.

3. A wide area network dynamic link switching system according to claim 2, characterized in that: There are multiple groups of BGP neighbors between terminal devices at different sites. Each group of BGP neighbors is connected through a first network tunnel on a dedicated network or the Internet to form multiple equal-cost routes for route transmission on a wired link.

4. A wide area network dynamic link switching system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first network tunnel adopts a VXLAN tunnel.

5. A wide area network dynamic link switching system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The second network tunnel adopts an L2TP tunnel.

6. A method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network according to the system of any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method comprises: VXLAN tunnels are built between terminal devices at different sites. Each group of VXLAN tunnels builds a BGP neighbor. Each group of BGP neighbors forms multiple equal-cost routes on the dedicated network or the Internet for routing transmission on wired links. An L2TP tunnel is built on the mobile network between terminal devices at different sites to form a wireless link, which is routed and transmitted with the terminal devices at the corresponding sites through the OSPF protocol. When any wired link fails, the corresponding terminal device marks the corresponding BGP neighbor group as failed, synchronizes the failure information to other BGP neighbor groups, and switches to other normal wired links to continue routing transmission; When all wired links fail, the site switches to wireless links to continue routing.

7. A method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network according to claim 6, characterized in that: The OSPF Cost of the wireless link is dynamically set based on signal strength and bandwidth utilization, namely: Cost = 1000 × (1-RSRP / maximum value) + 100 × (bandwidth utilization / 100); Among them, RSRP represents signal strength.

8. A method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network according to claim 7, characterized in that: Import BGP routes in the VXLAN tunnel into the LAN OSPF protocol.

9. A method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network according to claim 8, characterized in that: The OSPF routes imported from wired links have lower costs than those from wireless links, so the OSPF routes imported from wired links are preferred. When a wired link fails, the OSPF routes from wireless links are automatically switched to carry critical services.

10. A method for dynamic link switching in a wide area network according to claim 9, characterized in that: The OSPF cost of the BGP routes imported into the LAN OSPF protocol is set to 1.

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