Multi-modal network system and multi-modal network operation method

Abstract

A multi-modal network system (100) and a multi-modal network operation method. The multi-modal network system (100) sequentially comprises from top to bottom: an application layer (11) used for providing network applications corresponding to network service requirements; a service layer (12) used for determining network capability requirements for implementing the network applications; a modal layer (13) used for providing corresponding network modalities on the basis of the network capability requirements; and an environment layer (14) used for providing network infrastructures supporting the operation of the network modalities, wherein the network infrastructures are used for bearing and transmitting packets corresponding to the network applications, and the packets are generated, encapsulated, decapsulated and routed and forwarded on the basis of the network modalities corresponding to the network applications.

Description

Multimodal network system and multimodal network operation method

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202310814543.6, filed on July 5, 2023, entitled “Multimodal network system and multimodal network operation method,” the entire text of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of network communication technology, and in particular to a multimodal network system and a multimodal network operation method. Background Art

[0004] With the continuous development of network technology and applications, the internet has become a critical information infrastructure highly relevant to national economic and social development, having a profound impact on improving social productivity, promoting economic and social upgrading and transformation, and creating new employment opportunities. The future internet will not only support consumer services such as AR (Augmented Reality) / VR (Virtual Reality), online gaming, and live streaming, but also production services such as industrial manufacturing, unmanned driving, and telemedicine. It will enable ubiquitous interconnection and command distribution for massive numbers of terminals, providing a wide range of network services based on large-scale data collection, processing, distribution, and utilization. However, the network technologies and development models in related technologies face the problem of a single network technology modality that cannot meet the diverse and specialized requirements of these services, such as intelligent human-machine-object networking, all-time and space access, guaranteed service performance, network big data, or distributed network computing.

[0005] Currently, no effective solution has been proposed to address the problem that the network development model in related technologies has a single network technology mode and cannot meet the needs of different network services.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] In this embodiment, a multimodal network system and a multimodal network operation method are provided.

[0008] In a first aspect, a multimodal network system is provided in this embodiment. The multimodal network system includes, from top to bottom, an application layer, a service layer, a modality layer, and an environment layer.

[0009] The application layer is used to provide network applications corresponding to network service requirements; the service layer is used to determine the network capability requirements for implementing the network applications; the modality layer is used to provide corresponding network modalities based on the network capability requirements; the environment layer is used to provide network infrastructure that supports the operation of the network modality, and the network infrastructure is used to carry and transmit messages corresponding to each network application. The messages are generated, encapsulated, unpacked, and routed based on the network modality corresponding to the network application.

[0010] In some embodiments, the environment layer includes a separate control layer and a data layer, wherein the data layer includes multiple types of network nodes. The data layer is used to transmit messages based on the network nodes, and the control layer is used to uniformly schedule and centrally control the network resources of the data layer.

[0011] In some embodiments, the network nodes include terminal nodes, aggregation nodes and backbone nodes, each backbone node corresponds to a multimodal network domain and multiple aggregation nodes in the multimodal network domain, and each aggregation node corresponds to multiple terminal nodes.

[0012] The terminal node is used to generate corresponding messages based on the network application and transmit messages with the corresponding aggregation node; the aggregation node is used to route and forward the received messages and transmit cross-network domain messages in the messages with the corresponding backbone node; the backbone node is used to isolate and forward the cross-network domain messages.

[0013] In some embodiments, the terminal node is also used to: determine the corresponding network mode based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the network application; based on the network mode, encapsulate the data of the network application into a network domain message and send it to the aggregation node; and receive the network domain message sent by the aggregation node and unpack it.

[0014] In some embodiments, the aggregation node is further configured to: determine a corresponding network mode based on a received network domain message; and perform routing forwarding based on an addressing routing method of the network mode.

[0015] In some embodiments, the multimodal network domain includes a sink node and edge sink nodes connected to corresponding backbone nodes.

[0016] The aggregation node is further configured to determine whether a destination route of the network domain message is within the multimodal network domain where the aggregation node is located; and forward the network domain message to the edge aggregation node if the destination route is not within the multimodal network domain.

[0017] The edge aggregation node is further configured to: encapsulate the network domain message into an inter-network domain message, wherein the inter-network domain message includes the network domain address where the destination route is located; and send the inter-network domain message to the backbone node.

[0018] In some embodiments, the backbone node is also used to: identify the corresponding network mode based on the received cross-network domain message; obtain the network domain address of the cross-network domain message based on the network mode; allocate corresponding resources to the cross-network domain message and perform isolated forwarding based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain message and the network mode.

[0019] In some embodiments, the backbone node is also used to: determine the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain message; construct a hard isolation pipe corresponding to the network modality based on the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters; and isolate and forward the cross-network domain message based on the hard isolation pipe.

[0020] In some embodiments, the control layer includes a controller, which is used to implement at least one of: data layer function configuration and dynamic deployment, multi-modal addressing routing, network unified management and control, and load balancing.

[0021] In a second aspect, this embodiment provides a multimodal network operation method, which is applied to a multimodal network system. The multimodal network system includes a network infrastructure for carrying and transmitting messages corresponding to various network applications. The method includes:

[0022] Determine the corresponding network applications based on network business requirements;

[0023] Based on the network application, determining corresponding network capability requirements;

[0024] Determining a corresponding network modality based on the network capability requirements;

[0025] Based on the network modality, messages corresponding to the network application are generated, encapsulated, routed and forwarded in the network infrastructure.

[0026] The details of one or more embodiments of the present application are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the conventional technology, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the conventional technology descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the disclosed drawings without any creative work.

[0028] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a multimodal network system according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0029] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario matching network modality according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0030] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of network node distribution and operation logic according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0031] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the connection between a backbone node and a multimodal network domain according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0032] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multimodal network system according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0033] FIG6 is a flowchart of a multimodal network operation method according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms involved in this application should have the general meaning understood by people with ordinary skills in the technical field to which this application belongs. "One", "an", "a kind of", "the", "these" and similar words in this application do not represent quantitative restrictions, and they can be singular or plural. The terms "include", "comprise", "have" and any variants involved in this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method and system, product or device comprising a series of steps or modules (units) is not limited to the listed steps or modules (units), but may include unlisted steps or modules (units), or may include other steps or modules (units) inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. "Connect", "be connected", "coupled" and similar words involved in this application are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Multiple" involved in this application refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Generally, the character " / " indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. The terms "first," "second," "third," etc. used in this application are only used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of the objects.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multimodal network system 100 according to some embodiments of the present application. The multimodal network system 100 includes, from top to bottom, an application layer 11, a service layer 12, a modal layer 13, and an environment layer 14. The application layer 11 is used to provide network applications corresponding to network service requirements; the service layer 12 is used to determine the network capability requirements for implementing network applications; the modal layer 13 is used to provide corresponding network modalities based on the network capability requirements; and the environment layer 14 is used to provide a network infrastructure that supports the operation of network modalities. The network infrastructure is used to carry and transmit messages corresponding to each network application. The messages are generated, encapsulated, decapsulated, and routed based on the network modality corresponding to the network application.

[0037] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment is a hierarchical network architecture. As shown in Figure 1, from top to bottom, the application layer 11 refers to applications and scenarios, primarily various network applications, as well as the environments and scenarios in which users are most likely to use each network application, including time, space, and device support. Driven by the network application requirements of the application layer 11, the business layer 12 determines the required network capability requirements, which refer to network capabilities that meet the corresponding network service requirements. These may include, but are not limited to, high bandwidth, wide connectivity, low latency, determinism, and high security. Based on the network capability requirements of the business layer 12, the corresponding network modality is matched to the modality layer 13. This is also called the network technology modality, which refers to the sum of technical regulations required to ensure the normal operation of the communication network. It may include customized software and hardware configurations, message formats, routing protocols, switching methods, forwarding logic, operation and maintenance specifications, and security policies. For example, high-bandwidth network capabilities can be achieved by matching network technology modalities such as IPv4 and IPv6, while deterministic and low-latency network capabilities can be achieved by matching industrial control identification network technology modalities. The environment layer 14 builds a support environment for multimodal networks through network infrastructure, and uniformly carries heterogeneous network modalities. It can include controllers, multimodal network nodes (such as node machines, coprocessors, terminal network cards, etc.), application terminals, etc.

[0038] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment provides various network applications and the user scenarios in which each network application is used through the application layer to meet different network service requirements. The service layer determines the network capabilities required by different network applications, including network bandwidth, connection mode, network latency, security, reliability, etc. The modality layer provides network modes that can meet these network capabilities. The network mode, i.e., the network technology mode, refers to the sum of technical regulations that ensure the normal operation of the communication network. The environment layer provides network infrastructure that supports the operation of various network modes. The network infrastructure is used to generate, encapsulate, decapsulate, and route and forward messages corresponding to each network application according to the network mode corresponding to each network application. The corresponding network mode is matched based on network service requirements, achieving optimal adaptation between business applications and technical systems, thereby significantly reducing network resource overhead and solving the problem that the network development model in related technologies has a single network technology mode and cannot meet different network service requirements.

[0039] In some embodiments, FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the application scenario matching network modality of some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , for the case where the application layer 11 is an industrial intelligent inspection scenario 21, the network capability requirements of the corresponding business layer 12 are low latency, high security, and determinism. Based on the network capability requirements, the network modalities corresponding to IPv4, IPv6, MPLS-SR (Segment Routing MPLS, segment routing based on the MPLS forwarding plane), geographic identification, industrial control identification, etc. can be matched in the modality layer 13. For the case where the application layer 11 is a virtual reality scenario 22, the network capability requirements of the corresponding business layer 12 are low latency, high security, and wide connectivity. Based on the network capability requirements, the network modalities corresponding to IPv4, IPv6, identity identification, computing power identification, etc. can be matched in the modality layer 13. For distributed computing scenarios 23 in the application layer 11, the corresponding network capability requirements of the business layer 12 are low latency, high security, and high bandwidth. Based on these network capability requirements, corresponding network modalities such as IPv4, IPv6, SRv6, computing power identifiers, and content identifiers can be matched in the modality layer 13. For the three different network application scenarios described above, the multimodal network system 100 determines the corresponding network capability requirements and matches the corresponding network modalities based on the network capability requirements. This system provides corresponding technical modalities and network infrastructure for the coexistence of multiple heterogeneous network modalities, meeting the diverse network application needs.

[0040] In some embodiments, the environment layer includes a control layer and a data layer that are separated from each other. The data layer includes multiple types of network nodes. The data layer is used to transmit messages based on network nodes; the control layer is used to uniformly schedule and centrally control the network resources of the data layer.

[0041] In this embodiment, the data layer is separated from the control layer. The data layer can include multiple network nodes, which can be divided into various types based on the network topology. For example, they can be divided into terminal nodes, aggregation nodes, and backbone nodes based on their location in the network structure, or they can be classified according to other characteristics. The data layer is primarily responsible for implementing network application message transmission through various types of network nodes, including message generation, encapsulation, decapsulation, and routing. The control layer provides unified scheduling and centralized control for data layer message transmission based on the device capabilities and network resources of the data layer.

[0042] Furthermore, the control layer includes a controller, which is used to implement at least one of the following functions: data layer function configuration and dynamic deployment, multimodal addressing and routing, and unified network management and control and load balancing. Furthermore, the controller may also have, but is not limited to, traditional SDN (Software Defined Network) network control functions such as topology discovery, routing calculation, flow table distribution, and link state awareness.

[0043] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment implements message transmission of network applications through network nodes at the data layer, performs unified resource scheduling and planning through the control layer, and provides the required centralized control capability support for multimodal network nodes; supports network capabilities such as the coexistence of multiple flexible and definable network identification systems, diversified addressing, and differentiated business operations, thereby realizing flexible network management and control.

[0044] In some embodiments, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the network node distribution of some embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the network nodes include terminal nodes 143, aggregation nodes 142 and backbone nodes 141. Each backbone node 141 corresponds to a multimodal network domain 144 and multiple aggregation nodes 142 in the multimodal network domain 144. Each aggregation node 142 corresponds to multiple terminal nodes 143.

[0045] The terminal node 143 is used to generate corresponding messages based on network applications and transmit messages with the corresponding aggregation node 142; the aggregation node 142 is used to route and forward the received messages and transmit cross-network domain messages in the messages with the corresponding backbone node 141; the backbone node 141 is used to isolate and forward cross-network domain messages.

[0046] Specifically, the terminal node 143 can be a network card of a terminal device. In response to different network application requirements of the terminal device, the network application actively selects or passively matches the service quality of the business, and matches the payload data that the network application needs to send to the corresponding network mode, and generates a corresponding message according to the corresponding network mode. For example, the network application needs to address, route and forward the message based on the geographic location. The terminal node can generate a corresponding message according to the geographic identification addressing network mode for the payload data sent by the upper-layer application and send it to the aggregation node. In addition, for complex network applications, some general operations that meet the hardware acceleration requirements (such as encryption and decryption, etc.) can be moved down to the terminal node to achieve acceleration and unloading of the upper-layer application.

[0047] The aggregation node 142 can be a coprocessor located in the access aggregation network to realize the unified bearing of multimodal data. The multimodal network message generated by the terminal node 143 is forwarded to the aggregation node 142. The aggregation node 142 identifies the corresponding network mode by parsing and matching the message, and performs routing and forwarding according to the addressing and routing method of the network mode. When the message does not need to be transmitted across network domains, for example, for the corresponding message of the above-mentioned geographic identification addressing network mode, if the target geographical location represented in the geographic identification data header is within the multimodal network domain, it does not need to be transmitted across network domains. At this time, it only needs to be forwarded to the destination terminal within the multimodal network domain according to the addressing and routing method of the geographic identification technology mode.

[0048] When a message needs to be transmitted across network domains, for example, for the corresponding message of the above-mentioned geographic identification addressing network mode, if the target geographical location represented in the geographic identification data header is outside the multimodal network domain, it needs to be transmitted across network domains. The aggregation node 142 can send the message to the corresponding backbone node 141. The backbone node 141 can be a node machine in the backbone network. The backbone node 141 is a hard-isolated high-speed forwarding pipeline that isolates resources for different network modes and different communication routes of the same network mode, thereby realizing high-speed interconnection and forwarding of data services between multimodal network domains (i.e., access aggregation networks). According to the network domain address of the destination route contained in the cross-network domain message, the cross-network domain message is isolated and forwarded to the corresponding backbone node 141, and then sent by the backbone node to the aggregation node 142 within the corresponding network domain.

[0049] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment generates messages corresponding to network applications through terminal nodes and accesses the network; routes and forwards messages according to the addressing and routing method of the network modality corresponding to the message through the aggregation node 142; realizes high-speed isolated transmission of data between network domains through the backbone node 141; and establishes a node hierarchical collaboration logic that adapts to the functions and performance of heterogeneous network modalities through the coordinated operation of the terminal node 143, the aggregation node 142 and the backbone node 141 to meet the end-to-end high-speed processing requirements of multiple network modality services.

[0050] In some embodiments, the terminal node 143 is also used to: determine the corresponding network mode based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the network application; based on the network mode, encapsulate the data of the network application into a network domain message and send it to the aggregation node 142, and receive the network domain message sent by the aggregation node 142 and decapsulate it.

[0051] To meet the diverse application requirements of terminal devices, the network application actively selects or passively matches the service quality to match the payload data to the corresponding network mode. After that, message encapsulation and decapsulation can be performed based on the corresponding network mode. For example, if a network application requires addressing, routing, and forwarding of data packets based on geographic location, terminal node 143 encapsulates the payload data sent by the upper-layer application into a message according to the geographic identifier addressing network mode and sends it to aggregation node 142. The decapsulation process is the opposite. The encapsulated message becomes a network domain message and can be forwarded between aggregation nodes 142 within the network domain.

[0052] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment encapsulates the data of network applications into network domain messages according to the network modality through the terminal node 143, completes the intelligent matching of business data and network modality, establishes a network identification addressing method that meets the business function and performance requirements, and encapsulates or decapsulates the corresponding network modality data packets, providing the destination address for the corresponding aggregation node 142 to perform routing and forwarding according to the network identification addressing method, thereby meeting the data transmission requirements of different network applications and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0053] In some embodiments, the aggregation node 142 is further used to: determine the corresponding network mode based on the received network domain message; and perform routing forwarding based on the addressing routing method of the network mode.

[0054] Aggregation node 142 analyzes and matches network domain messages, identifies the network modality to which they correspond, and forwards them based on the addressing and routing scheme of that network modality. A single aggregation node 142 can achieve unified transport and coordinated convergence of multiple network modalities. Specifically, aggregation node 142 can simultaneously carry heterogeneous network modality data and possess the corresponding data processing capabilities. Furthermore, aggregation node 142 is responsible for unified transport and rapid convergence of multiple modalities within the network domain, as well as in-band general-purpose computing.

[0055] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment identifies the network modality corresponding to the network domain message through the aggregation node 142, and performs routing and forwarding according to the addressing and routing method of the network modality, thereby realizing addressing and routing under the corresponding network modality technology system, that is, the coordinated processing and unified carrying of multiple network technology routing and addressing methods in the multimodal network domain, matching the transmission of the message with the corresponding network modality, meeting the data transmission requirements of different network applications, and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0056] In some embodiments, FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the connection between a backbone node and a multimodal network domain in some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , a multimodal network domain 144 includes a non-edge aggregation node 1422 and an edge aggregation node 1421 connected to the corresponding backbone node 141. Non-edge aggregation node 1422 is further configured to: determine whether the destination route of a network domain message is within the multimodal network domain 144 where aggregation node 142 is located; if the destination route is not within the multimodal network domain 144, forward the network domain message to edge aggregation node 1421; edge aggregation node 1421 is further configured to: encapsulate the network domain message into a cross-network domain message, the cross-network domain message including the network domain address of the destination route; and send the cross-network domain message to backbone node 141.

[0057] Based on the destination address of the network domain message, aggregation node 142 determines whether the destination route of the network domain message is within the multimodal network domain 144 where aggregation node 142 is located. If so, cross-domain transmission is not required. Instead, the message is forwarded to the destination terminal within the multimodal network domain according to the addressing and routing method corresponding to the network modality of the network domain message. If not, cross-domain transmission is required. In this case, a non-edge aggregation node 1422 connected to the terminal node sending the network domain message rapidly forwards the network domain message to an edge aggregation node 1421 connected to the backbone network. Edge aggregation node 1421 encapsulates the network domain message according to the corresponding network modality into a cross-domain message suitable for high-speed forwarding on the backbone network. Based on the rapid aggregation capabilities of the corresponding network modality data, it writes the domain address information of the destination network domain into a designated field of the encapsulated cross-domain message.

[0058] Taking the geographic identification addressing network mode in the above embodiment as an example, if the message needs to be transmitted across network domains, that is, the target geographic location represented in the geographic identification data header is outside the multimodal network domain, then the message within the network domain needs to be quickly forwarded to the edge aggregation node 1421 connected to the backbone node 141, and the routing information field representing the destination multimodal network domain (here is the geographic location information field of the destination network domain) is extracted at the edge aggregation node 1421, and then the edge aggregation node 1421 encapsulates the routing information field into the specified field of the message header such as SRv6, MPLS-SR, etc. (mainstream high-speed forwarding network modes suitable for backbone networks), and finally handed over to the backbone node 141 for forwarding.

[0059] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment determines, through the aggregation node 142, whether the destination route of the network domain message is within the multimodal network domain where the aggregation node 142 is located, and clarifies the forwarding path of the network domain message to obtain forwarding resources within the corresponding backbone network or aggregation network multimodal network domain; through the edge aggregation node 1421, the network domain message is encapsulated as a cross-network domain message and sent to the corresponding backbone node 141, thereby realizing cross-backbone network transmission of multimodal network services and high-speed interconnection and forwarding of data, thereby improving the forwarding efficiency of network messages.

[0060] In some embodiments, the backbone node 141 is also used to: identify the corresponding network mode based on the received cross-network domain message; obtain the network domain address of the cross-network domain message based on the network mode; allocate corresponding resources to the cross-network domain message and perform isolated forwarding based on the network capability requirements and network mode corresponding to the cross-network domain message.

[0061] The backbone node 141 divides resource-isolated hard-isolated high-speed forwarding pipes for different network modes and different communication routes of the same network mode, thereby realizing high-speed interconnection and forwarding of data services between multi-modal network domains (i.e., access aggregation networks). The backbone node 141 can also flexibly adjust the forwarding mechanism and resource allocation of the backbone network according to changes in network mode business requirements. For example, for messages of the same network mode, they can be divided into different hard-isolated high-speed channels for forwarding according to the differentiated requirements of network service quality; according to the changes in the bandwidth and delay requirements of different network mode services, the bandwidth size of the backbone network can be flexibly adjusted. For example, for the geographically identified addressing message that needs to be transmitted across network domains, the backbone node first identifies the network mode type of the cross-network domain message as a network mode based on geographically identified addressing, and then extracts the domain address information of the target network domain (here refers to the geographical location information of the destination network domain) from the specified field of the cross-network domain message, and calculates the forwarding path and corresponding resource information of the backbone network according to the network capability requirements or service quality requirements of the network application, allocates corresponding resources to the cross-network domain message, and performs isolated forwarding. When backbone network resources, carried network modes, network services, etc. change, backbone node 141 can also adjust forwarding resources in a timely manner to adapt to the network capacity requirements of service changes.

[0062] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment identifies the network modality corresponding to cross-network domain messages through the backbone node 141, allocates corresponding resources to the cross-network domain messages according to the network modality and network capability requirements, and performs isolated forwarding. It also flexibly adjusts the forwarding mechanism and resource allocation of the backbone network according to changes in business needs, thereby improving the forwarding efficiency and flexibility of the backbone network.

[0063] In some embodiments, the backbone node 141 is also used to: determine the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain messages; construct a hard isolation pipe corresponding to the network mode based on the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters; and isolate and forward cross-network domain messages based on the hard isolation pipe.

[0064] The backbone node 141 can calculate the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe information of the backbone network based on the network capability requirements or service quality requirements of the cross-network domain message, such as the hard isolation bandwidth, hard isolation pipe residence time, hard isolation pipe delay, etc. required for all services of the network mode or different network services under the same network mode. Then, based on the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe information, network isolation technologies such as FlexE (Flexible Ethernet) / MTN (Metro Transport Network) are applied to build an isolation pipe for the network mode, and finally high-speed isolation forwarding of the backbone network is performed based on SRv6, MPLS-SR, etc. The backbone node 141 can flexibly adjust the forwarding mechanism and resource allocation of the backbone network according to changes in the network mode service requirements. For example, for the same network mode data packet, it can be divided into different hard isolation high-speed channels for forwarding according to the differentiated requirements of the network service quality; according to the changes in the bandwidth and delay requirements of different network mode services, the bandwidth size of the backbone network can be flexibly adjusted.

[0065] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment determines the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters based on network capability requirements through the backbone node 141, constructs a hard isolation pipe corresponding to the network mode, and realizes high-speed isolated transmission of data for different network modes and different communication routes of the same network mode, thereby improving the speed, security and stability of data transmission; the backbone network resources are allocated by the backbone node 141 according to network capability requirements, and the backbone network resources are flexibly adjusted according to the changes in the bandwidth and latency requirements of different network mode services, thereby improving the transmission efficiency and flexibility of the backbone network.

[0066] The present embodiment will be described and illustrated below using alternative embodiments. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multimodal network system 100 according to some alternative embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the multimodal network system 100 comprises, from top to bottom, an application layer 11, a service layer 12, a modality layer 13, and an environment layer 14. The environment layer 14 includes a control layer and a data layer that are separated from each other. The data layer includes multiple network nodes, which include terminal network cards, coprocessors, and node machines.

[0067] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment forms a hierarchical network architecture based on a top-down design approach. Driven by demand, the application layer 11 abstracts the network capability requirements of the service layer 12 for diverse applications, such as high bandwidth, wide connectivity, low latency, determinism, and high security. The modality layer 13 matches the corresponding network technology modality based on the network capability requirements of the service layer 12. For example, high-bandwidth network capabilities are achieved by matching network technology modalities such as IPv4 and IPv6, while deterministic and low-latency network capabilities are achieved by matching industrial control identification network technology modalities. The environment layer 14 builds a multimodal network intelligent support environment through multimodal network nodes to uniformly support heterogeneous network technology modalities. This environment layer primarily includes controllers, multimodal network nodes (such as node machines, coprocessors, terminal network cards, etc.), and application terminals.

[0068] For example, for the application scenario of industrial intelligent inspection, the main network capability requirements required for the application scenario are first abstracted as low latency, high security, determinism, etc., and then network technology modalities with corresponding capabilities are matched according to these network capability requirements, including industrial control identification, IPv4, IPv6, geographic identification, etc., and personalized network capability support is provided for the industrial intelligent inspection scenario through the organic combination of the above-mentioned multiple network modalities. Finally, the above-mentioned network modalities are uniformly run on a multi-modal network intelligent support environment composed of node machines, coprocessors, and terminal network cards.

[0069] Specifically, on the end side, the terminal network card implements network mode matching and data packet generation / decapsulation for application services. In response to different application requirements of terminal devices, the payload data that the application needs to send is matched to the corresponding network mode through active selection of the application or passive matching based on the service quality of the business, and the message encapsulation and decapsulation operations are performed according to the corresponding network mode. For example, if the application needs to address, route and forward data packets based on geographic location, the terminal network card will encapsulate the payload data sent by the upper-layer application according to the geographic identification addressing network mode and send it to the coprocessor. The decapsulation process is the opposite. In addition, for complex network applications, some general operations that meet the requirements of hardware acceleration (such as encryption and decryption, etc.) can be moved down to the terminal network card to accelerate and unload the upper-layer applications.

[0070] In the access aggregation network, the coprocessor realizes the unified carrying of multimodal data. The multimodal network data packet generated by the terminal network card is forwarded to the coprocessor. The coprocessor identifies the network mode corresponding to the data packet by parsing, matching and other operations on the data packet, and routes and forwards it according to the addressing and routing method of the network mode. When data needs to be transmitted across the backbone network, the coprocessor connected to the terminal network card quickly forwards the data packet to the edge coprocessor node connected to the backbone network. At the edge node, the corresponding network mode data packet is encapsulated into a network mode data packet suitable for high-speed forwarding of the backbone network, and based on the rapid aggregation capability of the corresponding network mode data, the domain address information of the destination network domain is written into the field specified in the message after "encapsulation", thereby realizing the cross-backbone transmission of multimodal network services. For example, when the above-mentioned geographic identification network mode data packet does not need to be transmitted across the backbone network, it only needs to be forwarded to the destination terminal within the multimodal network domain according to the addressing and routing method of the geographic identification technology mode. If cross-backbone transmission is required, that is, the target geographic location represented in the geographic identification data header is outside the current multimodal network domain, the data packet needs to be quickly forwarded to the edge coprocessor node connected to the backbone network, and the routing information field representing the destination multimodal network domain (here is the geographic location information field of the destination network domain) is extracted at the node. The edge coprocessor then encapsulates this field into the specified field of the data packet header, such as SRv6, MPLS-SR, etc. (mainstream high-speed forwarding network modes suitable for backbone networks), and finally hands it over to the node machine for backbone interconnection forwarding.

[0071] In the backbone network, node machines implement network modality-based isolation and high-speed forwarding. For service data that needs to be transmitted across multimodal network domains through the backbone network, node machines serve as hard-isolated high-speed forwarding pipelines with resource isolation, enabling high-speed interconnection and forwarding of data services between multimodal network domains (i.e., access aggregation networks). The backbone network can flexibly adjust its forwarding mechanism and resource allocation based on changes in network modality service requirements. For example, for data packets of the same network modality, they can be divided into different hard-isolated high-speed channels for forwarding based on differentiated network service quality requirements; and the backbone network bandwidth can be flexibly adjusted based on changes in bandwidth and latency requirements of different network modality services. For example, for the geographically addressed data that needs to be transmitted across the backbone network, the node machine first identifies the mode type of the data packet as a network mode based on geographically addressed addressing, and then extracts the "domain address information" of the target network domain from the specified field of the data packet (here refers to the geographical location information of the destination network domain), and calculates the backbone network forwarding path and hard isolation pipe information based on the service quality requirements of the data service (for example, the hard isolation bandwidth, hard isolation pipe residence time, hard isolation pipe delay, etc. required for all services of the network mode or different network services under the same network mode). Then, based on the above information and network isolation technology (such as FlexE / MTN, etc.), a network mode-oriented isolation pipe is constructed, and finally high-speed isolation forwarding is performed on the backbone network based on SRv6, MPLS-SR, etc. When the backbone network resources, the network mode carried, the network service, etc. change, the node machine can adjust the hard isolation pipe path, bandwidth and other states in a timely manner to adapt to the network capacity requirements of the service changes.

[0072] In addition to the need to negotiate the docking logical interface in advance, the collaborative operation and processing logic between the above-mentioned terminal network cards, coprocessors, and node machines also requires unified resource scheduling and planning through the upper-level controller. The upper-level controller has but is not limited to the topology discovery, routing calculation, flow table distribution, link status perception and other functions of traditional SDN network control.

[0073] The multimodal network system 100 of this embodiment supports the personalized network requirements of diversified business scenarios from top to bottom through a four-layer architecture of application layer, business layer, modality layer and environment layer, and ultimately performs unified carrying on the same network infrastructure; realizes terminal-side multimodal intelligent loading adaptation and computing offload acceleration through the terminal network card, realizes unified carrying of multimodal technology modes and efficient traffic aggregation at the access aggregation layer through the coprocessor, realizes backbone network-oriented hard channel isolation and high-speed forwarding for network modes through the node machine, and provides the required centralized control capability support for multimodal network nodes through the controller, thereby solving the problem of single network technology mode in the network development model of related technologies and being unable to meet the needs of different network services, and achieving optimal adaptation of business applications and technical systems, thereby significantly reducing network resource overhead, improving service quality, and improving the efficiency, flexibility and stability of data transmission.

[0074] In some embodiments, the present application also provides a multimodal network operation method, which is applied to the multimodal network system 100 in the above-mentioned embodiment. Corresponding to the above-mentioned multimodal network system 100, where the multimodal network operation method of this embodiment is not mentioned, reference may be made to the corresponding content of the above-mentioned multimodal network system 100, and this application will not elaborate on it here. The multimodal network system 100 includes a network infrastructure for carrying and transmitting messages corresponding to each network application. Figure 6 is a flow chart of the multimodal network operation method of some embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the process includes the following steps:

[0075] Step S601: Determine corresponding network applications based on network service requirements.

[0076] Network service requirements refer to network services for the future internet, such as consumer services like AR / VR, online gaming, and live streaming, as well as production services like industrial manufacturing, autonomous driving, and telemedicine. Network applications refer to various network applications and the environments and scenarios in which users are most likely to use them, including time, space, and device support. To meet the diverse network service needs of people in production and daily life, corresponding network applications are determined based on the application environment and scenarios in which the network service needs arise, including their functions, business logic, and implementation effectiveness.

[0077] Step S602: Determine corresponding network capability requirements based on network applications.

[0078] Based on the functions, business logic, and implementation effects of the network application, determine the required network capabilities, that is, the network capabilities that meet the corresponding network business needs, such as large bandwidth, wide connection, low latency, determinism, high security, etc. The network capability requirements can be qualitative or quantitative.

[0079] Step S603: Determine the corresponding network mode based on the network capability requirement.

[0080] Network modality, also known as network technology modality, refers to the sum of technical regulations required to ensure the normal operation of a communications network. This can include customized software and hardware configurations, message formats, routing protocols, switching methods, forwarding logic, operation and maintenance specifications, and security policies. For example, high-bandwidth network capabilities can be achieved by matching network technology modalities such as IPv4 and IPv6, while deterministic, low-latency network capabilities can be achieved by matching industrial control identification network technology modalities.

[0081] Step S604: Based on the network modality, generate, encapsulate, route and forward the message corresponding to the network application in the network infrastructure.

[0082] Network infrastructure refers to the supporting environment for multimodal networks and can include controllers, multimodal network nodes (such as node machines, coprocessors, and terminal network cards), and application terminals. This network infrastructure is used to generate, encapsulate, decapsulate, and route messages corresponding to each network application based on its corresponding network modality, enabling data transmission across network applications based on different network modalities.

[0083] Through the above steps S601 to S604, the corresponding network application is determined based on the network business requirements, and the function, business logic, implementation effect, etc. of the network application are determined based on the application scenario of the network business requirements; the corresponding network capability requirements are determined based on the network application, and the network resource conditions required to implement the network application are clarified; the corresponding network modality is determined based on the network capability requirements, and a network modality with corresponding capabilities is matched according to these network capability requirements, and a technical modality corresponding to the network modality is provided to ensure that multiple network modalities can coexist in the same physical facility and play their respective roles; based on the network modality, the corresponding message of the network application is generated, encapsulated and routed and forwarded in the network infrastructure, providing network capability support for multi-modal symbiosis for the multi-modal network environment, solving the problem that the network technology modality in the network development model in the related technology is single and cannot meet the needs of different network services, and achieving the best adaptation of business applications and technical systems, thereby significantly reducing network resource overhead and improving service quality.

[0084] In some embodiments, based on the network modality, generating, encapsulating and routing forwarding messages corresponding to the network application in the network infrastructure includes: transmitting messages based on multiple types of network nodes; and uniformly scheduling and centrally controlling network resources at the data layer.

[0085] In some embodiments, the network nodes include terminal nodes, aggregation nodes, and backbone nodes, each backbone node corresponds to a multimodal network domain and multiple aggregation nodes in the multimodal network domain, and each aggregation node corresponds to multiple terminal nodes. The method further includes:

[0086] The terminal node generates corresponding messages based on network applications and transmits messages with the corresponding aggregation node; the aggregation node routes and forwards the received messages and transmits cross-network domain messages in the messages with the corresponding backbone node; the backbone node isolates and forwards cross-network domain messages.

[0087] In some embodiments, the method also includes: the terminal node determines the corresponding network mode based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the network application; based on the network mode, encapsulates the data of the network application into a network domain message and sends it to the aggregation node, and receives the network domain message sent by the aggregation node and unpacks it.

[0088] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the aggregation node determining the corresponding network mode based on the received network domain message; and performing routing forwarding based on the addressing routing method of the network mode.

[0089] In some embodiments, the multimodal network domain includes non-edge aggregation nodes and edge aggregation nodes connected to corresponding backbone nodes. The method further includes:

[0090] The non-edge aggregation node determines whether the destination route of the network domain message is within the multimodal network domain where the aggregation node is located; if the destination route is not within the multimodal network domain, the network domain message is forwarded to the edge aggregation node; the edge aggregation node encapsulates the network domain message into a cross-network domain message, which contains the network domain address where the destination route is located; and sends the cross-network domain message to the backbone node.

[0091] In some embodiments, the method also includes: the backbone node identifies the corresponding network mode based on the received cross-network domain message; based on the network mode, obtains the network domain address of the cross-network domain message; based on the network capability requirements and network mode corresponding to the cross-network domain message, allocates corresponding resources to the cross-network domain message and performs isolated forwarding.

[0092] In some embodiments, the method also includes: the backbone node determines the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain messages; based on the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters, constructs a hard isolation pipe corresponding to the network modality; based on the hard isolation pipe, isolates and forwards the cross-network domain messages.

[0093] In some embodiments, unified scheduling and centralized control of network resources at the data layer specifically include: at least one of data layer function configuration and dynamic deployment, multi-modal addressing routing, and unified network management and control and load balancing.

[0094] It should be noted that the steps shown in the above process or the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions, and although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in an order different from that shown here.

[0095] It should be noted that, for specific examples in this embodiment, reference may be made to the examples described in the above embodiments and optional implementation modes, and will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0096] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not used to limit it. Based on the embodiments provided in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0097] Obviously, the accompanying drawings are merely examples or embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art can also apply the present application to other similar situations based on these drawings without inventive effort. Furthermore, it is understandable that, although the work involved in this development process may be complex and lengthy, certain design, manufacturing, or production changes based on the technical content disclosed in this application are merely routine technical means for a person skilled in the art and should not be considered to constitute a deficiency in the disclosure of the present application.

[0098] The term "embodiment" as used in this application refers to specific features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment that can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily mean that the embodiment is the same, nor does it mean that it is mutually exclusive with other embodiments and is independent or optional. It is understood, either explicitly or implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in this application can be combined with other embodiments when there is no conflict.

[0099] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of patent protection. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A multimodal network system, characterized in that: The multimodal network system includes, from top to bottom: The application layer is used to provide network applications corresponding to network business needs; The business layer is used to determine the network capability requirements for implementing the network application; The modality layer is used to provide corresponding network modalities based on the network capability requirements; The environment layer is used to provide a network infrastructure that supports the operation of the network mode. The network infrastructure is used to carry and transmit messages corresponding to each network application. The messages are generated, encapsulated, unpacked and routed based on the network mode corresponding to the network application.

2. The multimodal network system according to claim 1, wherein: The environment layer includes a control layer and a data layer that are separated from each other. The data layer includes multiple types of network nodes. The data layer is used to transmit messages based on the network node; The control layer is used to uniformly schedule and centrally control the network resources of the data layer.

3. The multimodal network system according to claim 2, wherein: The network nodes include terminal nodes, aggregation nodes and backbone nodes, each backbone node corresponds to a multimodal network domain and multiple aggregation nodes in the multimodal network domain, and each aggregation node corresponds to multiple terminal nodes; The terminal node is used to generate a corresponding message based on the network application and transmit the message with the corresponding aggregation node; The aggregation node is used to route and forward the received messages, and to transmit the cross-network domain messages in the messages with the corresponding backbone nodes; The backbone node is used to isolate and forward the cross-network domain message.

4. The multimodal network system according to claim 3, wherein: The terminal node is also used to: Determining a corresponding network mode based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the network application; Based on the network modality, the data of the network application is encapsulated into a network domain message and then sent to the aggregation node, and the network domain message sent by the aggregation node is received and decapsulated.

5. The multimodal network system according to claim 3, wherein: The aggregation node is also used for: Determine a corresponding network mode based on the received network domain message; Based on the addressing routing mode of the network modality, routing forwarding is performed.

6. The multimodal network system according to claim 5, wherein: The multimodal network domain includes non-edge aggregation nodes and edge aggregation nodes connected to corresponding backbone nodes; The non-edge aggregation node is further used to determine whether the destination route of the network domain message is located at the aggregation node: within the multimodal network domain; if the destination route is not within the multimodal network domain, forwarding the network domain message to the edge aggregation node; The edge aggregation node is further used to: encapsulate the network domain message into a cross-network domain message, wherein the cross-network domain message includes the network domain address where the destination route is located; and send the cross-network domain message to the backbone node.

7. The multimodal network system according to claim 3, wherein: The backbone nodes are also used for: Based on the received cross-network domain message, identify the corresponding network mode; Based on the network modality, obtaining a network domain address of the cross-network domain message; Based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain message and the network modality, corresponding resources are allocated to the cross-network domain message and isolated forwarding is performed.

8. The multimodal network system according to claim 7, wherein: The backbone nodes are also used for: Determine a forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters based on the network capability requirements corresponding to the cross-network domain message; Based on the forwarding path and hard isolation pipe parameters, construct a hard isolation pipe corresponding to the network modality; Based on the hard isolation pipeline, the cross-network domain message is isolated and forwarded.

9. The multimodal network system according to claim 2, wherein: The control layer includes a controller, and the controller is used to implement at least one of the following functions: data layer function configuration and dynamic deployment, multi-modal addressing routing, network unified management and control, and load balancing.

10. A multimodal network operation method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a multimodal network system, the multimodal network system comprising a network infrastructure for carrying and transmitting messages corresponding to each network application, and the method comprises: Determine the corresponding network applications based on network business requirements; Based on the network application, determining corresponding network capability requirements; Based on the network capability requirement, determining a corresponding network mode; Based on the network modality, messages corresponding to the network application are generated, encapsulated, routed and forwarded in the network infrastructure.

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