BIER Packet Encapsulation for Signaling Overhead Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing multicast technology faces high costs and operation and maintenance challenges due to the need for constructing complex multicast distribution trees, especially as network scale increases and multicast data traffic grows, leading to high signaling overheads and protocol modifications across different domains.
Innovation Solution
A BIER packet sending method that eliminates the need for leaf nodes to send path information to head nodes by determining and encapsulating path information locally, reducing signaling overheads and minimizing protocol modifications through preconfigured BIER packet sending policies and BIFT-IDs, allowing for efficient BIER packet forwarding across domains without constructing multicast distribution trees.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional multicast technology is used to construct multicast distribution trees, then multicast data transmission can be implemented, but signaling overheads increase and protocol modifications are required across different domains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the path information determination function from the control plane (head node) and places it in the data plane (leaf node). The leaf node autonomously determines the BIER packet sending policy and encapsulates path information locally, eliminating the need to send path information to the head node. This extraction reduces signaling overhead and protocol complexity while maintaining multicast transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The leaf node performs self-service by autonomously determining the BIER packet sending policy based on preconfigured information and locally encapsulating the BIER packet with path information. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex inter-node signaling and protocol modifications, reducing overall system complexity while ensuring reliable multicast transmission.
2Loss of information
If leaf nodes send path information to head nodes in conventional technology, then path information can be transmitted, but signaling overheads become relatively high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional path information transmission direction. Instead of the leaf node sending path information to the head node, the leaf node locally determines and encapsulates the path information in the BIER packet. This inversion eliminates the separate signaling process, reducing signaling overhead while ensuring path information is still transmitted effectively.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different protocols correspond to different path information formats, then protocol compatibility is maintained, but more modifications are made to the protocol
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal BIER packet encapsulation mechanism that can carry path information for different protocols (MPLS, IPv6, etc.) through a unified structure. The BIER header format accommodates different path information types without requiring protocol-specific modifications, achieving multi-functionality and reducing protocol modification complexity while maintaining compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A bit index explicit replication (BIER) packet sending method includes receiving, by a first node in a first BIER domain, a packet from a second node in a second BIER domain, where the packet carries an identifier of the second BIER domain, determining a BIER packet sending policy corresponding to the identifier of the second BIER domain based on the identifier of the second BIER domain and according to a preconfigured BIER packet sending policy, and encapsulating and sending a BIER packet according to the BIER packet sending policy.