Edge Device VLAN ID Translation for Inter-Site Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
In network planning, when sites are not interoperable, re-planning is required to enable access to services across different VLANs, which is labor-intensive and can disrupt existing services.
Innovation Solution
An edge device with a control module, forwarding chip, and rule module that searches MAC and VLAN mapping tables to replace VLAN IDs, allowing inter-VLAN access by mapping VLAN IDs between sites for seamless service access across different networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If VLANs are configured uniformly across all sites with the same service in the same VLAN, then network planning is simplified, but sites that are not interoperable require labor-intensive re-planning and may disrupt existing services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces VLAN mapping as an intermediary mechanism between sites with different VLAN configurations. The edge device performs VLAN ID translation, mapping local VLAN IDs to remote VLAN IDs, enabling interoperability without requiring uniform VLAN planning across all sites. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining planning simplicity while adding adaptability through the mapping layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the VLAN ID parameter dynamically through mapping relationships. Instead of requiring fixed uniform VLAN IDs across all sites, the system allows different VLAN ID values at different sites and uses mapping to translate between them, enabling both simplified local planning and cross-site interoperability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If re-planning is performed to enable inter-VLAN access between non-interoperable sites, then service accessibility is improved, but workload increases and existing services may be disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes VLAN mapping relationships in advance through pre-configuration or dynamic negotiation before actual service traffic needs to cross sites. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for labor-intensive re-planning when service accessibility issues arise, as the mapping framework is already in place to handle inter-VLAN access.
Solution Approach 2:
The VLAN mapping mechanism acts as an intermediary that enables service accessibility without requiring direct re-planning of VLAN configurations at each site. The mapping relationship abstracts the complexity of inter-VLAN access, allowing services to be accessed across sites while maintaining local configuration stability and avoiding disruptions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If VLAN IDs are not mapped between sites, then local network configuration is maintained, but inter-VLAN layer-2 communications between sites are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The VLAN mapping function serves as an intermediary translation layer that preserves local network configurations while enabling cross-site communications. The edge device translates VLAN IDs without requiring changes to local site configurations, maintaining stability while establishing reliable communication paths between sites with different VLAN assignments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter transformation by changing VLAN ID values during packet forwarding between sites. Local VLAN ID parameters remain unchanged within each site, maintaining configuration stability, while the mapping mechanism transforms these parameters appropriately for cross-site transmission, ensuring communication reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An edge device searches a MAC table to obtain information of a public network egress interface for a packet which is to be sent from a local site to a remote site to access a service, replaces a VLAN ID in the packet with a VLAN ID used for transmission in a public network, and sends the packet in which the VLAN ID has been replaced to a remote site according to the information of the public network egress interface.