ESGW Packet Forwarding for vBRAS Load Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing BRAS virtualization implementations, both protocol and data packets interacted between the user and network sides are forwarded through a vBRAS device, leading to excessive load on the vBRAS device.
Innovation Solution
An ESGW device is deployed to separate the gateway function from the vBRAS device, forwarding upstream Q-in-Q protocol packets to the vBRAS through a VXLAN tunnel and removing Q-in-Q tags from upstream Q-in-Q data packets for local forwarding, thereby reducing the load on the vBRAS device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If both protocol packets and data packets are forwarded through the vBRAS device, then the vBRAS device can process all packets centrally, but the load on the vBRAS device becomes excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the packet forwarding function by introducing an ESGW device that handles data packet forwarding separately from the vBRAS device that handles protocol packets. This division reduces the load on the vBRAS device while maintaining centralized control for protocol processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the data packet forwarding function from the vBRAS device and assigns it to the ESGW device. This extraction removes the excessive load from the vBRAS device while preserving its core protocol processing capabilities.
2Device complexity
If the gateway function is integrated with the vBRAS device, then packet processing is simplified, but the vBRAS device cannot scale efficiently under heavy load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the gateway function from the vBRAS device by introducing a separate ESGW device. This segmentation maintains relatively simple packet processing within each device while enabling the system to scale by distributing workload across multiple specialized components.
3Reliability
If all packets are processed by the vBRAS device, then protocol processing is centralized, but network efficiency decreases due to the bottleneck at the vBRAS device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing workload by having the ESGW device handle data packet forwarding independently while the vBRAS device focuses on protocol packets. This segmentation eliminates the bottleneck at the vBRAS device and improves overall network throughput while maintaining centralized protocol processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the ESGW device as an intermediary that handles data packet forwarding between the access device and the vBRAS device. This intermediary relieves the bottleneck at the vBRAS device while maintaining the centralized protocol processing architecture.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a method and an apparatus for forwarding a packet. Based on an example of the method, in a case of receiving the upstream Q-in-Q protocol packet through a port connected to an access device, an Edge Stream Gateway (ESGW) device forwards an upstream Q-in-Q protocol packet to a Virtual Broadband Remote Access Server (vBRAS) device through a Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN) tunnel between the ESGW device and the vBRAS device; in a case of receiving an upstream Q-in-Q data packet through a port connected to the access device, the ESGW device removes a Q-in-Q tag of the upstream Q-in-Q data packet, determines that a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address of the upstream Ethernet data packet without the Q-in-Q tag is an MAC address of the ESGW device, and performs layer-3 forwarding based on a destination IP address of the upstream Ethernet data packet.