Local Traffic Forwarding in Access Devices for Edge Computing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing wired broadband access networks, edge computing servers and end users are isolated, leading to inefficient communication through BRAS, resulting in wasted link bandwidth, increased delay, and packet loss, which affects the quality of service experience.
Innovation Solution
A traffic processing method that determines whether upstream traffic is local by matching destination IPs with a forwarding table, allowing for layer-3 forwarding when local, thereby offloading traffic directly on a layer-2 access device, reducing the need for BRAS/SR involvement and conserving bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traffic is forwarded through BRAS/SR, then layer-3 communication is enabled between users and edge computing servers, but link bandwidth is wasted and delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the layer-3 forwarding function from the centralized BRAS/SR and implements it locally at the access device. By building a local forwarding table at the access device that maps user IP addresses to edge computing server IP addresses, the system enables direct local forwarding of traffic without requiring it to traverse through BRAS/SR, thus reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining communication connectivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network forwarding path into local forwarding (at access device) and remote forwarding (through BRAS/SR). By dividing the forwarding responsibilities and implementing IP-based local forwarding for edge computing traffic, the system optimizes the path selection to avoid unnecessary traversal through BRAS/SR, thereby reducing bandwidth waste and delay
2Reliability
If traffic is forwarded through BRAS/SR, then communication between users and edge computing servers is enabled, but the number of paths increases causing increased delay and packet loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the layer-3 forwarding function from the centralized BRAS/SR and implements it locally at the access device. By building a local forwarding table at the access device that maps user IP addresses to edge computing server IP addresses, the system enables direct local forwarding of traffic without requiring it to traverse through BRAS/SR, thus reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining communication connectivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-establishing the forwarding table at the access device before traffic flows. The forwarding table is populated with mappings between user IP addresses and edge computing server IP addresses in advance, enabling the access device to immediately perform direct forwarding when traffic arrives, thus avoiding the need to route through BRAS/SR and reducing communication delay
3Reliability
If users and edge computing servers are horizontally isolated, then network security is maintained, but direct layer-2 communication is prevented requiring layer-3 routing through BRAS
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing differentiated forwarding behavior at the access device. For edge computing traffic, the device performs IP-based local forwarding using the forwarding table, while for other traffic it maintains standard routing through BRAS/SR. This localized optimization enables direct communication for edge computing services while preserving the horizontal isolation architecture for other traffic, thus reducing forwarding path complexity without compromising network security
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed in embodiments of the present invention are a traffic processing method and a related device, a method for establishing a forwarding table, and a storage medium. The traffic processing method applies to a traffic offload function (TOF), and comprises: determining whether an upstream traffic packet is local traffic; and if the upstream traffic packet is local traffic, performing layer-3 forwarding on the upstream traffic packet according to a forwarding table stored locally.