Per Service Egress Link Selection via GRE Encapsulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) does not allow for service-specific routing decisions, leading to inadequate capacity utilization and cost inefficiencies in peering links, as it lacks visibility into the service associated with network traffic and only selects a single best path, masking alternative routes.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves encapsulating network packets in Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) packets with specific peering routers and egress ports identified, allowing for service-specific routing that overrides general network routing policies, enabling selection of fast or cost-effective routes based on service requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional BGP protocol is used for routing, then routing simplicity is maintained, but service-specific routing control is lost and capacity utilization is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds service identification information within the packet routing process. The service identifier is nested within the packet metadata or header, allowing the routing system to access service-specific information without creating a completely separate routing protocol. This enables service-specific routing decisions while building upon the existing BGP infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a service identifier as an intermediary element that mediates between the packet and the routing decision. This service identifier acts as a bridge, allowing the routing system to make service-specific decisions without requiring direct integration of complex service management logic into the core BGP protocol.
2Productivity
If BGP selects a single best path, then routing decision speed is improved, but alternative routes are masked and capacity utilization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the routing path dynamic by allowing different services to select different peering links based on their specific requirements. Instead of a static single-best-path approach, the system dynamically selects peering links based on service identifiers, enabling multiple active paths to be utilized simultaneously for different services, thereby improving overall capacity utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the routing decision process by service type. Rather than making a single routing decision for all traffic, the system divides traffic into different service categories and applies specific routing policies to each segment. This allows multiple peering links to be utilized in parallel for different service segments, improving both efficiency and capacity utilization.
3Ease of operation
If peering links are used without service-specific selection, then routing simplicity is maintained, but cost optimization is lost when ISPs charge fees
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different routing qualities to different services based on their requirements. High-value or latency-sensitive services can be routed through paid peering links with higher quality characteristics, while routine traffic uses free or lower-cost links. This local differentiation of routing quality allows cost optimization without requiring complete reconfiguration of the routing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the routing parameter from a single best-path selection to a service-specific path selection based on cost and performance parameters. By incorporating service identifiers and associated cost parameters into the routing decision, the system can automatically select cost-effective peering links for different services while maintaining operational simplicity through automated policy-based routing.
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments provide techniques for specifying, on a per-service basis, (1) the peering router to which a particular network packet should be directed, and (2) the egress port that the packet should use when it leaves the peering router. One embodiment encapsulates an original packet inside an encapsulating packet. The encapsulating packet may specify, as a destination, a desired peering router in order to route the packet to a specific peering router and may specify an egress port identifier identifying a desired egress port on which the packet should be sent out from the peering router. At the peering router, the encapsulated packet may be decapsulated and the desired egress port may be retrieved. Thus, general network routing information may be overridden in favor of selected service-specific routes, allowing faster routes can be chosen for more important traffic or services.