Route Reflector Filtering by Virtual Network Identifier
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual private networks (VPNs) using the border gateway protocol (BGP), route reflectors propagate unnecessary route advertisements to all PE devices, leading to wastage of network resources due to unnecessary network traffic and processor/memory load, as all devices receive route advertisements regardless of their relevance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a route reflector that filters route advertisements based on virtual network identifiers (VNIs) or route targets (RTs) by maintaining tables associating these identifiers with PE devices, ensuring only relevant PE devices receive necessary route advertisements, thereby minimizing unnecessary transmissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If route reflectors propagate route advertisements to all PE devices, then all devices receive necessary route information, but network resources are wasted due to unnecessary traffic and processor/memory load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by filtering route advertisements based on VNI associations specific to each PE device. Instead of uniformly distributing all route advertisements to all PE devices, the system selectively delivers only those advertisements relevant to each specific PE device's VNI associations, thereby reducing unnecessary network traffic and resource consumption while maintaining reliable route delivery where needed
2Adaptability or versatility
If route reflectors propagate route advertisements to all PE devices, then route information is universally available, but processor and memory load increases on devices that do not need the routes
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local quality by maintaining VNI association tables that track which PE devices are associated with which virtual networks. This enables selective route advertisement delivery based on specific VNI-PE device associations, reducing processor and memory load on devices that do not need particular routes while preserving universal route distribution capability where VNI associations indicate relevance
3Loss of energy
If route reflectors use VNI-based filtering, then unnecessary route advertisements are reduced, but system complexity increases due to table maintenance requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having PE devices pre-establish and maintain VNI association tables before route advertisements are received. These tables are built during the VPN initialization phase and stored in memory, enabling the route reflector to perform simple VNI-based filtering without complex real-time analysis. This preliminary table maintenance approach reduces the complexity of runtime route distribution decisions
Data Source
AI summary
Network identifiers are extracted from route advertisements. A table associates virtual network identifiers with provider edge devices. When a virtual network identifier extracted from a route advertisement matches a virtual network identifier in the table, the route advertisement is propagated to the provider edge devices associated with that virtual network identifier in the table. The route advertisement is not propagated to provider edge devices not associated with that virtual network identifier in the table.