Hierarchical SDN Controller for Cross-Domain Rerouting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current software defined network (SDN) technologies face challenges in implementing cross-domain end-to-end rerouting due to complexity in signaling interactions, making it difficult to achieve network failure resilience and flexible service deployment across domains.

Innovation Solution

An end-to-end rerouting method and apparatus that utilizes a hierarchical controller architecture, involving multiple single-domain controllers and a multi-domain controller to receive failure notifications, search for affected cross-domain services, and send service update and setup requests to reroute cross-domain end-to-end services, enabling dynamic or preset recovery strategies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If distributed control plane technology is used for service rerouting, then service flexibility and programmable network operations are improved, but signaling interaction complexity increases and cross-domain deployment becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice flexibilityVSAvoidsignaling interaction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the control plane into single-domain controllers and a multi-domain controller. Each single-domain controller handles rerouting within its own domain, while the multi-domain coordinator only manages cross-domain coordination. This segmentation reduces signaling complexity by eliminating the need for complex distributed signaling interactions across all domains, while maintaining service flexibility through the hierarchical control structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If manual rerouting operations are performed in distributed control plane, then service survivability requirements can be met, but operation complexity increases significantly for cross-domain services

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice survivabilityVSAvoidrerouting operation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The multi-domain coordinator acts as an intermediary between single-domain controllers for cross-domain rerouting operations. When a failure occurs in a cross-domain service, the affected single-domain controller notifies the multi-domain coordinator, which then coordinates the rerouting across multiple domains. This intermediary approach simplifies operations by providing a centralized coordination point, reducing the complexity of manual cross-domain rerouting while maintaining service survivability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If cross-domain end-to-end rerouting is implemented in traditional SDN, then network failure resilience can be achieved, but the signaling interaction complexity makes engineering deployment infeasible

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork failure resilienceVSAvoidsignaling interaction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control plane is segmented into single-domain controllers that handle local rerouting decisions and a multi-domain coordinator that manages cross-domain coordination. This segmentation allows network failure resilience to be achieved through localized rerouting capabilities while reducing signaling complexity by limiting cross-domain signaling to coordination messages between controllers, rather than complex distributed signaling interactions required in traditional SDN approaches.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3742682B1End-to-end rerouting method and apparatus
Publication Date: 2024.11.20 ZTE CORP
  • EP3742682B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3742682B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3742682B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Disclosed are an end-to-end rerouting method and apparatus. The method includes: receiving a failure notification reported by a single-domain controller; searching for a cross-domain end-to-end service corresponding to the failure notification according to the failure notification; and sending a service update request and a service setup request to a single-domain controller corresponding to a single-domain service in the cross-domain end-to-end service according to the cross-domain end-to-end service to implement a rerouting for the cross-domain end-to-end service.