Segmented Network Control Entities for Forwarding-State Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Centralized control planes in networking systems become unmanageable with large numbers of resources, and distributed control planes require manual configuration updates across multiple nodes, making them cumbersome for large-scale systems.
Innovation Solution
A system with network control entities that segregate and manage forwarding-state information within distinct network segments, allowing efficient transmission and storage of information between nodes within the same segment while preventing unnecessary data exchange across segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a centralized control plane is used to manage all resources, then resource management capability is improved, but system complexity and manageability deteriorate when large numbers of resources are connected
Solution Approach 1:
The control plane is segmented into multiple distributed control entities, each responsible for a specific network segment. This segmentation allows the system to maintain resource management capability across large numbers of resources while avoiding the complexity of a single centralized control plane by distributing the control functions across multiple manageable entities.
2Device complexity
If forwarding-state information is manually configured at each node in a distributed control plane, then control plane distribution is achieved, but operational efficiency deteriorates due to cumbersome manual updates across multiple nodes
Solution Approach 1:
A control message intermediary mechanism is introduced that enables automated propagation of forwarding-state information across distributed control entities. This intermediary system allows configuration updates to be efficiently distributed across multiple nodes without requiring manual intervention at each node, thus maintaining control plane distribution while dramatically improving operational efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If forwarding-state information is transmitted to all control entities in a distributed control plane, then information consistency is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases due to unnecessary data exchange across segments
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local quality by transmitting forwarding-state information selectively to only those control entities that are relevant to specific network segments. This approach maintains forwarding-state consistency within each segment while avoiding unnecessary bandwidth consumption by not propagating information across all control entities in the entire distributed control plane, thus optimizing the balance between consistency and resource usage.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a system includes a first network control entity, a second network control entity and a third network control entity. The first network control entity and the second network control entity are associated with a first network segment. The third network control entity is associated with a second network segment. The first network control entity is operable to send to the second network control entity an identifier of the first network segment and forwarding-state information associated with a data port at a first network element. The second network control entity is operable to receive the identifier of the first network segment and the forwarding-state information. The second network control entity is operable to send the forwarding-state information to a second network element. The first network control entity does not send the identifier of the first network segment and the forwarding-state information to the third network control entity.