Source IP Address Bunches for Router Scalability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing IP network routing system faces scalability challenges due to the exponential increase in routing table entries, leading to high storage and processing overhead, low packet forwarding efficiency, and routing instability, which CIDR is unable to adequately address, especially with the limitations of continuous address aggregation and inflexibility in service provider selection.
Innovation Solution
A method of source address aggregation that allows for the grouping of continuous or discontinuous address prefixes into a single prefix using source address blocks and bunches, with association functions to link these blocks, enabling flexible allocation, splitting, merging, and aggregation of address bunches, thereby reducing the number of routing entries and improving routing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If CIDR address aggregation is used to reduce routing table entries, then the number of routing entries is reduced, but the ability to aggregate discontinuous address prefixes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the routing table into multiple hierarchical levels (global routing table at core routers, domain routing tables at edge routers). Each level aggregates routes independently, allowing discontinuous prefixes to be grouped within domains while maintaining global aggregation benefits. This segmentation enables both continuous and discontinuous address aggregation simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of aggregation by grouping routes based on source address bunches rather than traditional prefix-based aggregation. This creates a multi-dimensional aggregation space where routes can be aggregated both by prefix continuity and by source address bunch membership, enabling flexible aggregation of discontinuous prefixes while reducing routing entries.
2Quantity of substance
If routing table entries increase to accommodate more hosts and subnets, then address capacity expands, but storage and processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple routing functions into a unified source address bunch aggregation mechanism. By combining prefix-based aggregation with source address bunch-based aggregation, the system achieves better compression ratios and reduces storage overhead while maintaining expanded address capacity through hierarchical routing tables.
3Quantity of substance
If routing table entries increase to accommodate more hosts and subnets, then address capacity expands, but packet forwarding efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments routing processing into hierarchical levels where core routers perform global aggregation on aggregated routes, and edge routers perform domain-level aggregation on local routes. This segmentation reduces the number of routing table lookups required for packet forwarding while maintaining expanded address capacity, thereby improving forwarding efficiency.
4Reliability
If service provider address allocation is restricted for aggregation purposes, then routing stability improves, but flexibility in service provider selection decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic source address bunch aggregation where aggregation groups can be dynamically formed and reconfigured based on current network conditions, service provider selections, and traffic patterns. This dynamic approach maintains routing stability through aggregation while allowing flexible reconfiguration when customers change service providers, thus preserving both reliability and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of aggregation of a source address bunch. The method includes constituting a source address block, associating the source address block to form a source address bunch, and allocating, split, merging, and aggregating the source address bunch.