Abstract:
A network configuration and method provide communication setup between neighbor nodes in a communication network, without broadcasting this setup information over the network. A signaling bandwidth separated from the data communication channel bandwidth facilitates address resolution over a common transmission medium. The user is not required to know any physical address properties of the neighbor nodes. This reduces the complexity of the information that a network administrator is required to manage. This processing feeds into a complete address resolution table, which is employed for controlling network communication over the main data communication channel bandwidth. Typically, substantially continuous transmission and/or reception over the signaling bandwidth is useful not only to determine the neighbor node&#39;s active address upon startup, but also while the network is running, to detect if a signaling element has been exchanged or has changed activity. The address resolution is automatically updated to reflect a new configuration.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This application relates to communication networks. In particular, it relates to a technique for automated communication setup between neighboring nodes in a ring or mesh communication network. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a ring configured communication network, a given node has an ‘East’ and a ‘West’ neighbor node. For an application to communicate with a neighbor node, it needs to know the neighbor&#39;s physical address for delivery of information over the physical medium of the network. This is the address resolution that is required. 
     When an ethernet is used in a ring topology, the destination MAC address (ethernet address) is necessary for sending a data frame to the neighbor node. Normally, for IP (Internet Protocol) packets, standard ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) can be used to bind the IP address to a MAC address. However, this would require extension for non-IP traffic. Additionally, the fact that the ethernet is connected in a ring topology for an optical ring poses problems for sending broadcast queries (which is the basis of ARP). If broadcast frames are sent around a ring, for example, the frames will circulate forever, creating a “broadcast storm.” 
     Thus there is a need in the art for a method and a system to transmit the address of a neighbor node of a communication network without broadcasting over the network. Further, there is a need to transmit the address of such a neighbor node automatically and dynamically, such that the network updates itself without a requirement for user knowledge of any of the physical address properties of the neighbor node, thereby reducing the complexity of information that a network administrator is required to manage. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of this invention to provide a method and a system to transmit the physical address information of a neighbor node of a communication network without broadcasting over the network. Further, it is an object of this invention to transmit the address of such a neighbor node automatically and dynamically, such that the network updates itself. Additionally, it is an object of this invention to employ such transmitted physical address information to control network communication between neighbor nodes. Moreover, it is an object of this invention to perform such transmitting and control functions without a requirement for user knowledge of any of the physical address properties of the neighbor node, thereby reducing the complexity of information that a network administrator is required to manage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a network configuration and method provide automated communication setup between neighbor nodes in a communication network, without broadcasting this setup information over the network. Network nodes are connected to network devices, for example microcontrollers. 
     A signaling bandwidth separated from the data communication channel bandwidth solves the problem of address resolution to a MAC address automatically and dynamically by multiplexing over a common transmission medium. The transmission medium can be an electrical conductor or an optical fiber. The user is not required to provide any of the physical address properties of the neighbor nodes. This reduces the complexity of the information that a network administrator is required to manage. 
     Furthermore, the network and method according to the invention do not use a broadcast mechanism within the data channel to resolve the address of the neighbor node. Instead, they employ a link-terminated mechanism outside of the data communication channel bandwidth to perform dynamic neighbor discovery. This processing is distributed, and the resulting information feeds into a complete address resolution table, which is employed for controlling network communication, for example sharing an application, between neighbor nodes over the main data communication channel bandwidth. Once resolved, for example in an optical ring the physical address information is carried over the OSC (Optical Supervisory Channel). This technique can also scale to systems beyond a ring network configuration to bus and mesh network topologies. Appropriate communication network protocols can include Ethernet carrying IP or proprietary format traffic. 
     Typically, transmission and reception between neighbor nodes over the signaling bandwidth is performed using transmit and receive cards installed in the network devices connected to the respective nodes. Transmit/receive functions are sometimes combined into a “signaling card.” Received physical address information is provided by the signaling card to a network control device or processor, which constructs the address resolution table and controls network communication between neighbor nodes in the data communication channel bandwidth. 
     Some embodiments of the invention rely on substantially continuous transmission and/or reception over the signaling bandwidth to send address information between neighbor nodes. This is useful not only to determine the neighbor node&#39;s active address upon first starting up, but also while the network is running, to detect if a signaling element has been swapped out or has changed activity. The address resolution is automatically updated to reflect a new configuration. 
     In some implementations according to the invention, there can be a multiplicity of neighboring network nodes, any of which can transmit physical address information to any neighbor node over the signaling bandwidth. The physical address information is used at any receiving neighbor node or nodes to obtain a network configuration. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. For simplicity and ease of understanding, the use of similar reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication network having multiple nodes; 
     FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of signaling address resolution in a communication network, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a graphic representation illustrating activity in a signaling bandwidth and a communication channel bandwidth as functions of time, according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a typical network device of first or second type connected to a node of a communication network, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following preferred embodiment of the invention is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication network having multiple nodes. An ethernet ring communication network  102  operates according to an IP-Protocol over a transmission medium  110 , for example an electrical conductor or an optical fiber. A first network device, for example a microcontroller  104 , is connected to a node  106  of communication network  102 . Neighboring network devices, for example microcontrollers  114  and  124 , are connected respectively to an “East” neighboring node  116  and a “West” neighboring node  126  and are designated respectively as East neighboring network device  114  and West neighboring network device  124 . Collectively, neighboring network devices  114 ,  124  are designated as second network devices. In communication network  102  any network device at any node can be designated as a first network device  104  having East and West neighboring second network devices  114  and  124  respectively connected to neighboring nodes, similar to the example of nodes  106 ,  116 , and  126  described above. Thus communication network  102  can include a multiplicity of first network devices  104  and second network devices  114 ,  124 . 
     Additionally, communication network  102  can include a network control device  114 ,  124 . Each network control device  114 ,  124  can include microcontrollers  128 ,  130  that can take over activity for neighbor node signaling. Further, a communication network can be configured such that a first network device  104  has more than two neighboring second network devices  114 ,  124 . 
     Transmission medium  110  is typically “daisy-chained” between neighboring nodes and carries both a communication channel bandwidth for network communication and a signaling bandwidth outside the communication channel bandwidth. The signaling bandwidth is utilized for non-broadcast communication between first network device  104  and neighboring second network devices  114 ,  124 . 
     FIG. 2 is a flow diagram  200  illustrating a method of signaling address resolution in communication network  102 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, at step  202  a signaling bandwidth for non-broadcast communication through transmission medium  110  between first network device  104  and neighboring second network device  114 ,  124 . 
     FIG. 3 is a graphic representation  300  illustrating activity_in a signaling bandwidth  302  and a communication channel bandwidth  304  as functions of time, according to an embodiment of the invention. Signaling bandwidth  302  lies outside communication channel bandwidth  304 . As illustrated in FIG. 3, signaling bandwidth  302  occupies a different virtual circuit identifier (VC=x) relative to that of communication channel bandwidth  304  (VC=y). Both of these bandwidths are carried separately from user data traffic over a distinct optical carrier wavelength. In FIG. 3 are shown examples of bandwidth usage in the vertical axis direction for respective separate bandwidths (virtual circuits)  302  and  304 . Bandwidth usage in signaling bandwidth  302  is fixed, whereas bandwidth usage in communication channel bandwidth  304  is variable. 
     At step  204 , physical address information of first network device  104  is transmitted over transmission medium  110  from first network device  104  to neighboring second network device  114 ,  124  over signaling bandwidth  302 . At step  206 , the physical address information of first network device  104  is received by second network device  114 ,  124 . The steps of transmitting  204  and/or receiving  206  are typically performed continuously or substantially continuously, thus allowing a continual update of the physical address information. In embodiments including a multiplicity of first network devices is  104  and/or second network devices  114 ,  124 , the physical address information of a first network device  104  is transmitted to and received by at least one of the multiple second network devices  114 ,  124 . At step  208 , the physical address information of first network device  104  is employed for controlling network communication between first network device  104  and second network device  114 ,  124  in communication channel bandwidth  304 . Network communication between first network device  104  and second network device  114 ,  124  in communication channel bandwidth  304  includes, for example, sharing of an application. 
     In some embodiments, the physical address information of first network device  104  is employed to construct an address resolution table, as illustrated at step  210 . In communication network configurations including a multiplicity of second network devices  114 ,  124 , the physical address information is used by at least one of multiple second network devices  114 ,  124  to control network communication and to construct an address resolution table. In some embodiments as indicated at step  212 , the address resolution table is communicated across communication network  102 . 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to FIG. 1 a mesh network  132  or bus network  134  is used instead of ring network  102 . As an alternative to an Ethernet architecture, a token ring or token bus network architecture can be used. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a typical network device  400  of first or second type  104 ,  114 ,  124  connected to one of multiple nodes  106 ,  116 ,  126  of communication network  102 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, a typical network device includes a transmit card  142  in first network device  104  for transmitting physical address information in signaling bandwidth  302  (see FIG. 3) from first network device  104  to second network device  114 ,  124 . Additionally, a typical network device includes a receive card  144  in second network device  114 ,  124  for receiving physical address information in signaling bandwidth  302  from first network device  104  to second network device  114 ,  124 , as illustrated in steps  208 ,  210 , and  212  of FIG.  2 . 
     A network control device  128  in network device  400  (see also network device  114  of FIG. 1) receives physical address information from receive card  144  and utilizes it to control network communication between first network device  104  and second network device  114 ,  124  in communication channel bandwidth  304 . 
     At network device  400 , incoming transmitted packets in a signaling datastream over signaling bandwidth  302  are separated from routine network communication in communication channel bandwidth  304  using conventional segmentation and reassembly mechanisms  408 ,  414  that processes various VCs, as in ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) networks. The routine communication is routed through a conventional coupler  410  (“Unswitched Traffic”), which passes communication packets to a network device communication processor  412 . Routine traffic is passed to conventional output frequency domain multiplexer  414 , where it is combined and sent over transmission medium  110  with outgoing transmissions in signaling bandwidth  302 . Signaling packets  406  are directed from demultiplexer  408  to signaling card  404 . Using hardware assisted logic, signaling card  404  directs signaling datastream  406  to and from a conventional coupler  416  (“Switched Traffic”). Datastream  406  is then directed to and from processor  128 , which resolves the “East” and “West” physical addresses and outputs an address resolution table  420 . 
     For every node, a link-terminated datapath is set up for communication between adjacent signaling cards  404 , each containing transmit card  142  and receive card  144 . This is accomplished through hardware assisted logic to multiplex signaling datastream  406  through transmission medium  110  over signaling channel  302 , for example an ethernet optical ring data channel over an OSC (Optical Supervisory Channel). A host microprocessor  128  on local signaling card  404  has access to this control datastream. An exchange of address information happens in two parts, transmission and reception: 
     Transmission: 
     Software on signaling card  404  within a node communicates with its peer entity on a counterpart signaling card within the node, to determine which one is active. Referring to FIG. 1, for example, microprocessor  128  on a local signaling card  146  in network device  114  is active, whereas a microprocessor  130  on a counterpart signaling card  148  is in a standby condition. Once this is determined after startup, active transmit card  142  sends out a signaling MAC address (ethernet address) of the active card to each neighbor node, using the control datastream. This occurs in parallel, since the microprocessor of each signaling card transmits the communication to its neighbor independently. This information is substantially continuously transmitted, to prevent bit corruption during transmission and to decouple the states of the receiving and transmitting entities. If activity changes, the signaling MAC address that is being transmitted is changed to reflect this. The control communication is set up to alert the receiving node, should the received signaling information change. 
     Reception: 
     Receiving by the neighbor node is performed continuously. When it is detected that incoming neighbor node information has changed, the signaling MAC address of the neighbor node is extracted from the control stream. For an EAST signaling card, the address received is that of the East neighbor node. Similarly, the WEST signaling card receives the address for the West neighbor node. The signaling cards exchange this information with their counterparts using conventional backplane communication. The node thereby resolves the ‘West’ and the ‘East’ neighbor nodes&#39; signaling MAC addresses. An address resolution table is maintained at each signaling card to store this mapping. The address resolution table is attached to the datapath of the signaling packets, so that when a signaling packet is sent for transmission over the ‘East’ or the ‘West’ interface, a lookup is performed from the table. The destination MAC address is added to the packet to form a conventional ethernet frame, which is transmitted over the ethernet interface of the microprocessor. 
     Thereby, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a communication network and a method are provided by which physical address information of a neighbor node is transmitted and received without broadcasting over the network. Further, the address information is transmitted automatically and dynamically, enabling the network to update itself without requiring user knowledge of any of the physical address properties of the neighbor node. Among other advantages, this reduces the complexity of information that a network administrator is required to manage. 
     It will be clear to one skilled in the art that the above embodiment may be altered in many ways without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, For example, the concepts of “East” and “West” neighbor network devices for a ring communication network can be broadened to include link neighbor node Ids for a mesh communication network. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.