Patent Abstract:
The invention is directed to detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a virtual Layer-2 service provided over a packet switching network. Embodiments of the invention monitor operational status of an interface port of a PE router to which a CE router is communicatively coupled for providing the virtual Layer-2 service, determine, consequent to a change in said status, whether information that should relate to the CE router has changed; and thereby, in the affirmative, interpret said change to indicate that an intruder system has attempted to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. Advantageously, this capability is complementary to other security measures such as MAC filters and Anti-spoofing filters that depend on the content of data packets exchanged between the CE and PE routers and not on the operational status of communicative connections between them.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    The invention is directed to packet switching communication networks, particularly to providing intrusion detection for virtual Open System Interconnection (OSI) Layer-2 services such as Virtual Leased Line (VLL) and Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) services. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    Virtual Leased Line (VLL) is a service for providing Ethernet based point to point communication over Internet Protocol (IP) and Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks (IP/MPLS). This technology is also referred to as Virtual Private Wire Service (VPWS) or Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS). The VPWS service provides a point-to-point connection between two Customer Edge (CE) routers. It does so by binding two attachment circuits (AC) to a pseudowire that connects two Provider Edge (PE) routers, wherein each PE router is connected to one of the CE routers via one of the attachment circuits. VLL typically uses pseudowire encapsulation for transporting Ethernet traffic over an MPLS tunnel across an IP/MPLS backbone. More information on pseudowires can be found in “Pseudo Wire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) Architecture”, RFC3985, IETF, March 2005, by S. Bryant and P. Pate. 
         [0003]    Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) is an Ethernet service that effectively implements closed user groups via VPLS instantiations. In order to achieve full isolation between the user groups, VPLS dedicates a separate forwarding information base (FIB) on network routers per VPLS instance. Each VPLS instance further requires that a dedicated mesh of pseudowire tunnels is provisioned between PE routers that are part of the VPLS. 
         [0004]    Both VLL and VPLS services use Service Access Points (SAP) to bind tunnel endpoints at PE router ports to their respective service. For example, in the case of VPLS service, a SAP would specify physical identifiers (e.g. node, shelf, card, port) of the corresponding port and an identifier (e.g. VLAN5) of the VPLS. 
         [0005]    In some cases a CE router is located in a remote or otherwise vulnerable location with respect to network security. In these cases it is desirable to have security measures in place that can respond to an intruder system participating in, or attempting to participate in, a virtual Layer-2 service provided by the CE router such as a VLL or VPLS service. Such an intruder system includes any system that is unauthorized to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]    The invention is directed to detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a virtual Layer-2 service provided over a packet switching network. 
         [0007]    Some embodiments of the invention monitor operational status of an interface port of a PE router to which a CE router is communicatively coupled for providing a virtual Layer-2 service, determine, consequent to a change in said status, whether information that should relate to the CE router has changed; and thereby, in the affirmative, interpret said change to indicate that an intruder system has attempted to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments of the invention an identifier of an interface port selected for security monitoring is stored and an operational status of that interface port is determined. Dependent upon the operational status of the interface port indicating that the interface port is in an operational state, an initial version of information relating to a CE router communicatively coupled to the interface port for providing a virtual Layer-2 service is recorded. The operational status of the interface port is then monitored for a state change. Upon detecting the state change, a current version of the information is obtained and compared to the initial version of the information. Consequent to detecting a difference between the versions of the information, an alert is raised indicating that an intruder system has attempted to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments of the invention the specific information includes one or more Media Access Control (MAC) or IP addresses stored in a forwarding information base (FIB) of a PE router at which the interface port is located. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments of the invention the specific information includes one or more MAC or IP addresses of the CE router. Additionally, or alternatively, in some embodiments the specific information includes other information relating to the CE router which is obtainable via command line interface (CLI) commands issued to the CE router. 
         [0011]    In some embodiments of the invention the CE and PE routers can be accessed via CLI commands issued to a network management system of the packet switching network and the operational status of the interface port can be monitored via event notifications issued by the network management system. 
         [0012]    Embodiments of the invention are capable of detecting when a communicative connection between a CE router and a PE router for providing a virtual Layer-2 service is broken, as could occur when an intruder system is connected to the PE router in place of the CE router in an attempt to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. Advantageously, this capability is complementary to other security measures such as MAC filters and Anti-spoofing filters that depend on the content of data packets exchanged between the CE and PE routers and not on the operational status of communicative connections between them. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0013]    The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the appended drawings, where: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a network configuration for detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a Layer-2 service according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a method of detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a virtual Layer-2 service according to the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
       [0016]    In the figures like features are denoted by like reference characters. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a network configuration  10  for providing a VPLS service over an MPLS network  12  includes a pseudowire tunnel T 1  routed through the MPLS network  12  between a first provider edge router PE 1  and a second provider edge router PE 2 . The pseudowire tunnel T 1  has two endpoints, a first of which is at the first provider edge router PE 1  and a second of which is at the second provider edge router PE 2 . A service instance SVC of the VPLS service is instantiated at each of the provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2  and associates the pseudowire tunnel T 1  with the VPLS service. Accordingly, data packets associated with the VPLS service are communicated through the MPLS network  10  via the pseudowire tunnel T 1  between the first and second provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2 . 
         [0018]    Typically, there would be multiple pseudowire tunnels connecting multiple provider edge routers. In some cases these tunnels form a fully connected mesh interconnecting the provider edge routers. In any case, when there are multiple pseudowire tunnels for a given service that terminate on a provider edge router, a forwarding information base is used at that router to determine over which of the tunnels a data packet should be forwarded to reach its destination. This determination is made based on the destination MAC or IP address of the data packet. A MAC address is a 48 bit address that is generally unique and dedicated to a given network interface card or adapter of a data communication system. A MAC address is also known as a hardware address. An IP address is a 32 bit (IPv4) or 128 bit (IPv6) address that is generally unique to a network interface or system but is assignable in software. 
         [0019]    A first customer edge router CE 1  is connected to a first interface port P 1  of the first provider edge router PE 1  via a first attachment circuit AC 1 . The first customer edge router CE 1  has a first MAC address X. Similarly, a second customer edge router CE 2  is connected to a second interface port P 2  of the second provider edge router PE 2  via a second attachment circuit AC 2 . The second customer edge router CE 2  has a second MAC address Y. 
         [0020]    The first provider edge router PE 1  includes a first forwarding information base FIB 1  associated with the service instance SVC. The first forwarding information base FIB 1  includes a first entry E 1  for the pseudowire tunnel T 1 . The first entry E 1  associates the first MAC address X with the second MAC address Y for the purpose of communicating data packets between the first and second customer edge routers CE 1 , CE 2 . Similarly, the second provider edge router PE 2  includes a second forwarding information base FIB 2  associated with the service instance SVC. The second forwarding information base FIB 2  includes a second entry E 2  for the pseudowire tunnel T 1 . The second entry E 2  associates the first MAC address X with the second MAC address Y for the purpose of communicating data packets between the first and second customer edge routers CE 1 , CE 2 . 
         [0021]    A first service access point at the first provider edge router PE 1  associates the first interface port P 1  with the service instance SVC, such that data packets received at the first interface port P 1  from the first attachment circuit AC 1  that are associated with the VPLS service are forwarded over a pseudowire tunnel in accordance with information in the first forwarding information base FIB 1 . Such information includes the first entry E 1  in the first forwarding information base FIB 1 , which in this case causes data packets with a source MAC address being the first MAC address X to be forwarded over the pseudowire tunnel T 1  when their destination MAC address is the second MAC address Y. Similarly, data packets associated with the VPLS service received by the first provider edge router PE 1  from the pseudowire tunnel T 1  are forwarded to the first interface port P 1  in accordance with information in the first service access point and the first forwarding information base FIB 1 . 
         [0022]    A second service access point at the second provider edge router associates the second interface port P 2  with the service instance SVC, such that data packets received at the second interface port P 2  from the second attachment circuit AC 2  that are associated with the VPLS service are forwarded over a pseudowire tunnel in accordance with information in the second forwarding information base FIB 2 . Such information includes the second entry E 2  in the second forwarding information base FIB 2 , which in this case causes data packets with a source MAC address being the second MAC address Y to be forwarded over the pseudowire tunnel T 1  when their destination MAC address is the first MAC address X. Similarly, data packets associated with the VPLS service received by the second provider edge router PE 2  from the pseudowire tunnel T 1  are forwarded to the second interface port P 2  in accordance with information in the second service access point and the first forwarding information base FIB 1 . 
         [0023]    In view of foregoing it should be clear that data packets associated with the VPLS service can be communicated between the first and second customer edge routers CE 1 , CE 2  via their respective attachment circuits AC 1 , AC 2 , the first and second provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2 , and the pseudowire tunnel T 1 . However, as previously mentioned in some cases a CE router is located in a remote or otherwise vulnerable location with respect to network security. In these cases it is desirable to have security measures in place that can respond to an intruder system participating in, or attempting to participate in, a virtual Layer-2 service provided by the CE router such as a VLL or VPLS service. Such an intruder system includes any system that is unauthorized to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. 
         [0024]    Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the network configuration  10  includes a management entity  14  that is communicatively coupled to the provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2  via a control connection  16  and the MPLS network  12 . The management entity  14  would typically be a network management system capable of performing operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) type functions on network elements in the MPLS network  12  such as the provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2 . This functionality of the management entity  14  includes the capability to receive reports of equipment, service, and provisioning related events from network elements of the MPLS network  12 , including event reports from the first and second provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2  regarding operational status of their respective interface ports P 1 , P 2 , among other things. 
         [0025]    The network configuration  10  also includes a service platform  18  that is communicatively coupled to the management entity  14  via an open operating system (OS) interface  20 . Using the open OS interface  20 , the service platform  18  has access to event notifications  22 , which include event notifications related to the event reports from the network elements. Further using the open OS interface  20  the service platform  18  can issue control commands  24  to the management entity  14  including commands to effect provisioning changes at the provider edge routers PE 1 , PE 2 . The service platform  18  would typically be a laptop or desktop computer or workstation. The open OS interface is a Java message service (JMS) interface; although other types of message interfaces could be used. 
         [0026]    The service platform  18  executes a service application  26  that is in communication with a service database  28  on the service platform  18 , although the service database  28  could also reside on the management entity  14  with access to it given by the open OS interface  20 . The service application  26  is a software program that embodies a method of detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a virtual Layer-2 service in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         [0027]    According to the method, the service application  26  monitors event notifications  22  received over the open OS interface  20 . The service application  26  checks the event notifications  22  to determine if any of them relate to an operational status of an interface port selected for security monitoring. An identifier of each port so selected is stored in a first record R 1  of the service database  28 . For any such port, information contained in FIB entries of FIBs corresponding to VPLS services provided via that port would have already been retrieved from the associated PE router and stored in the service database  28 . For example, in the case of the first interface port P 1 , information from the first entry E 1  in the first forwarding information base FIB 1  is stored in a second record R 2  of the service database  28 . The second record R 2  includes the identifier of the first port P 1 , although it can be associated to the first port P 1  by other means. Additionally or alternatively, other information relating to the CE router communicatively coupled to the port by an attachment circuit could be retrieved from that CE router and stored in the service database  28 . For example, configuration data of the first customer edge router CE 1  is also stored in the second record R 2  of the service database  28 . The information contained in the second record R 2  would preferably be retrieved by the service platform  18  using control commands issued to the management entity  14  over the OS interface  20 , although other ways could work. Such information would be retrieved when the port is selected for security monitoring or when security monitoring is reinitialized on the port and the port is in an operational state. 
         [0028]    It should be understood that there are many ways of storing all or some of the information contained in the first and second records R 1 , R 2 . However, any of these ways should suffice if they enable identification of a port on which security monitoring is to be performed and provide information relating to the CE router communicatively coupled to that port when such security monitoring was activated and the port was in an operational state. For example, the first record R 1  could be omitted if the second record R 2  contained identification of the first port P 1  and was stored in a manner indicating that the second record R 2  contained information that related to a port on which security monitoring was to be performed. For example, such a manner could be to store the second record R 2  in a special part of the service database  28  or in a group of similar records. 
         [0029]    Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the first customer edge router CE 1  is shown as being in a remote office such as a small building or cabin in an unpopulated area that is not visited by support staff of the packet switching network for long periods. Such a location is an example of vulnerable location with respect to network security. In an attempt to participate in the VPLS service, an intruder system  30  is communicatively connected to the first port P 1  by disconnecting the first attachment circuit AC 1  at the first customer edge router CE 1  and reconnecting  32  the first attachment circuit AC 1  to the intruder system  30 . However, disconnecting and reconnecting the first attachment circuit AC 1  causes the first interface port P 1  to transition from an operational state to a non-operational state and back to an operational state again. Additionally, an address resolution protocol running on the first provider edge router PE 1  will learn a third MAC address Z of the intruder system  30  from data packets sent over the first attachment circuit AC 1  by the intruder system  30 . The first provider edge router PE 1  will update information contained in the first forwarding information base FIB 1  to a current version. For example, the first entry E 1  will be updated to a current version E 1 ′ of the first entry. 
         [0030]    The service application  26  is monitoring event notifications  22  from which it can detect a transition in the operational status of interface ports such as from an operational state to a non-operational state and visa versa. Upon detecting a change in operational status of an interface port, the service application  26  accesses information in the service database  28 , such as the first record R 1 , to determine if the affected port is one that has been selected for security monitoring. In the affirmative, the service application  26  retrieves current information contained in FIB entries of FIBs corresponding to VPLS services provided via that port. The service application  26  retrieves this information from the PE router to which the affected port belongs. The relevant FIB is identified by information contained in the SAP that associates the affected port with a service instance, since a dedicated FIB exists in the PE router for each instance of a VPLS service. For example, upon detecting a change in the operational status of the first interface port P 1 , the service application  26  issues control commands  24  to the management entity  14  to retrieve the current version E 1 ′ of the first entry in the first forwarding information base FIB 1 . 
         [0031]    The service application  26  then accesses the service database  28  to retrieve an initial version of information relating to the first customer edge router CE 1 . This information is referred to as initial in that it was retrieved from the PE router, and alternatively or additionally the CE router, when security monitoring on the affected port was enabled or reinitialized. For example, the service platform  26  retrieves information contained in the second record R 2 . The initial version of the information is compared to the current version of the information, and consequent to detecting a mismatch between any information contained in the current and initial versions that should match, the service application  26  interprets the mismatch as indicating that an intruder system has attempted to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service. For example, the service application  26  compares the MAC addresses of the CE router communicatively coupled to the first attachment circuit AC 1  that has been stored in the second record R 2  and in the current version E 1 ′ of the first entry. In this case there is a mismatch because the second record R 2  contains the first MAC address X and the current version E 1 ′ of the first entry contains the third MAC address Z. Additionally or alternatively, in a similar manner initial and current versions of other information relating to the CE router or system communicatively coupled to the affected port could be compared for a mismatch. For example any data such as configuration data that is retrievable from a CE router and that is unlikely or too difficult to be cloned by an intruder system could be used for the comparison. 
         [0032]    Upon making a determination that an intruder system has attempted to participate in the virtual Layer-2 service via an interface port selected for security monitoring, the service application  26  disables the affected interface port and issues an alert to an operator, such as raising a network alarm or sending an e-mail or other type of electronic message to an operator or other entity responsible for secure operation of the virtual Layer-2 service. The service application  26  disables the affected interface port by issuing control commands to the management entity  14  in order to put the affected interface port in a non-operational state. For example, the service application  26  issues control commands  24  to the management entity  14  over the OS interface  20  to cause the first interface port P 1  to transition into a non-operational state. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a method  200  detecting an attempt of an intruder system to participate in a virtual Layer-2 service will now be described with additional reference to  FIG. 1 . The method  200  includes monitoring  202  event notifications of selected interface ports. Selection of the interface ports would preferably be performed using the service application  26 , but could also be performed by another application running on the service platform  18  or management entity  14 . Recordation of these selections would preferably be stored at the service platform  18 , e.g. in the service database  28 , but they could also be stored at the management entity  14 , or in both locations. It is sufficient for performing the method  200  that an indication of interface ports to be security monitored is available to an entity such as the service application  26  that performs the method  200  automatically without human intervention. Such indication would include an identifier of each such port to be security monitored. The event notifications are monitored by receiving event notifications  22  from the management entity  14  via the open OS interface  20 . 
         [0034]    A determination  204  is made whether an event notification of a selected interface port indicates that the operational status of the interface port has changed. If the operational status of the affected port changed from an operational state to a non-operational the method waits for a further change to an operational state to occur. Upon detecting  206  a transition in the operational state of the affected port from a non-operational state to an operational state, the service application retrieves  208  current information relating to the system that is communicatively coupled to the affected interface port. This information would preferably be the MAC address of the system but could be any other information such as configuration data that would be unlikely to reside on an intruder system. 
         [0035]    A determination  210  is made whether the retrieved current information mismatches information previously retrieved relating to the CE router that was communicatively coupled to the affected interface port. Consequent to a mismatch being detected the affected interface port is disabled  212  and an alert is raised  214 . The method  200  then returns to monitoring  202  event notifications  22 . 
         [0036]    Numerous modifications, variations and adaptations may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7