Patent Description:
Multiple transmission technologies such as a synchronous digital hierarchy (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy, SDH), an optical transport network (Optical Transport Network, OTN), and wavelength division multiplexing (Wavelength Division Multiplexing WDM) may be used in a transport network. A conventional transport network includes only a management plane and a transport plane, and requires a network administrator to control and manage the transport plane by using software of the management plane, so as to implement creation, management, removal, and the like of a service path. A control plane is introduced in the transport network such as the OTN, so as to support automatic topology discovery, automatic service path establishment, fast rerouting, and the like. The optical network that includes the control plane is referred to as an automatically switched optical network (Automatically Switched Optical Network, ASON).

As shown in <FIG>, an ASON network architecture includes a management plane, a control plane, and a transport plane. The Internet Engineering Task Force (Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF) further defines a generalized multiprotocol label switching (Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching, GMPLS) protocol, used to provide a network control function for the ASON. The GMPLS protocol includes a routing protocol, a signaling protocol, and the like. The routing protocol such as the Open Shortest Path First-Traffic Engineering (Open Shortest Path First-Traffic Engineering, OSPF-TE) protocol is used to enable network nodes to obtain network information such as node information, link information, and bandwidth information, so as to support distributed route computation. The signaling protocol such as the Resource Reservation Protocol-Traffic Engineering (Resource Reservation Protocol-Traffic Engineering, RSVP-TE) is used to implement distributed path establishment, that is, information exchange is performed hop-by-hop between nodes, so as to implement path establishment from a source node to a sink node.

With development of transmission technologies, bandwidth and types of customer services carried by an OTN network are becoming richer. For example, in a flexible OTN (flexible OTN, or flex-OTN) network, a service type of access by using a single data interface is currently supported. As shown in <FIG>, a service between a customer device <NUM> and a customer device <NUM> accesses an OTN network by using a single data interface, and a service path may be established by using the GMPLS protocol. The flex-OTN further needs to support a service type of access by using multiple data interfaces. As shown in <FIG>, a service between a customer device <NUM> and a customer device <NUM> accesses an OTN network by using multiple data interfaces. If a service path is established by using the existing GMPLS protocol, each data interface is corresponding to an independent service path. Service paths between different data interfaces are mutually independent. This causes performance inconsistency of the service paths and performance degradation of a carried service, and further increases difficulty in maintenance of the service paths. The document datatracker. org/doc/html/draft-kompella-mpls-rsvp-ecmp-<NUM>, by Kompella, K. , describes extensions to Resource ReSerVation Protocol - Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) for the set up of multi-path Traffic Engineered Label Switched Paths (LSPs) in Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). The document RFC <NUM>, by Farrell, A. , specifies an architecture for a Path Computation Element (PCE)-based model. The document <CIT> relates to engineering traffic flows within computer networks.

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide service path establishment methods, a network controller and a node device so as to resolve a problem that performance of a service carried by a service path is low and maintenance of the service path is difficult.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or in the prior art more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the background and the embodiments.

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer and more comprehensible, the following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

An embodiment of the present invention may be applied to an ASON network architecture that includes a control plane. As shown in <FIG>, the ASON network architecture includes a management plane, a control plane, and a transport plane. The transport plane is constituted by a series of transport entities, for example, traffic engineering (Traffic Engineering, TE) links between nodes. The transport plane provides a service transmission channel that can carry end-to-end unidirectional or bidirectional service data of a customer device. The customer device accesses a node (for example, a node <NUM>) of the transport plane by using a user network interface (User Network Interface, UNI). The customer device uses the UNI to dynamically request to obtain, cancel, and modify an optical bandwidth connection resource with a specific characteristic. The management plane, that is, a platform used by a network administrator to manage a network, may be separately connected to the control plane and the transport plane by using a network management interface (Network Management Interface, NMI), so as to manage the control plane and the transport plane. The control plane may be constituted by an independent network controller, multiple control plane components, or an independent network controller and multiple control plane components. A network controller and a control plane component, or different control plane components are connected by using a control channel. The control plane and the transport plane are connected by using a connection control interface (Connection Control Interface, CCI). The control plane sends a switching control command to the transport plane by using the CCI, or the transport plane sends resource status information to the control plane by using the CCI.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the network device <NUM> may be a network device in an OTN, an SDH, or WDM; or the network device <NUM> may be a network device in an ASON that includes a transport plane and a control plane. The network device <NUM> may include a signaling module <NUM>, a routing module <NUM>, a cross management module <NUM>, and an LMP (Link Management Protocol) link management module <NUM>. The signaling module <NUM> can implement a function such as service path establishment or service path removal by using the RSVP-TE protocol, and can implement service synchronization and restoration functions according to a service status change. The routing module <NUM> can collect and flood TE link information of the transport plane and control link information of the control plane by using the OSPF-TE protocol. In addition, the routing module <NUM> may compute a service route according to a TE link of an entire network. The cross management module <NUM> can establish a cross connection, delete a cross connection, report link status information and alarm information, and so on. The LMP link management module <NUM> can create and maintain a control channel by using an LMP protocol, so as to verify a TE link.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a network topology according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, a transport network includes multiple node devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, for example, an OTN device. The node devices are connected by using a physical link, that is, a TE link. The transport network may further include a network controller. The node devices may be managed and controlled by the network controller. A customer-side network includes customer devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, for example, a data center and a router. The customer devices may be independently deployed or controlled by another network controller. It is assumed that a <NUM> Gbps service between the customer device <NUM> and the customer device <NUM> accesses the transport network by using three data interfaces, and bandwidth of each data interface is <NUM> Gbps; and a <NUM> Gbps service between the customer device <NUM> and the customer device <NUM> accesses the transport network by using two data interfaces, and bandwidth of each data interface is <NUM> Gbps.

<FIG> is a signaling interaction flowchart of a service path establishment method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the method may be implemented based on the network topology shown in <FIG>, and specifically includes the following steps.

A customer device sends a service establishment request of a first LSP to a first node.

For example, when a service of a <NUM> Gbps first label switched path (Label Switched Path, LSP) is to be established between a customer device <NUM> and a customer device <NUM>, the customer device <NUM> may send a service establishment request of the first LSP to a node A that is directly connected to the customer device <NUM>. The <NUM> Gbps LSP accesses the node A of a transport network by using three data interfaces. The <NUM> Gbps LSP is represented as N*M Gbps LSP, where N = <NUM>, and M = <NUM>. Herein, N represents a quantity of data interfaces of a node device in a transport plane, and M represents a rate of one data interface. Herein, rates of the data interfaces may be the same. Certainly, the rates of the data interfaces may also be different. Therefore, three <NUM> Gbps LSPs need to be established. In addition, the three <NUM> Gbps LSPs are associated with the <NUM> Gbps LSP, that is, the <NUM> Gbps LSP includes the three <NUM> Gbps LSPs.

In this embodiment, the first LSP may be one <NUM> Gbps LSP, and a second LSP may be three <NUM> Gbps LSPs. The first LSP has a service association attribute, and may be represented by using an associated object in a related protocol message.

The customer device <NUM> may request the node A to establish an LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth from the customer device <NUM> to the customer device <NUM>. The node A is a first node of the <NUM> Gbps LSP in the transport network. Alternatively, the customer device <NUM> may request the node A to establish three LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each from the customer device <NUM> to the customer device <NUM>. The node A is a first node of the <NUM> Gbps LSPs in the transport network.

Optionally, if the customer device <NUM> requests the node A to establish an LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth, the service establishment request of the first LSP sent to the node A by the customer device <NUM> may carry a source node (customer device <NUM>), a sink node (customer device <NUM>), and bandwidth (<NUM> Gbps) of one LSP.

Optionally, if the customer device <NUM> requests the node A to establish three LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each, the service establishment request of the first LSP sent to the node A by the customer device <NUM> carries a source node (customer device <NUM>), a sink node (customer device <NUM>), and bandwidth (<NUM> Gbps) of three LSPs, and may further carry an associated object of the first LSP. For example, when requesting the node A to establish three LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each from the customer device <NUM> to the customer device <NUM>, the customer device <NUM> may send three PATH messages to the node A by using a signaling protocol (for example, the RSVP-TE protocol). Each PATH message instructs to establish an LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth from the customer device <NUM> to the customer device <NUM>. Each PATH message may further carry an associated object of the first LSP. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an associated object in the RSVP-TE protocol may include the following fields:
C-Type: defines two new Class-Types, which are Class-Types corresponding to IPv6 and IPv4. For example, a value of C-Type may be <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like.

Association Type: may have a length of <NUM> bits, and represents an association type. For example, the association type is ensuring optimal service performance. That is, LSPs have same routing information, and all nodes (first node, last node, and intermediate node) and links that are passed through are the same. For another example, the association type is ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range. That is, LSPs do not necessarily have identical routing information. For example, the LSPs have a same first node and a same last node, but may pass through some different intermediate nodes. A service performance (such as a delay or a bit error rate) difference between the LSPs needs to be within a preset threshold range.

Association ID: may have a length of <NUM> bits, and represents an association identifier. The association identifier may be a unique identifier allocated by a node, a controller, or the like, and may globally and uniquely identify the associated object with reference to an identifier of the node or the network controller.

IPv4 (or IPv6) Association Source: may have a length of <NUM> bits or <NUM> bits, and represents a source that generates an associated object, that is, a subject that generates an associated object, for example, a customer device, a node, or a network controller.

Member number: may have a length of <NUM> bits, and represents a quantity of associated members, for example, a quantity of <NUM> Gbps LSPs included in a <NUM> Gbps LSP.

Extended Association ID: has a variable length that may be integer multiple of <NUM> bits, and represents an association identifier. When the length of the Association ID is not long enough, extended representation is performed in this field.

The first node sends a service path request message of the first LSP to a network controller.

The first node A in the transport network sends the service path request message of the first LSP to the network controller, and may request the network controller to establish one first LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth from the first node A to a last node D. Alternatively, the first node A may request the network controller to establish three second LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each from the first node A to a last node D.

Optionally, if the first node A requests the network controller to establish one LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth, the service path request message of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the first node A may carry a first node (node A), a last node (node D), and bandwidth (<NUM> Gbps) of one LSP.

Optionally, if the first node A requests the network controller to establish three LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each, the service path request message of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the first node A may carry first nodes (node A), last nodes (node D), and bandwidth (<NUM> Gbps) of three LSPs, and may further carry an associated object of the first LSP. For example, when requesting the network controller to establish three LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each from the first node A to the last node D, the node A may send the service path request message of the first LSP to the network controller by using the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (Path Computation Element Communication Protocol, PCEP). The service path request message of the first LSP may be represented by using one message, or may be represented by using multiple messages. The service path request message of first LSP may be a PCReq message. The associated object of the first LSP may be represented in the PCEPprotocol. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an associated object in the PCEP protocol may include the following fields:
Association type: represents an association type, and has a same meaning as the Association Type of the associated object in the RSVP-TE protocol.

Association ID: represents an association identifier, and has a same meaning as the Association ID of the associated object in the RSVP-TE protocol.

IPv4 (or IPv6) Associattion Source: has a same meaning as the IPv4 (or IPv6) Associattion Source of the associated object in the RSVP-TE protocol.

Optional TLVs: A new TLV may be added, and the newly added TLV carries a Member number, which has a same meaning as the Member number of the associated object in the RSVP-TE protocol.

Alternatively, the service path request message of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the first node may be an LSP authorization message. The LSP authorization message may further instruct to authorize the network controller. The network controller may determine whether the <NUM> Gbps LSP has a service association attribute (that is, whether the first LSP includes multiple second LSPs), and may further determine information about the associated object of the first LSP. For example, for the <NUM> Gbps LSP, the network controller may determine to establish multiple LSPs associated with the <NUM> Gbps LSP, including a quantity of LSPs that need to be established, bandwidth of each LSP, an association type, and the like. In this way, a field such as an association identifier, an association type, or a quantity of associated members in the associated object of the first LSP carried in the LSP authorization message may be null, or the LSP authorization message carries an authorization identifier and does not carry the associated object of the first LSP.

According to the service path request message of the first LSP, the network controller computes routing information of at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP.

After the network controller receives the service path request message of the first LSP sent by the first node A, if the service path request message of the first LSP carries the associated object of the first LSP, the network controller learns, from the service path request message of the first LSP, that three second LSPs with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth each from the first node A to the last node D are established for the first LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth. In this case, the first LSP has a service association attribute, that is, the first LSP includes three second LSPs.

If the service path request message of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the first node does not carry the associated object of the first LSP, the network controller may determine whether the first LSP has a service association attribute (that is, whether the first LSP includes multiple second LSPs), and may further determine the information about the associated object of the first LSP.

It is assumed that three <NUM> Gbps second LSPs are established for the <NUM> Gbps first LSP. The network controller performs batch path computation according to current network resource information. For example, when the association type is ensuring optimal service performance, the three LSPs are computed to have same routing information. That is, all nodes and links that are passed through by each LSP in the three LSPs are the same. For example, the routing information of each of the three LSPs is A-B-C-D, but timeslot resources used by different LSPs may be different.

For example, when the association type is ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range, it is computed that the three LSPs do not necessarily have identical routing information, and it only needs to ensure that the three LSPs have a same first node and a same last node and a service performance difference between the three LSPs falls within a preset threshold range. For example, routing information of one LSP of the three LSPs is A-B-C-F-E-D, and routing information of the other two LSPs is A-B-C-D. A service performance difference between any two LSPs of the three LSPs falls within the preset threshold range.

The network controller sends the routing information of the at least two second LSPs to the first node.

After computation for the routing information of each second LSP (<NUM> Gbps LSP) included in the first LSP (<NUM> Gbps LSP) is successful and resource allocation is successful, the network controller sends a service path computation result to the first node A. The service path computation result includes the routing information of each second LSP (<NUM> Gbps LSP).

When the first node A authorizes the network controller to determine the service association attribute of the first LSP, that is, when the first node fails to determine the service association attribute of the first LSP, the associated object of the first LSP may be carried in the service path computation result sent to the node A by the network controller. When the service path computation result sent to the node A by the network controller may be a PCRep message or a PCUpd message, the PCRep message or the PCUpd message may further carry the associated object of the first LSP.

The first node establishes each second LSP according to the routing information of the at least two second LSPs.

After receiving the routing information that is of the at least two second LSPs and that is computed by the network controller, the first node A may establish each second LSP by using a signaling protocol (for example, the RSVP-TE protocol). In the signaling protocol for establishing the second LSP, the associated object of the first LSP may be carried, so that each node passed through by the second LSP can obtain the associated object of the first LSP.

For example, three LSPs whose routing information is A-B-C-D and whose bandwidth is <NUM> Gbps are established, and nodes A, B, C, and D obtain associated object information in a process of establishing the LSPs. The associated object information includes: that a <NUM> Gbps LSP includes three <NUM> Gbps LSPs, an association identifier (for example, a service <NUM>), an association type (for example, ensuring optimal service performance), and the like. After the nodes obtain the associated object information, it is beneficial for the nodes to perform distributed management such as rerouting on the established LSPs.

The first node replies to the customer device with a message that the first LSP is established successfully.

When all second LSPs in the first LSP are established successfully, the first LSP is established successfully, and the first node may reply to the customer device with the message that the first LSP is established successfully. For example, when three <NUM> Gbps LSPs are established successfully, a <NUM> Gbps LSP is established successfully, and the first node A may reply to the customer device <NUM> with an RESV message, which indicates that the <NUM> Gbps LSP is established successfully. The customer device may use these LSPs to transmit service data.

In this embodiment, the network controller may include a path computation element (Path Computation Element, PCE). The PEC is a centralized path computation element and configured to compute routing information of a service path, or the PCE may be an independent component. In a PCE initiation mode, the service establishment request of the first LSP may be directly sent to the network controller by the customer device, a customer controller, or network management software. In this case, S601 and S602 do not need to be performed. The service establishment request of the first LSP may carry the associated object of the first LSP. The network controller computes, according to the service path request of the first LSP, the routing information of the at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP, and sends the service path computation result to the first node of the transport network. The service path computation result carries the routing information of the at least two second LSPs, and may further carry the associated object of the first LSP. The service establishment request of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the customer device, the customer controller, or the network management software may be a PCInitiate message. The service path computation result sent to the first node by the network controller may be a PCRpt message.

In this embodiment of the present invention, any one of the customer device, the network controller, or the first node may determine the service association attribute of the first LSP, that is, field information of the associated object of the first LSP, and the associated object of the first LSP is carried in a message of a protocol such as RSVP-TE or PCEP. In the transport network, in a process of establishing the first LSP, the at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP are established, so as to ensure that service performance of any two second LSPs is similar or consistent, thereby improving service performance of the first LSP, and simplifying maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a signaling interaction flowchart of a service path fault processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the method specifically includes the following steps.

A node on a faulty link detects that at least one second LSP in a first LSP is faulty, and sends fault information to a first node.

For example, a network topology in <FIG> is the same as that in <FIG>. It is assumed that an LSP with <NUM> Gbps bandwidth is established from a customer device <NUM> to a customer device <NUM> in a transport network in <FIG>. The <NUM> Gbps LSP includes two <NUM> Gbps LSPs. A port for connecting a node F and a node G is faulty. This causes one of the two <NUM> Gbps LSPs to be faulty. After detecting that one <NUM> Gbps LSP is faulty, the node G sends fault information to a first node H. The fault information may carry a fault type, and may further carry rerouting policy information. The fault type may include a fiber fault, a node part fault, and the like. The rerouting policy may include separately performing rerouting on a second LSP that is faulty or performing rerouting on all second LSPs in the first LSP as a whole.

For example, the rerouting policy information may be determined and obtained by the node G according to the fault type, locally stored service association attribute information of an LSP, and/or the like. For example, the node G stores a service association attribute of the first LSP. This indicates an associated object of an association between one <NUM> Gbps LSP and two <NUM> Gbps LSPs. In this case, the fault type is the node part fault or a port fault, and only one <NUM> Gbps LSP is affected, and therefore the node G can determine that rerouting needs to be performed only on the <NUM> Gbps LSP.

In this embodiment, rerouting is performed only on a <NUM> Gbps LSP that is faulty. The first LSP may be one <NUM> Gbps LSP, and the second LSP may be two <NUM> Gbps LSPs.

The first node sends a rerouting request to a network controller to request to perform rerouting on the second LSP that is faulty.

When the first node H sends the rerouting request to the network controller, the rerouting request may carry the rerouting policy information. The first node may obtain the rerouting policy information from the fault information, or the first node H may determine and obtain the rerouting policy information according to the fault type, the locally stored service association attribute information of an LSP, and/or the like. For a method for determining and obtaining the rerouting policy information by the first node H, refer to the node G Details are not described herein.

The network controller recomputes routing information of the second LSP that is faulty.

The network controller may obtain the rerouting policy information from the rerouting request sent by the first node H, or the network controller may determine and obtain the rerouting policy information according to the fault type, the locally stored service association attribute information of an LSP, and/or the like. For a method for determining and obtaining the rerouting policy information by the network controller, refer to the node G Details are not described herein.

According to the rerouting policy information, the network controller recomputes routing information of an LSP that is faulty. For example, the network controller recomputes routing information of a <NUM> Gbps LSP that is faulty. The routing information may be H-G-F-E. The routing information is the same as an original path, but a new port is reallocated between G and F.

The network controller sends rerouting information to the first node.

The network controller sends the rerouting information to the first node H. The rerouting information carries routing information of an LSP on which rerouting needs to be performed. For example, the routing information may be H-G-F-E. The routing information may further include information such as a port number and a used timeslot.

The first node establishes a second LSP according to the rerouting information.

The first node H establishes the second LSP according to the routing information H-G-F-E. A new port number is used between G and F.

In this embodiment, when at least one second LSP included in the first LSP is faulty, any one of the fault detection node, the first node, or the network controller may determine the rerouting policy information according to the fault type and/or the service association attribute information of an LSP, and perform rerouting according to the rerouting policy information.

In this embodiment of the present invention, when at least one second LSP that is associated with the first LSP is faulty, rerouting may be performed on the at least one second LSP that is faulty, so as to simplify maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a service path establishment method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed by a network controller. The network controller may be a PCE, a computer, or a server.

The network controller receives a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The network controller may receive the service path request message of the first LSP from a first node of a transport network, or receive a service establishment request of the first LSP from any one of a customer device, a customer device controller, or network management software.

The service path request message of the first LSP received by the network controller may carry the service association attribute of the first LSP. The service association attribute of the first LSP may be represented by using an associated object of the PCEP protocol or the RSVP-TE protocol.

The service association attribute may include an association identifier, an association type, a quantity of associated members, and the like of the first LSP. The association identifier may be an identifier allocated to the first LSP by the network controller, the first node, or the customer device. The association type includes ensuring optimal service performance and ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range. Ensuring optimal service performance means that the second LSPs have same routing information, and all first nodes, last nodes, intermediate nodes, and links that are passed through are the same. Ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range means that first nodes and last nodes of the second LSPs are the same, and a service performance difference between any two second LSPs falls within a preset threshold range. The quantity of associated members is a quantity of second LSPs included in the first LSP.

The network controller computes routing information of the second LSPs.

The first LSP includes at least two second LSPs. Optionally, when the association type is ensuring optimal service performance, all the second LSPs in the first LSP have same routing information. That is, all nodes and links passed through by the second LSPs are the same. Service performance of all the second LSPs is ensured to be consistent as much as possible, so as to ensure service performance of the first LSP.

Optionally, when the association type is ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range, it is not necessary to ensure that all the second LSPs have same routing information. Some second LSPs may be made to have same routing information, and other second LSPs have a same first node, a same last node, and a service performance difference within the preset threshold range. Alternatively, no second LSPs have same routing information, but any two second LSPs have a same first node, a same last node, and a service performance difference that needs to be within the preset threshold range. In this way, service performance of all the second LSPs is ensured to be similar, so as to ensure service performance of the first LSP.

The network controller sends the routing information of the second LSPs to a transport plane, so that the transport plane establishes the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

When all the second LSPs in the first LSP are computed successfully, the network controller sends the routing information of all the second LSPs to the first node of the transport network. After all the second LSPs are established successfully, the first LSP is established successfully. If at least one second LSP in the first LSP fails to be computed, the network controller replies to the first node of the transport network with a message that the service path request of the first LSP fails.

Optionally, when the network controller determines the service association attribute of the first LSP, that is, when the first node fails to determine the service association attribute of the first LSP, an associated object of the first LSP may be further carried and is used to indicate the service association attribute of the first LSP when the network controller sends the routing information of the second LSPs to the first node of the transport network.

After the first LSP is established successfully, if at least one second LSP in the first LSP becomes faulty, the network controller may perform rerouting on the second LSP that becomes faulty, or may perform rerouting on all the second LSPs in the first LSP.

In this embodiment of the present invention, in a process of establishing the first LSP, the network controller establishes at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP, so as to ensure that service performance of any two second LSPs is similar or consistent, thereby improving service performance of the first LSP, and simplifying maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a service path establishment method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed by a node device in a transport network, for example, a first node of an LSP in the transport network. The node device may be an OTN device, a WDM device, an SDH device, or the like.

A first node sends a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP to a network controller, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The service path request message of the first LSP sent to the network controller by the first node may carry the service association attribute of the first LSP. The service association attribute of the first LSP may be represented by using an associated object of the RSVP-TE protocol.

The service association attribute may include an association identifier, an association type, a quantity of associated members, and the like of the first LSP. The association identifier may be an identifier allocated to the first LSP by the network controller, the first node, or a customer device. The association type includes ensuring optimal service performance and ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range. Ensuring optimal service performance means that the second LSPs have same routing information, and all first nodes, last nodes, intermediate nodes, and links that are passed through are the same. Ensuring that service performance falls within a threshold range means that first nodes and last nodes of the second LSPs are the same, and a service performance difference between any two second LSPs falls within a preset threshold range. The quantity of associated members is a quantity of second LSPs included in the first LSP.

The first node receives routing information of the second LSPs from the network controller.

When all the second LSPs in the first LSP are computed successfully, the first node receives the routing information of all the second LSPs from the network controller. If at least one second LSP in the first LSP fails to be computed, the first node receives, from the network controller, a message that the service path request of the first LSP fails.

Optionally, when the network controller determines the service association attribute of the first LSP, that is, when the first node fails to determine the service association attribute of the first LSP, the routing information of the second LSPs received by the first node from the network controller may further carry an associated object of the first LSP that is used to indicate the service association attribute of the first LSP.

The first node establishes each second LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

After receiving the routing information of the at least two second LSPs from the network controller, the first node may establish each second LSP by using a signaling protocol (for example, the RSVP-TE protocol). In the signaling protocol for establishing the second LSP, the associated object of the first LSP may be carried, so that each node passed through by the second LSP can obtain the associated object of the first LSP. After the nodes obtain associated object information, it is beneficial for the nodes to perform distributed management such as rerouting on the established LSPs.

After all the second LSPs are established successfully, the first LSP is established successfully. After the first LSP is established successfully, if at least one second LSP in the first LSP becomes faulty, the network controller may perform rerouting on the second LSP that becomes faulty, or may perform rerouting on all the second LSPs in the first LSP.

In this embodiment of the present invention, in a process of establishing the first LSP, the first node establishes at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP, so as to ensure that service performance of any two second LSPs is similar or consistent, thereby improving service performance of the first LSP, and simplifying maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a network controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network controller may be a PCE, a computer, or a server. As shown in <FIG>, the network controller includes: a receiving module <NUM>, a computation module <NUM>, and a sending module <NUM>.

The receiving module <NUM> is configured to receive a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The service association attribute of the first LSP indicates a quantity of second LSPs included in the first LSP. The service association attribute of the first LSP may further indicate that all second LSPs in the first LSP have same routing information, that is, first nodes, intermediate nodes, last nodes, and links that are passed through by any two second LSPs are the same. The service association attribute of the first LSP may further indicate that first nodes and last nodes of any two second LSPs included in the first LSP are the same, and a service performance difference between any two second LSPs falls within a preset threshold range.

The computation module <NUM> is configured to compute routing information of the second LSPs.

The sending module <NUM> is configured to send the routing information of the second LSPs to a transport plane, so that the transport plane establishes the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

The network controller shown in <FIG> may perform the steps in the method embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a node device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The node device may be an OTN device, a WDM device, an SDH device, or the like. For an apparatus structure diagram of the node device, further refer to the embodiment shown in <FIG>. The node device may be a first node of an LSP in a transport network. As shown in <FIG>, the node device includes: a sending module <NUM>, a receiving module <NUM>, and an LSP establishment module <NUM>.

The sending module <NUM> is configured to send a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP to a network controller, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The receiving module <NUM> is configured to receive routing information of the second LSPs from the network controller.

The LSP establishment module <NUM> is configured to establish the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

The node device shown in <FIG> may perform the steps in the method embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

In this embodiment of the present invention, in a process of establishing the first LSP, the node device establishes at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP, so as to ensure that service performance of any two second LSPs is similar or consistent, thereby improving service performance of the first LSP, and simplifying maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the computer device <NUM> includes: a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, an input/output interface <NUM>, a communications interface <NUM>, and a bus <NUM>. The processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the input/output interface <NUM>, and the communications interface <NUM> implement mutual communication connections by using the bus <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may use a general-purpose central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), or at least one integrated circuit to execute a related program, so as to implement the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention.

The memory <NUM> may be a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM). The memory <NUM> may store an operating system and another application program. When the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention is implemented by software or firmware, program code used to implement the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention is stored in the memory <NUM>, and is executed by the processor <NUM>.

The input/output interface <NUM> is configured to receive input data and information, and output data such as an operation result.

The communications interface <NUM> implements communication between the computer device <NUM> and another device or a communications network by using a transceiver apparatus including but not limited to a transceiver.

The bus <NUM> may include a channel, configured to transfer information between components (such as the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the input/output interface <NUM>, and the communications interface <NUM>) of the computer device <NUM>.

A network controller receives a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP by using the communications interface <NUM>, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The network controller uses the processor <NUM> to execute the code stored in the memory <NUM>, so as to compute routing information of the second LSPs.

The network controller sends the routing information of the second LSPs to a transport plane by using the communications interface <NUM>, so that the transport plane establishes the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

A node device sends a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP to the network controller by using the communications interface <NUM>, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node.

The node device receives routing information of the second LSPs from the network controller by using the communications interface <NUM>, and uses the processor <NUM> to execute the code stored in the memory <NUM>, so as to establish each second LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

Specifically, the computer device <NUM> shown in <FIG> can implement the steps in the method embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>. It should be noted that, although for the computer device <NUM>, merely the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the input/output interface <NUM>, the communications interface <NUM>, and the bus <NUM> are shown in <FIG>, in a specific implementation process, a person skilled in the art should understand that the computer device <NUM> further includes another component required for normal running. In addition, a person skilled in the art should understand that, according to a specific requirement, the computer device <NUM> may further include a hardware component that implements another additional function. In addition, a person skilled in the art should understand that the computer device <NUM> may include only a component required for implementing this embodiment of the present invention, and does not need to include all components shown in <FIG>.

In this embodiment of the present invention, in a process of establishing the first LSP, the network controller and/or the node device establish/establishes at least two second LSPs that are associated with the first LSP, so as to ensure that service performance of any two second LSPs is similar or consistent, thereby improving service performance of the first LSP, and simplifying maintenance and management of a service path.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the network system includes a network controller <NUM> and at least two node devices <NUM>. The network controller <NUM> can perform the steps in the method embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. For a structure and a function of the network controller <NUM>, refer to the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The node device <NUM> can perform the steps in the method embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. For a structure and a function of the node device <NUM>, refer to the embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

The network controller <NUM> is configured to receive a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node; configured to compute routing information of the second LSPs; and further configured to send the routing information of the second LSPs to a transport plane, so that the transport plane establishes the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

The node device <NUM> is configured to send a service path request message of a first label switched path LSP to a network controller, where the first LSP has a service association attribute, the service association attribute of the first LSP indicates that the first LSP includes at least two second LSPs, and the first LSP and the at least two second LSPs have a same first node and last node; receive routing information of the second LSPs from the network controller; and further configured to establish the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.

Further embodiments of the present invention are provided in the following. It should be noted that the numbering used in the following section does not necessarily need to comply with the numbering used in the previous sections.

Claim 1:
A service path establishment method, wherein the method comprises:
receiving, by a network controller (<NUM>), a service path request message of a first label switched path, LSP, wherein the first LSP comprises at least two second LSPs, and a bandwidth of the first LSP is equal to a sum of bandwidths of each of the at least two second LSPs, and wherein the first LSP has a service association attribute to indicate that a service performance difference between any of the at least two second LSPs comprised in the first LSP falls within a preset threshold range, the service performance difference comprising a delay or a bit error rate;
computing, by the network controller (<NUM>), routing information of the second LSPs; and
sending, by the network controller (<NUM>), the routing information of the second LSPs to a node device (<NUM>), so that the node device (<NUM>) establishes the first LSP according to the routing information of the second LSPs.