CN115334589A

CN115334589A - Message transmission method, device, related equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115334589A
Application number: CN202110513378.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 龚立艳; 姜文颖; 程伟强
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2021-05-11
Filing date: 2021-05-11
Publication date: 2022-11-11
Also published as: WO2022237291A1

Abstract

The application discloses a message transmission method, a message transmission device, a network node and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: the first network node determines a slice identifier of the first message; generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier; and sending the second message.

Description

Message transmission method, device, related equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of Internet Protocol (IP) networks, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting a packet, a related device, and a storage medium.

Background

Network slicing is one of the key technologies of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G). The network slicing is to perform traffic management-like shunt management on network data, and essentially divides a physical network which exists in reality into a plurality of virtual networks of different types on a logic level, and divides the virtual networks into indexes such as delay height, bandwidth size, reliability strength and the like according to service requirements of different users, so as to cope with complex and variable application scenes. With network slicing, a mobile network operator can classify users into different types, each with a different service request, and manage the slice types and services each user is entitled to use according to a Service Level Agreement (SLA).

The 5G bearer network is part of a 5G end-to-end service path, and bearer network slicing refers to: by virtualizing the topology resources (such as links, nodes, ports and network element internal resources) of the network, a plurality of logical virtual transmission subnetworks are split out in the transmission hardware facilities. The virtual transmission sub-network is provided with an independent management plane, a control plane and a forwarding plane, and supports various services independently, so that the isolation among different services is realized.

From the perspective of IP forwarding, data transmission mainly includes two aspects, namely a control plane and a forwarding plane, and therefore, the bearer network slicing technique is also mainly distributed in the two aspects, namely the control plane and the forwarding plane.

For the slicing technology of the bearer network, a slice ID needs to be introduced in a forwarding plane, and how to introduce the slice ID is a problem to be solved urgently at present.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the related technical problem, embodiments of the present application provide a message transmission method, an apparatus, a related device, and a storage medium.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application is realized as follows:

the embodiment of the application provides a message transmission method, which is applied to a first network node and comprises the following steps:

determining a slice identifier of a first message;

generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

and sending the second message.

In the above scheme, the packet header of the second packet further carries first information, where the first information indicates that the source address field of the second packet header carries the slice identifier.

In the foregoing scheme, a Traffic Class (Traffic Class) field or a Traffic Label (Flow Label) field in a header of the second packet carries the first information.

In the above scheme, the functional field in the Segment Identity (SID) of the source address field in the header of the second packet carries the slice identifier.

In the foregoing solution, the determining the slice identifier of the first packet includes:

determining the service characteristics of the first message;

searching a slice identifier corresponding to the service characteristic of the first message in a first table; the first table is at least provided with a corresponding relation between the service characteristics and the slice identifiers.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

receiving second information sent by a Software Defined Network (SDN) controller or a network management system; the second information at least comprises service characteristics and corresponding slice identifiers;

and forming the first table by using the second information.

In the foregoing solution, the sending the second packet includes:

determining an output interface of the second message;

searching physical resources corresponding to the output interface of the second message and the slice identifier in a second table; the second label at least is provided with a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

and sending the second message by utilizing the searched physical resource.

In the foregoing solution, the determining the output interface of the second packet includes:

and determining an outgoing interface of the second message by searching a routing forwarding table.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

receiving third information sent by the SDN or the network management system; the third information at least comprises a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

forming the second table using the third information.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a packet transmission method, applied to a second network node, including:

receiving a second message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

and forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier.

In the foregoing scheme, the Traffic Class field or Flow Label field in the header of the second packet carries the first information.

In the above scheme, the functional field in the SID of the source address field in the header of the second packet carries the slice identifier.

In the foregoing solution, the forwarding the second packet by using the slice identifier includes:

determining an outgoing interface of the second message by searching a routing forwarding table;

searching a physical resource corresponding to the output interface and the slice identifier in a third table; the second label is at least provided with an output interface, a corresponding relation between the slice identification and the physical resource;

and forwarding the second message by using the searched physical resource.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

receiving fourth information sent by the SDN or the network management system; the fourth information at least comprises a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

forming the third table using the fourth information.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a packet transmission apparatus, including:

a first determining unit, configured to determine a slice identifier of the first packet;

a generating unit, configured to generate a second packet based on the slice identifier and the first packet; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

and the transmission unit is used for sending the second message.

a receiving unit, configured to receive a second packet; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

and the forwarding unit is used for forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a first network node, including:

the first processor is used for determining the slice identifier of the first message; generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

and the first communication interface is used for sending the second message.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a second network node, including: a second communication interface and a second processor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the second communication interface is used for receiving a second message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

and the second processor is configured to forward the second packet through the second communication interface by using the slice identifier.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a first network node, including: a first processor and a first memory for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor,

wherein the first processor is configured to, when running the computer program, perform the steps of any of the above-mentioned methods at the first network node side.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a second network node, including: a second processor and a second memory for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor,

wherein the second processor is configured to, when running the computer program, perform the steps of any of the above-mentioned methods at the second network node side.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any one of the methods in the first network node side, or implements the steps of any one of the methods in the second network node side.

According to the message transmission method, the message transmission device, the related equipment and the storage medium, the first network node determines the slice identifier of the first message; generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier; sending the second message; the second network node receives the second message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier; and forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier. According to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the source address field in the message header carries the slice identifier, so that the safety risk is avoided, the implementability is high, the processing efficiency is high, and the compatibility with the related technology is high.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for message transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a process for planning a slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an IPv6 packet format according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a SRv message format according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an SID format according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of another method for packet transmission according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of message forwarding according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a message transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another message transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network node according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a second network node according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The present application is described in further detail below with reference to examples.

The bearer network slicing technology is also mainly distributed on the control plane and the forwarding plane. Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the control plane technology mainly includes flexible algorithm (FlexAlgo) technology. The FlexAlgo technology is expanded through an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) sectional Routing (SR, segment Routing), different Segment Identification (SID) is distributed for the same equipment, different SIDs represent different FlexAlgo planes, in each FlexAlgo plane, an overhead type (MetricType), a calculation type (CalcType) and a link color (LinkColor) are combined to perform SPF calculation, and in addition, the SPF calculation is independently performed on each FlexAlgo plane, so that an independent Routing forwarding table entry is formed.

Currently, the FlexAlgo technology can only realize coarse-grained slicing at a physical link level, and because the FlexAlgo technology needs to extend a control plane protocol, the system overhead is too high, and large-scale slicing cannot be supported, that is, scenes of many slices cannot be supported.

The technology of the hair-forwarding noodle is as follows: the slice ID is introduced to a forwarding plane, the message carries the slice ID, and the forwarding equipment associates the slice ID with physical resources and combines the slice ID with a corresponding physical isolation technology to realize end-to-end high-quality SLA, namely the requirement of end-to-end quality-guaranteed service guarantee is met. The technical scheme of the forwarding plane can realize fine-grained slicing of a subinterface level, and meanwhile, because a control plane protocol does not need to be expanded, excessive expenditure cannot be brought to a system, and large-scale slicing can be supported.

The message carries the slice ID, the carrying position of the slice ID needs to be considered, and the slice ID can be carried in a Hop-by-Hop option header (english can be expressed as Hop-by-Hop) field in the IPv6 message header. However, for the Hop-by-Hop field, the forwarding device is required to process Hop by Hop, so that the DOS attack risk exists, and the current practical application has difficulty.

The slice ID may be carried in the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header. However, since the Flow Label field is mainly used for traffic load sharing, and there are 20 bits (bit) at present, in practical application, under the condition that the traffic load sharing influence is small, part of bits may be divided to carry the slice ID, and the larger the number of slices is, the larger the influence on the traffic load sharing is, and the balance between the two needs to be considered.

The slice ID may be carried in the destination address field in the IPv6 header. However, with the SRv technology, the destination address is obtained in the segment table (SegmentList) during forwarding, and there is a possibility of variation, and thus the slice ID cannot be planned. And in the G-SRv technology, destination address compression also makes planning of slice IDs infeasible.

Based on this, in various embodiments of the present application, a source address field in a header of a packet carries a slice identifier, such as a slice ID, which has no security risk, is highly implementable, and is compatible with related technologies.

It should be noted that: in this embodiment of the present application, the first network node and the third network node are network edge nodes, which may be referred to as PE nodes, PE routers, PE devices, and the like, for example, operator edge nodes in a backbone network; correspondingly, the second network node is a network forwarding node, which may be referred to as a P node, P router, P device, etc., such as an operator node in the backbone network.

An embodiment of the present application provides a packet transmission method, which is applied to a first network node, and as shown in fig. 1, the method includes:

step 101: determining a slice identifier of a first message;

step 102: generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

step 103: and sending the second message.

The second message is an IPv6 message, and the second message is obtained by encapsulating the first message.

In an embodiment, the specific implementation of step 101 may include:

determining the service characteristics of the first message;

The first network node may obtain the service characteristic of the first packet from configuration information of a device.

In actual application, slice identifiers may be globally allocated through unified planning configuration, for example, an SDN controller or a network management system allocates the slice identifiers to corresponding user services according to characteristics of the user services (such as VLAN, virtual Private Network (VPN), or DSCP), and at this time, the SDN controller or the network management system needs to send formed slice planning information to the first network node, so that the first network node can obtain the slice identifiers of the first packet according to the slice planning information.

Based on this, in an embodiment, the method may further include:

receiving second information sent by an SDN controller or a network management system; the second information at least comprises service characteristics and corresponding slice identifiers;

and forming the first table by using the second information.

Exemplarily, as shown in fig. 2, it is assumed that there are three VPN services from three customer edge routers (CEs) (CE 1, CE2, and CE3, respectively), and corresponding VPN IDs are VPN1, VPN2, and VPN3, and an SDN controller or a network management system plans corresponding Bandwidth (BW) requirements according to different VPN services (which may also be understood as different VPN users) (the corresponding BW requirements may be planned according to requirements of users), and allocates different slice identifiers according to the BW requirements, that is, allocates required BW and slice identifiers to different VPN users, and sends the information to a PE1 device, so as to form a slice planning table, as shown in table 1.

VPN ID	Section ID	Resource information
			VPN1	1	BW：10G
VPN2	2	BW：20G
			VPN3	3	BW：30G

TABLE 1

Here, the SDN controller or the network management system (may also be referred to as network management) may be understood as a manager of the network device, and the functions may include configuration issuing, information monitoring, path planning, and the like. In the SDN, the configuration can be planned uniformly by an SDN controller, and slice identifiers are allocated globally; in a non-SDN, the network management system can be used for uniformly planning and configuring and globally distributing slice identifiers.

The source address field in the header of the second packet carries the slice identifier, that is, the slice identifier of the first packet is set in the source address field in the header of the second packet.

Fig. 3 shows a format of an IPv6 packet, as shown in fig. 3, a source address field of an IPv6 packet header carries a slice identifier, such as a slice ID, so that if a forwarding device does not support a slice function, the source address field keeps the existing meaning, and the packet is forwarded according to a related IPv6 forwarding mechanism, which does not have a compatibility problem. If the forwarding device supports the slicing function, the source address field can be analyzed by the slicing identifier, so that the message forwarding is performed based on the slicing identifier.

For the SRv, G-SRv technology. SRv6 message forwarding process, as shown in fig. 4, the first network node (i.e. the ingress device) carries a slice identifier in the source address of the outer IPv6 header encapsulated by SRv message, for example, the slice identifier may be set in the low 16 bits of the source address field, so if the forwarding device does not support the slice function, the source address field keeps the existing meaning, and forwards the message according to the relevant SRv forwarding mechanism, there is no compatibility problem. If the forwarding device supports the slicing function, the source address field can be analyzed by the slicing identifier, so that the message forwarding is performed based on the slicing identifier.

In an embodiment, a Function (Function) field in the SID of the source address field in the header of the second packet may carry the slice identifier. Illustratively, as shown in fig. 5, the slice identification may be carried by the lower 16 bits reserved in the Function field.

In practical application, as long as the IP and SRv SID are reasonably planned, there is enough address space in the source address field to carry the slice id. By taking 16 bits as an example, 65535 slices can be supported maximally, the bearing requirement of thousands of industries in the future can be met, and the large-scale slice appeal is met.

And the slice ID is carried in the source address, and the forwarding equipment only needs to analyze a specific field in the source address in the message header, so that the processing efficiency is high, the performance influence is small, and new difficulty cannot be introduced into the forwarding equipment (forwarding chip).

In practical application, when the source address field carries the slice identifier, the message may be provided with an identifier and a bit, and the forwarding device determines whether to analyze the slice identifier for the source address field through the identifier bit, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

Based on this, in an embodiment, the packet header of the second packet further carries first information, where the first information indicates that the source address field of the second packet header carries the slice identifier.

The first information may be encapsulated in a Traffic Class field or a Flow Label field of a header. That is to say, the Traffic Class field or Flow Label field in the header of the second packet carries the first information, that is, the first information is set in the Traffic Class field or Flow Label field in the header of the second packet.

For example, the first information may be 1 bit, and when set to 1, indicates that the source address field needs to be parsed by the slice identifier, and when set to 0, indicates that the source address field does not need to be parsed by the slice identifier.

When the SDN controller or the network management system allocates the slice identifier for different user services, and for the forwarding device, the slice identifier is associated with an actual physical resource (which may also be understood as a link resource), and the forwarding device identifies the slice identifier in the source address and matches the corresponding physical resource to forward a message, thereby finally implementing an end-to-end network slicing function of the bearer network.

Similarly, for the first network node, the corresponding physical resource needs to be matched according to the slice identifier, so as to send out the second packet.

Based on this, in an embodiment, the specific implementation of step 103 may include:

determining an output interface of the second message;

and sending the second message by using the searched physical resource.

In an embodiment, the determining the outgoing interface of the second packet includes:

and determining an output interface of the second message by searching a routing forwarding table.

Here, when the second packet is an IPv6 packet, determining an egress interface of the second packet by searching an IPv6 routing forwarding table; when the second packet is SRv packet, the egress interface of the second packet is determined by looking up SRv routing forwarding table (which may also be referred to as a Segment Routing (SR) forwarding table).

The second table may be referred to as a slice forwarding table. When the SDN controller or the network management system allocates the slice identifier for different user services, and associates the slice identifier with an actual physical resource, the SDN controller or the network management system needs to send the content of the slice forwarding table entry to the first network node and the second network node, so that the first network node and the second network node send and forward a packet based on the slice forwarding table.

Based on this, in an embodiment, the method may further include:

forming the second table using the third information.

Here, in actual application, the SDN controller or the network management system may plan physical resources according to bandwidth information of a service, so that the forwarding device may implement physical resource binding in combination with a link resource isolation technology (such as flexible ethernet (FlexE), qoS, VLAN, and the like).

Illustratively, for the three slices of the above example, the slice IDs are 1, 2, and 3, for example, BW division is performed on the physical interface GE1/0/0, for each packet forwarding device, a corresponding g.mtn subinterface is generated, and corresponding information such as the slice ID and the resource interface is sent to the corresponding packet forwarding device, that is, the first network node and the second network node, to form a slice forwarding table, as shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

Correspondingly, an embodiment of the present application further provides a packet transmission method, which is applied to a second network node, and as shown in fig. 6, the method includes:

step 601: receiving a second message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

step 602: and forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier.

When the first network node is actually applied, the second network node receives a first message sent by a previous hop network node; the previous-hop network node may be the first network node, or may be another network forwarding node on a path corresponding to the second packet.

In step 601, the second network node parses a source address field in a header of the second packet, so as to obtain a slice identifier.

In an embodiment, the packet header of the second packet further carries first information, where the first information indicates that the source address field of the second packet header carries the slice identifier; correspondingly, the second network node determines that the analysis of the slice identifier needs to be performed on the source address field of the second message header according to the first information.

In an embodiment, the first information is carried in a Traffic Class field or a Flow Label field in a header of the second packet, that is, the second network node obtains the first information by analyzing the Traffic Class field or the Flow Label field.

In an embodiment, when the slice identifier is carried in a Function field in an SID of a source address field in a header of the second packet, the second network node parses the Function field in the SID to obtain the slice identifier.

In an embodiment, the forwarding the second packet by using the slice identifier includes:

searching physical resources corresponding to the output interface of the second message and the slice identifier in a third table; the second label at least is provided with a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

and forwarding the second message by using the searched physical resource.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise:

forming the third table using the fourth information.

Correspondingly, after receiving the second packet, the third network node performs decapsulation processing on the second packet, similar to the related art. And the third network node receives a second message sent by the previous hop network node.

In the message transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, a first network node determines a slice identifier of a first message; generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier; sending the second message; the second network node receives the second message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier; and forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier. According to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the source address field in the message header carries the slice identifier, so that the safety risk is avoided, the implementability is high, the processing efficiency is high, and the compatibility with the related technology is high.

The present application will be described in further detail with reference to the following application examples.

In the embodiment of the present application, there are three VPN services, and the VPN IDs are VPN1, VPN2, and VPN3, respectively. An SDN controller or a network management system plans corresponding BW requirements according to different VPN services, allocates different slice IDs according to bandwidth requirements, plans corresponding hardware resources, such as g.mtn subinterfaces, according to the bandwidth requirements for forwarding devices, and associates interface information with the slice IDs, specifically including:

firstly, an SDN controller or a network management system allocates needed BW and slice ID for different VPN services, and issues the information to a PE device to form a slice planning table, as shown in table 1.

Secondly, the SDN controller or the network management system plans physical resources for each slice according to the BW information, so that the forwarding equipment combines a link resource isolation technology to realize the binding of the slices and the physical resources. For example, bandwidth division is performed on the physical interface GE1/0/0, and a corresponding g.mtn subinterface is generated for each forwarding device, so as to implement forwarding of the packet. For each forwarding device, corresponding information such as the slice ID and the resource interface of the SDN controller or the network management system is issued to the forwarding device (PE 1, P1, and P2), so as to form a slice forwarding table, as shown in table 2.

In this application embodiment, a policy SRv (policy) is used for packet forwarding, and a packet forwarding process is described below with reference to fig. 7.

The PE1 receives a message (the message of one of the three VPN services, which contains an IP header (head) and a payload (payload)), firstly, the PE1 inherits SRv6 Policy encapsulation mode to encapsulate the message, and the encapsulated message contains the IP head, the payload, the SRH, an IPv6 Destination Address (DA) and an IPv6 Source Address (SA); then, according to the VPN information lookup table 1 of the message, acquiring a slice ID, and packaging the acquired slice ID to the SID field of the SRv6 message header source address with 16 bits lower; then, according to a SRv6 forwarding mechanism, searching an SR forwarding table entry and confirming a physical output interface; and finally, acquiring a resource interface according to the physical output interface and the slice ID lookup table 2, and forwarding the message according to the resource interface. Where the slice ID is set in the last bit of the SID, as shown in table 3.

Outlet interface	Section ID	SRv6 SID
			GE1/0/0	1	End A1:1:1:1::1:1
GE1/0/0	2	End A1:1:1:1::1:2
			GE1/0/0	3	End A1:1:1:1::1:3

TABLE 3

After P1 receives the message, firstly, according to a SRv forwarding mechanism, searching an SR forwarding table entry and confirming a physical output interface; and then, analyzing SRv message header source address carried slice ID, searching a slice forwarding table maintained by the self according to the physical output interface and the slice ID, acquiring a resource interface, and forwarding the message according to the resource interface.

After receiving the message, P2 performs the same forwarding operation as P1.

After receiving the message, PE2 decapsulates the message according to a SRv forwarding mechanism.

As can be seen from the above description, in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the source address field of the IPv6 header carries the slice ID, so that there is no security risk, the implementability is strong, network forwarding is supported for IPv6, SRv, and G-SRv, and the solution is naturally compatible with a device that does not support a slice function. The number of physical slices supported depends on the number of slice ID bits reserved in the source address field, and 65536 physical slices can be supported, for example 16 bits, or more bits can be reserved to increase the number of slices if address planning allows.

In addition, the SDN controller or the network management system uniformly plans the user slice ID and the corresponding resource information, so that the slice ID is associated with the physical link resource, and not only can the resource isolation among the physical ports be realized, but also the resource isolation in the same physical port can be realized.

The forwarding device confirms a message forwarding interface according to a message forwarding table (namely a routing forwarding table, such as an IPv6 forwarding table or a SRv forwarding table), then determines actual physical resources and resource interfaces under the interface by using a slice ID carried in a source address field of a message header, and finally forwards the message according to the resource interfaces, so that finer-grained slicing under the same physical interface is realized. According to the scheme of the embodiment of the application, the slice information table look-up forwarding process is added on the forwarding plane, other operations are not involved, and the influence on the system performance is small.

According to the scheme of the embodiment of the application, the slice identifier is introduced into the forwarding plane, and can be combined with the FlexAlgo scheme of the control plane to form two-stage slices of the control plane and the forwarding plane, wherein the control plane realizes interface-level coarse-grained slices, and the forwarding plane realizes sub-interface-level fine-grained slices.

In order to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a packet transmission apparatus, which is disposed on a first network node, and as shown in fig. 8, the apparatus includes:

a first determining unit 801, configured to determine a slice identifier of a first packet;

a generating unit 802, configured to generate a second packet based on the slice identifier and the first packet; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

a transmission unit 803, configured to send the second message.

In an embodiment, the first determining unit 801 is configured to:

determining the service characteristics of the first message;

In an embodiment, the first determining unit 801 is further configured to:

and forming the first table by using the second information.

In an embodiment, the transmission unit 803 is configured to:

determining an output interface of the second message;

searching a physical resource corresponding to the output interface of the second message and the slice identifier in a second table; the second label at least is provided with a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

and sending the second message by using the searched physical resource.

the transmission unit 803 determines the outgoing interface of the second packet by searching a routing forwarding table.

In an embodiment, the transmission unit 803 is further configured to:

forming the second table using the third information.

In practical application, the first determining unit 801 and the transmitting unit 803 may be implemented by a processor in a message transmitting apparatus in combination with a communication interface; the generating unit 802 may be implemented by a processor in a message transmitting device.

In order to implement the method at the second network node side in the embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a packet transmission apparatus, which is disposed on the second network node, and as shown in fig. 9, the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit 901, configured to receive a second packet; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

a forwarding unit 902, configured to forward the second packet by using the slice identifier.

In an embodiment, the forwarding unit 902 is configured to:

determining an output interface of the second message by searching a routing forwarding table;

and forwarding the second message by using the searched physical resource.

Here, in an embodiment, the receiving unit 901 is further configured to:

the forwarding unit 902 is further configured to form the third table by using the fourth information.

In practical application, the receiving unit 901 and the forwarding unit 902 may be implemented by a processor in a message transmission device in combination with a communication interface.

It should be noted that: in the message transmission device provided in the foregoing embodiment, when performing message transmission, only the division of the program modules is described as an example, and in practical applications, the processing distribution may be completed by different program modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different program modules, so as to complete all or part of the processing described above. In addition, the message transmission apparatus and the message transmission method provided by the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are detailed in the method embodiments and are not described herein again.

Based on the hardware implementation of the program module, and in order to implement the method on the first network node side in the embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a first network node, as shown in fig. 10, the first network node 1000 includes:

a first communication interface 1001 capable of performing information interaction with other network nodes;

a first processor 1002, connected to the first communication interface 1001, for implementing information interaction with other network nodes, and configured to execute a method provided by one or more technical solutions at the first network node side when running a computer program;

a first memory 1003, the computer program being stored on the first memory 1003.

Specifically, the first processor 1002 is configured to determine a slice identifier of a first packet; generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

the first communication interface 1001 is configured to send the second packet.

In an embodiment, the first processor 1002 is configured to:

determining the service characteristics of the first message;

In an embodiment, the first communication interface 1001 is further configured to receive second information sent by an SDN controller or a network management system; the second information at least comprises service characteristics and corresponding slice identifiers;

the first processor 1002 is further configured to form the first table by using the second information.

In an embodiment, the first processor 1002 is configured to:

determining an output interface of the second message;

and sending the second message by using the searched physical resource.

the first processor 1002 determines an egress interface of the second packet through a routing forwarding table.

In an embodiment, the first communication interface 1001 is further configured to receive third information sent by an SDN or a network management system; the third information at least comprises a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

the first processor 1002 is further configured to form the second table by using the third information.

It should be noted that: the specific processing procedure of the first processor 1002 can be understood with reference to the above-described method.

Of course, in practice, the various components in the first network node 1000 are coupled together by a bus system 1004. It is understood that the bus system 1004 is used to enable communications among the components. The bus system 1004 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus. But for the sake of clarity the various busses are labeled in fig. 10 as the bus system 1004.

The first memory 1003 in the embodiments of the present application is used for storing various types of data to support the operation of the first network node 1000. Examples of such data include: any computer program for operating on the first network node 1000.

The method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to the first processor 1002, or implemented by the first processor 1002. The first processor 1002 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the first processor 1002. The first Processor 1002 may be a general-purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components, etc. The first processor 1002 may implement or perform the methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium located in the first memory 1003, and the first processor 1002 reads the information in the first memory 1003 and completes the steps of the foregoing method in combination with the hardware thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first network node 1000 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), DSPs, programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), general purpose processors, controllers, micro Controllers (MCUs), microprocessors (microprocessors), or other electronic components for performing the aforementioned methods.

Based on the hardware implementation of the program module, and in order to implement the method at the second network node side in the embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a second network node, as shown in fig. 11, where the second network node 1100 includes:

a second communication interface 1101 capable of performing information interaction with other network nodes;

a second processor 1102, connected to the second communication interface 1101, for implementing information interaction with other network nodes, and when running a computer program, executing a method provided by one or more technical solutions at the second network node side;

a second memory 1103, and the computer program is stored on the second memory 1103.

Specifically, the second communication interface 1101 is configured to receive a second packet; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries a slice identifier;

the second processor 1102 is configured to forward the second packet through the second communication interface by using the slice identifier.

In an embodiment, the second processor 1102 is configured to:

and forwarding the second message through the second communication interface 1101 by using the found physical resource.

Here, the second communication interface 1101 is further configured to receive fourth information sent by an SDN or a network management system; the fourth information at least comprises a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

the second processor 1102 is further configured to form the third table using the fourth information.

It should be noted that: the specific processing of the second processor 1102 and the second communication interface 1101 can be understood with reference to the methods described above.

Of course, in practice, the various components in the second network node 1100 are coupled together by a bus system 1104. It is understood that the bus system 1104 is used to enable communications among the components for connection. The bus system 1104 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. For clarity of illustration, however, the various buses are designated as the bus system 1104 in FIG. 11.

The second memory 1103 in the embodiments of the present application is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the second network node 1100. Examples of such data include: any computer program for operating on the second network node 1100.

The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the second processor 1102, or implemented by the second processor 1102. The second processor 1102 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the second processor 1102. The second processor 1102 described above may be a general purpose processor, a DSP, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components, or the like. The second processor 1102 may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium located in the second memory 1103, and the second processor 1102 reads the information in the second memory 1103 and completes the steps of the foregoing method in combination with the hardware thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second network node 1100 may be implemented by one or more ASICs, DSPs, PLDs, CPLDs, FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, microprocessors, or other electronic components for performing the aforementioned methods.

It is understood that the memories (the first memory 1003 and the second memory 1103) in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, and may also include both volatile and nonvolatile memories. Among them, the nonvolatile Memory may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access Memory (FRAM), a Flash Memory (Flash Memory), a magnetic surface Memory, an optical Disc, or a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface storage may be disk storage or tape storage. Volatile Memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache Memory. By way of illustration, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDRSDRAM), double Data Rate Synchronous Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), enhanced Synchronous Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Random Access Memory (DRAM), direct Random Access Memory (DRmb Access Memory). The memories described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present application further provides a storage medium, specifically a computer storage medium, which is a computer readable storage medium, for example, including the first memory 1003 storing a computer program, where the computer program is executable by the first processor 1002 of the first network node 1000, so as to complete the steps of the foregoing first network node side method. For example, the second memory 1103 may store a computer program, which may be executed by the second processor 1102 of the second network node 1100, to perform the steps of the method at the side of the second network node. The computer readable storage medium may be Memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash Memory, magnetic surface Memory, optical disk, or CD-ROM.

It should be noted that: "first," "second," and the like are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order.

The technical means described in the embodiments of the present application may be arbitrarily combined without conflict.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A message transmission method is applied to a first network node and comprises the following steps:

determining a slice identifier of a first message;

and sending the second message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a header of the second packet further carries first information indicating that a source address field of the second packet header carries the slice identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a traffic class field or a traffic label field in a header of the second packet carries the first information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the slice identifier is carried by a functional field in a segment identity SID of a source address field in a header of the second packet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the slice identifier of the first packet comprises:

determining the service characteristics of the first message;

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

and forming the first table by using the second information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said sending out said second message comprises:

determining an output interface of the second message;

and sending the second message by using the searched physical resource.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining the outgoing interface of the second packet comprises:

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving third information sent by the SDN or the network management system; the second information at least comprises a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

forming the second table using the third information.

10. A message transmission method is applied to a second network node and comprises the following steps:

and forwarding the second message by using the slice identifier.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the header of the second packet further carries first information indicating that a source address field of the second packet header carries the slice identifier.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a traffic class field or a traffic label field in a header of the second packet carries the first information.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein a functional field in the SID of a source address field in a header of the second packet carries the slice identifier.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the forwarding the second packet by using the slice identifier comprises:

searching a physical resource corresponding to the output interface and the slice identifier in a third table; the second label at least is provided with a corresponding relation between an output interface, a slice identifier and a physical resource;

and forwarding the second message by utilizing the searched physical resource.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

forming the third table using the fourth information.

16. A message transmission apparatus, comprising:

the generating unit is used for generating a second message based on the slice identifier and the first message; a source address field in a message header of the second message carries the slice identifier;

and the transmission unit is used for sending the second message.

17. A message transmission apparatus, comprising:

18. A first network node, comprising:

and the first communication interface is used for sending the second message.

19. A second network node, comprising: a second communication interface and a second processor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

20. A first network node, comprising: a first processor and a first memory for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor,

wherein the first processor is adapted to perform the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 when running the computer program.

21. A second network node, comprising: a second processor and a second memory for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor,

wherein the second processor is adapted to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 10 to 15 when running the computer program.

22. A storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or for performing the steps of the method of any one of claims 10 to 15, when the computer program is executed by a processor.