Apparatus, system and method for packet switching

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for control of a plurality of forwarding switches using a network controller. The network controller executes a routing configuration application that analyzes interconnections between the forwarding switches to identify a topology of the network, determine label switched paths (LSPs) between the forwarding switches, and transmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches. The forwarding switches use the next hop routes to route packets through the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. Each LSP includes one or more next hop routes defining a forwarding address associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a network controller comprising at least one processor and at least one memory to store a routing configuration application that is executed by the at least one processor to:
 analyze a plurality of interconnections between a plurality of forwarding switches of a communication network to identify a network topology of the communication network, 
 determine at least one label switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, the LSP comprising one or more next hop routes each defining a forwarding address associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch; and 
 transmit the next hop routes to the forwarding switches, the forwarding switches using the next hop routes to route packets through the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the forwarding switches do not autonomously determine routes through the communication network. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the routing configuration application is executed by the processor to determine at least one bypass LSP that is redundant to one or more LSPs determined by the routing configuration application. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein each forwarding switch executes at least one of a Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and a Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) to detect a failure in the one LSP and perform switchover to the bypass LSP. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the network controller comprises a route reflector (RR) function that interfaces with a border gateway protocol (BGP) instance executed on an edge device to determine the LSP by resolving next hop routes for each adjacent forwarding switch. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the network controller transmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches by generating a label forwarding information base (LFIB) including mapping information associated with the next hop routes and transmitting the LFIB to one or more edge devices configured in the communication network. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the LFIB is transmitted to the edge devices using at least one of a netconf protocol, a CLI protocol, or an openflow protocol. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the network controller configures one or more of the forwarding switches in a multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG). 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the network controller identifies the network topology of the communication network using a link layer discovery protocol (LLDP). 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the network controller determines the LSP using at least one of a least cost routing algorithm, a dijkstra routing algorithm, a geographic routing algorithm, hierarchal routing algorithm, or a multipath routing algorithm. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the network controller comprises a software defined network (SDN) controller. 
     
     
         12 . A network controlling method comprising:
 analyzing, by a network controller, a plurality of interconnections between a plurality of forwarding switches of a communication network to identify a network topology of the communication network,   determining, by the network controller, at least one label switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, the LSP comprising one or more next hop routes each defining a forwarding address associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch; and   transmitting, by the network controller, the next hop routes to the forwarding switches, the forwarding switches using the next hop routes to route packets through the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol.   
     
     
         13 . The network control method of  claim 12 , wherein the forwarding switches do not autonomously determine routes through the communication network. 
     
     
         14 . The network control method of  claim 12 , further comprising determining at least one bypass LSP that is redundant to the one LSP. 
     
     
         15 . The network control method of  claim 14 , further comprising executing, by each forwarding switch, at least one of a Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and a Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) to detect a failure in the one LSP and perform switchover to the bypass LSP. 
     
     
         16 . The network control method of  claim 12 , further comprising interfacing, by a route reflector (RR) configured in the network controller, with a border gateway protocol (BGP) instance executed on an edge device to determine the LSP by resolving next hop routes for each adjacent forwarding switch. 
     
     
         17 . The network control method of  claim 16 , further comprising transmitting the next hop routes to the forwarding switches by generating a label forwarding information base (LFIB) including mapping information associated with the next hop routes and transmitting the LFIB to one or more edge devices configured in the network. 
     
     
         18 . The network control method of  claim 17 , further comprising transmitting the LFIB to the edge devices using at least one of a netconf protocol, a CLI protocol, or an openflow protocol. 
     
     
         19 . The network control method of  claim 12 , further comprising configuring one or more of the forwarding switches in a multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG). 
     
     
         20 . The network control method of  claim 12 , further comprising identifying the network topology of the communication network using a link layer discovery protocol (LLDP). 
     
     
         21 . The network control method of  claim 12 , further comprising determining the LSP using at least one of a least cost routing algorithm, a dijkstra routing algorithm, a geographic routing algorithm, hierarchal routing algorithm, or a multipath routing algorithm. 
     
     
         22 . A communication network system comprising:
 a plurality of forwarding switches interconnected with one another; and   a network controller comprising at least one processor and at least one memory to store a routing configuration application that is executed by the at least one processor to:
 analyze a plurality of interconnections between the plurality of forwarding switches of a communication network to identify a network topology of the communication network, 
 determine at least one label switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, the LSP comprising one or more next hop routes each defining a forwarding address associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch; and 
 transmit the next hop routes to the forwarding switches, the forwarding switches using the next hop routes to route packets through the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. 
   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the routing configuration application is executed by the processor to determine at least one bypass LSP that is redundant to the one LSP determined by the routing configuration application. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein each forwarding switch executes at least one of a Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and a Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) to detect a failure in the one LSP and perform switchover to the bypass LSP. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the network controller comprises a route reflector (RR) function that interfaces with a border gateway protocol (BGP) instance executed on an edge device to determine the LSP by resolving next hop routes for each adjacent forwarding switch. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the network controller transmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches by generating a label forwarding information base (LFIB) including mapping information associated with the next hop routes and transmitting the LFIB to one or more edge devices configured in the communication network. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the LFIB is transmitted to the edge devices using at least one of a netconf protocol, a CLI protocol, or an openflow protocol.