CN108632147B - Message multicast processing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and equipment for processing message multicast, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a multicast message sent by a source edge network element, wherein the multicast message comprises multicast information and an original message in a virtual subnet; determining at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information; and sending the original message to at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication mode so that each destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet. The message multicast processing method and the message multicast processing equipment forward the multicast message sent by the source edge network element through the centralized replication point and send the multicast message to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, thereby realizing the multicast of the message, reducing the network burden of the edge network element, improving the message multicast efficiency and being beneficial to improving the communication performance of the network.

Description

Packet multicast processing method and device

technical field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and device for processing packet multicast.

Background technique

Large data center networks usually require support for multi-tenancy, with traffic isolation between each tenant, so that the traffic of one tenant cannot be seen by another tenant. To achieve this tenant-based traffic isolation, an emerging method is to use network virtualization technology based on overlay networks. Commonly, VXLAN (Virtual eXtensibleLANs, virtual extended local area network), NVGRE (Network Virtualization Generic Routing Encapsulation, network virtual general routing encapsulation) are two typical technologies to realize this kind of overlay network. In VXLAN, VNID (Virtual Network Identifier) can represent virtual network. In NVGRE technology, VSID (Virtual Wall Security Identification) can represent the virtual network identification number. Taking VXLAN as an example, the virtual subnet of the tenant uses the corresponding virtual network identification number VNID for traffic isolation. Each terminal in the virtual subnet, such as TES (Tenant End System, tenant terminal system), is connected to the edge network element (Network Virtualization Edge, NVE), when the terminal needs to multicast messages to other terminals in the same virtual subnet , it needs to be copied and forwarded through the edge network element; for example, terminal 1 is connected to edge network element 1, terminal 2 in the same virtual subnet is connected to edge network element 2, and terminal 3 is connected to edge network element 3, then the terminal 1 When multicasting messages to terminal 2 and terminal 3, edge network element 1 copies the broadcast message into two copies, and encapsulates the two copies of the broadcast message obtained by encapsulating the outer layer of the unicast tunnel and sends it to edge network element 2. and edge network element 3, wherein, the destination IP (Internet Protocol, Internet Protocol) address of the outer layer of the unicast tunnel is the IP address of each destination edge network element, that is, the outer layer of the tunnel of the two copies of the broadcast message obtained by copying. The IP addresses are the IP address of edge network element 2 and the IP address of edge network element 3 respectively. In addition, the virtual network identification number of the outer layer of the tunnel corresponds to the virtual subnet to which terminal 1, terminal 2 and terminal 3 belong; then the edge network element 2 and edge network element 3 decapsulate after receiving the packet in the outer layer of the encapsulation tunnel, obtain the original broadcast packet, and send the broadcast packet to their respective local terminals according to the virtual network identification number, that is, edge network element 2 The broadcast message is sent to the terminal 2, and the edge network element 3 sends the broadcast message to the terminal 3 to complete the multicast message of the terminal 1 to the terminal 2 and the terminal 3 in the same virtual subnet. The way that edge network elements send other packets in the virtual subnet is similar.

With the continuous expansion of the network scale, the network deployment becomes more and more complicated. When the above method is used to multicast packets in the virtual subnet, the source edge network element (such as the above edge network element 1) needs to copy a large number of packets. , it is also necessary to encapsulate the outer layer of the unicast tunnel (such as the outer layer of the unicast overlay tunnel) for each packet obtained by replication. Therefore, the network burden of the edge network element is too heavy, which affects the multicast efficiency of the packet and is not conducive to improving the network. communication performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a packet multicast processing method and device, which are used to optimize the packet multicast process and improve network communication performance.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for processing packet multicast, including:

receiving a multicast message sent by a source edge network element, where the multicast message includes multicast information and an original message in the virtual subnet;

Determine at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information;

The original message is sent to at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner, so that each destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet.

With reference to the first aspect, in the first embodiment, the determining at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information includes:

learning the multicast information carried by the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel of the multicast message, and acquiring the original message; wherein the multicast information is a virtual network identification number;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the virtual network identification number, and the network interconnection protocol IP address of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

With reference to the first embodiment of the first aspect, in the second embodiment, the sending of the original packet to at least one destination edge network element by multicast replication includes:

Copying the original message to obtain at least one original message with the same number of destination edge network elements;

According to the IP address of each destination edge network element, each original packet is sent to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel.

With reference to the first aspect, in a third implementation manner, the determining at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information includes:

Obtain the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel according to the multicast message;

Learning the multicast information carried on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, wherein the multicast information is a multicast group IP address;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the multicast group IP address, and the IP address of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

With reference to the third embodiment of the first aspect, in the fourth embodiment, sending the original packet to at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner includes:

Copying the original packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and obtaining at least one original packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel with the same number of destination edge network elements;

According to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element, each original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is sent to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel.

With reference to the second or fourth embodiments of the first aspect, in the fifth embodiment, the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is encapsulated and forwarded to the outer layer of the unicast tunnel, and sent to the upper-layer centralized a replication point, so that the upper-layer centralized replication point sends the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to the at least one first centralized replication point.

With reference to any one of the first aspect to the fifth embodiment of the first aspect, in the sixth embodiment, before receiving the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, the processing method further includes:

Receive management information issued by a centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is a relationship between any item of the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information connection relation;

Generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

Through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element, the notification information receives the notification information of each edge network element; the notification information includes the IP address of each edge network element and the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element. and multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets;

According to the announcement information, a local multicast forwarding table is generated according to the announcement information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for processing packet multicast, including:

receiving the original message sent by the second terminal in the virtual subnet;

Send a multicast packet to a centralized replication point according to the original packet, so that at least one destination edge network element multicasts the original packet to a first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet through the centralized replication point; The multicast message includes multicast information and the original message, and the multicast information is determined according to management information.

With reference to the second aspect, in the first implementation manner, the sending of the multicast packet to the centralized replication point according to the original packet includes:

Encapsulate the original packet in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain the multicast packet, and the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel carries a virtual network identification number as multicast information, wherein the virtual network identification number corresponds to the virtual subnet;

Send the multicast message to the centralized replication point.

With reference to the second aspect, in the second implementation manner, the sending of the multicast packet to the centralized replication point according to the original packet includes:

encapsulating the original message into the outer layer of a multicast tunnel, and the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as multicast information;

encapsulating the second unicast tunnel outer layer to the original packet encapsulated with the multicast tunnel outer layer, to obtain the multicast packet;

Send the multicast message to the centralized replication point.

With reference to any one of the second aspect to the second embodiment of the second aspect, in the third embodiment, before receiving the original packet sent by the local terminal, the processing method further includes:

Receive management information issued by a centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association relationship between any item of information in the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information;

Generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

Send notification information to the centralized copy point through the signaling protocol with the centralized copy point; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the corresponding virtual subnets. multicast information;

According to the announcement information, a corresponding local multicast forwarding table is generated for the centralized replication point.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a centralized replication point, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a multicast message sent by the source edge network element, where the multicast message includes multicast information and an original message in the virtual subnet;

a determining module, configured to determine at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information;

A sending module, configured to send the original message to at least one destination edge network element by multicast replication, so that each destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet .

With reference to the third aspect, in the first embodiment, the determining module is specifically configured to learn the multicast information carried by the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel of the multicast packet, and obtain the original packet; wherein, the The multicast information is the virtual network identification number;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the virtual network identification number, and the network interconnection protocol IP address of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

With reference to the first embodiment of the third aspect, in the second embodiment, the sending module specifically includes:

a copying unit, configured to copy the original message to obtain at least one original message with the same number of destination edge network elements;

The sending unit is configured to send each original packet to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element.

With reference to the third aspect, in the third embodiment, the determining module is specifically configured to obtain the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel according to the multicast message;

Learning the multicast information carried on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, wherein the multicast information is a multicast group IP address;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the multicast group IP address, and the IP address of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

With reference to the third embodiment of the third aspect, in the fourth embodiment, the copying unit is further configured to copy the original packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and obtain at least one with the same number of destination edge network elements. The original packet of the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is encapsulated;

The sending unit is further configured to send each original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element.

With reference to the second or fourth embodiment of the third aspect, in the fifth embodiment, the determining module further determines the IP address of at least one first centralized replication point according to the multicast information,

Then the sending module is further configured to forward the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel through encapsulation and forwarding to the outer layer of the unicast tunnel, and send it to the upper-layer centralized replication point, so that the upper-layer centralized replication point can transfer the original packet to the upper-layer centralized replication point. The message or the original message encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is sent to the at least one first centralized replication point.

In combination with any one of the third aspect to the fifth embodiment of the third aspect, in the sixth embodiment,

The receiving module is further configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, and the management information includes the following at least two items of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is a relationship between any item of the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information connection relation;

Then the centralized replication point further includes:

a generating module, for generating a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

The receiving module is configured to receive notification information of each edge network element through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element; the notification information includes the IP address of each edge network element, the information managed by the edge network element. Virtual subnet information and multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets;

The generating module is further configured to generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the notification information.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an edge network element, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive the original message sent by the second terminal in the virtual subnet;

The sending module is configured to send a multicast message to the centralized replication point according to the original message, so that at least one destination edge network element can multicast to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet through the centralized replication point. The original message; wherein, the multicast message includes multicast information and the original message, and the multicast information is determined according to the management information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in the first embodiment, the sending module specifically includes:

an encapsulation unit, configured to encapsulate the original message in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain the multicast message, and the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel carries the virtual network identification number as multicast information, wherein, The virtual network identification number corresponds to the virtual subnet.

A sending unit, configured to send the multicast message to the centralized replication point.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in the second embodiment, the encapsulation unit is further configured to encapsulate the original packet into an outer layer of a multicast tunnel, where the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as multicast information ;

encapsulating the second unicast tunnel outer layer to the original packet encapsulated with the multicast tunnel outer layer, to obtain the multicast packet;

The sending unit is further configured to send the multicast message to the centralized replication point.

With reference to any one of the fourth aspect to the second embodiment of the fourth aspect, in the third embodiment, the receiving module is configured to receive management information delivered by a centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following: Two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association relationship between any item of information in the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information;

Then the edge network element further includes a generating module, and the generating module generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

The sending module is used to send notification information to the centralized copy point through the signaling protocol with the centralized copy point; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and each multicast information corresponding to the virtual subnet;

The generating module generates a corresponding local multicast forwarding table for the centralized replication point according to the notification information.

The method and device for processing message multicast provided by the embodiments of the present invention, by introducing a centralized replication point, enables the centralized replication point to forward and process the multicast message sent by the source edge network element, and send the multicast message according to the multicast information. The message is sent to the destination edge network element, which realizes the multicast of the message, reduces the network burden of the edge network element, improves the efficiency of the message multicast, and helps to improve the communication performance of the network.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description These are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without any creative effort.

1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention;

3 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 3 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

5 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 4 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention;

6 is a schematic diagram of a first network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

7 is a schematic diagram of a second network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

8 is a schematic diagram of a third network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a centralized replication point according to the present invention;

10 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a centralized replication point of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of an edge network element according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of an edge network element according to the present invention;

13 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of a centralized replication point according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of an edge network element according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments These are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention. The method of this embodiment may be performed by a centralized replication point, which is a centralized overlay multicast replication device. As shown in Figure 1, the method includes:

S101. Receive a multicast packet sent by a source edge network element.

The above-mentioned multicast message includes multicast information and the original message in the virtual subnet, wherein the original message is sent to the edge network element by the terminal managed by the edge network element, and the terminal can be TES; for example, when Terminal 1 needs to send multicast messages to other terminals in the same virtual subnet, such as terminal 10 and terminal 11. Terminal 1 needs to forward multicast messages through the edge network element that manages terminal 1. At this time, the edge network element of terminal 1 manages The network element is the source edge network element. Correspondingly, the edge network element managing the above-mentioned other terminals, such as the terminal 10 and the terminal 11, is the destination edge network element relative to the above-mentioned source edge network element. Further, when the source edge network element forwards the multicast message, it needs to be sent through the centralized replication point. The multicast packet received by the centralized replication point is obtained by performing tunnel encapsulation on the original packet in the virtual subnet according to the tunneling protocol; in this embodiment, for the convenience of description, the tunnel encapsulation performed on the original packet is called as The outer layer of the tunnel is encapsulated to obtain a multicast packet, and the multicast information is carried on the outer layer of the tunnel.

S102. Determine at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information.

When the centralized replication point decapsulates the outer layer of the tunnel of the multicast packet, it can learn the virtual network identification number carried by the outer layer of the tunnel, and obtain the multicast information according to the virtual network identification number, and the multicast information includes at least one destination edge. IP address of the network element; or, the centralized replication point obtains the IP address of the multicast group after decapsulating the outer layer of the tunnel of the multicast packet, and obtains the IP address including at least one destination edge network element according to the IP address of the multicast group multicast information.

S103: Send the original packet to at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner.

According to the IP address of at least one destination edge network element obtained in S102, the original packet is sent to each destination edge network element in a multicast replication mode, so that each destination edge network element sends the first terminal group corresponding to the virtual subnet The first terminal is the local terminal of the destination edge network element, and the multicast replication method includes copying and re-encapsulating the original packet to the IP address of at least one destination edge network element.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the centralized replication point forwards the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, and sends the multicast packet to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the packet It can reduce the network burden of edge network elements, improve the efficiency of packet multicast, and help improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention. The method of this embodiment may be performed by an edge network element. As shown in Figure 2, the method includes:

S201. Receive an original packet sent by a second terminal in the virtual subnet.

An edge network element can manage multiple local terminals, and each local terminal can belong to different virtual subnets. A terminal in the same virtual subnet can multicast original packets to other edge networks through the edge network element as the manager and the edge network element that receives the original message sent by the terminal is the source edge network element in the packet multicast processing method in this embodiment, and the above-mentioned second terminal represents the source edge network element. The local terminal managed by the network element, and the original packet sent by the local terminal to the edge network element, the original packet includes unknown unicast packets, broadcast packets or multicast packets in the virtual subnet.

S202. Send a multicast packet to the centralized replication point according to the original packet.

Because the source edge network element as the sender needs to multicast the original packet through the centralized replication point, at least one destination edge network element can multicast the original packet to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet through the centralized replication point. The multicast packet includes multicast information and an original packet; specifically, the original packet can be encapsulated in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain a multicast packet, and the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel is carried as a multicast packet. The virtual network identification number of the information, wherein the virtual network identification number corresponds to the virtual subnet, and then the multicast packet is sent to the centralized replication point; or,

Encapsulate the original message in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as the multicast information;

The original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is encapsulated with the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel to obtain the multicast packet; and then the multicast packet is sent to the centralized replication point.

Through the centralized replication point, at least one destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal in the corresponding virtual subnet.

It should be noted that when the centralized management device deploys the network, the corresponding relationship between the virtual subnet and the multicast information is preset; then the edge network element receives the original message sent by the terminal, and will determine the virtual subnet to which the terminal belongs. Therefore, the outer layer of the tunnel carries the corresponding multicast information. Specifically, the above-mentioned multicast information is determined according to the local multicast forwarding table, wherein the local multicast forwarding table is generated according to the management information issued by the centralized management device; or generated through the signaling protocol with the centralized replication point For example, the virtual subnet 1 is preset to correspond to the multicast group IP address Group1, then the edge network element receives the original message sent by the terminal, and judges that the virtual subnet to which the terminal belongs is virtual subnet 1, so that the outside of the tunnel The IP address of the multicast group carried by the layer is Group1.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the source edge network element sends multicast packets to the centralized replication point, and the centralized replication point sends multicast packets to at least one destination edge network element. Therefore, the centralized replication point is burdened with The replication burden in the process of packet multicast reduces the network burden on edge network elements, improves the efficiency of packet multicast, and helps improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 3 of a method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3 , this embodiment combines the foregoing Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, and further describes the processing method of packet multicast, and the method includes:

S301. The source edge network element receives the original packet sent by the second terminal.

The above-mentioned second terminal is a local terminal managed by the source edge network element, and the original message sent by the second terminal is used to send a group to other terminals (that is, the first terminal managed by the destination edge network element) in the same virtual subnet. broadcast information.

S302. The source edge network element obtains a multicast packet according to the original packet.

The source edge network element may encapsulate the original packet in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain the multicast packet. The outer layer of the first unicast tunnel may be the outer layer of the unicast overlay tunnel, and the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel It carries the virtual network identification number as multicast information, and the edge network element can determine the destination IP address as the IP address of the centralized replication point according to the management information issued by the centralized management device, wherein the virtual network identification number corresponds to the virtual subnet.

S303. The source edge network element sends a multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

The source edge NE sends the multicast packet to the centralized copy point corresponding to the centralized copy point IP address according to the IP address of the centralized copy point; it can be understood that when the centralized copy point receives the multicast packet sent by the source edge NE, It is necessary to search for a unicast routing forwarding table to transmit multicast packets to the centralized replication point through multiple intermediate devices in the network according to the IP address of the centralized replication point. The above-mentioned intermediate devices may be top-of-rack switches. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 , there are multiple intermediate devices between the centralized replication point and the edge network element for transmitting packets between the centralized replication point and the edge network element, and in this embodiment, the source edge network element and the destination edge network element The NEs are edge NEs with the same function. In order to describe the transmission direction of multicast packets, the source edge NE and the destination edge NE are distinguished. Therefore, in Figure 4, edge NE 1, edge NE Any edge network element of network element 2 and edge network element 3 can be the source edge network element or the destination edge network element in this embodiment according to the transmission direction of the multicast packet. Correspondingly, the terminal connected to each edge network element It is also the first terminal or the second terminal according to the transmission direction of the multicast packet.

S304. The centralized replication point acquires multicast information according to the multicast message.

Since the protocol field of the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel (that is, the outer layer of the above-mentioned unicast overlay tunnel) indicates that the outer layer of the tunnel is the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel, the centralized replication point can, according to the protocol of the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel, The outer layer of the first unicast tunnel of the learning multicast packet carries multicast information, and obtains the original packet through decapsulation, wherein the multicast information is a virtual network identification number.

S305. The centralized replication point determines at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information.

The centralized replication point searches the local multicast forwarding table according to the virtual network identification number, and determines the network interconnection protocol IP address of at least one destination edge network element. The above-mentioned local multicast forwarding table also generates a local multicast forwarding table for determining the destination address according to the management information delivered in advance by the centralized management device.

S306, the centralized replication point sends the original message to the destination edge network element.

The centralized replication point has obtained the original packet in S305, and replicates the original packet to obtain at least one original packet with the same number of destination edge network elements; then, according to the IP address of each destination edge network element, each original packet is The outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel is encapsulated and sent to each destination edge network element. The outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel can be the outer layer of a unicast overlay tunnel or a unicast GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation, Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnel. outer layer. Of course, it can be understood that, in order for the destination edge network element to multicast the original message to the local terminal, the virtual network identification number on the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel still corresponds to the above-mentioned virtual subnet.

S307, the destination edge network element obtains the original packet.

The original packet received by each destination edge NE is encapsulated in the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel. The destination edge NE obtains the original packet by decapsulating the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel, and also learns it on the outer layer of the tunnel. Virtual network identification number.

S308. The destination edge network element multicasts the original packet to the first terminal.

The destination edge network element sends the original message to the local terminal managed by each according to the virtual network identification number, that is, the above-mentioned first terminal, so as to realize the multicast of the message.

It should be noted that the local multicast forwarding table of the above centralized replication point records the IP address of each edge network element corresponding to the virtual network identification number, that is, the IP address of the source edge network element, but the centralized replication point supports source port pruning. function, that is, when the centralized copy point copies and forwards the original packet to the edge network element, it will not copy and forward it to the source edge network element, that is, the destination edge network element in this embodiment does not include the source edge network element in S302 .

It should be supplemented that, before executing the processing method for packet multicast in this embodiment, the centralized replication point and the edge network element respectively receive the management information sent by the centralized management device; the management information includes at least the following two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association between any item of management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information The centralized replication point generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or, through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element, obtains the notification information of each edge network element; the notification information Including the IP address of each edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets; the multicast information may be a virtual network identification number in this embodiment, and then the centralized copy The node generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the advertisement information. For example, if the local multicast forwarding entry generated by the centralized replication point 1 according to the association relationship between the virtual subnet and the edge network element includes the corresponding relationship between the virtual network identification number corresponding to the virtual subnet and the edge network element, the centralized replication point can The virtual network identification number 3000 on the multicast packet is obtained by querying the local multicast forwarding table to know that 3000 corresponds to the IP address of the destination edge network element 2, and the received multicast packet will be forwarded to the destination edge network element 2. .

For the edge network element, the management information issued by the centralized management device is received, and the management information includes the following at least two pieces of information: virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; in the management information There is an association relationship between any item of information and at least one item of information other than this information; then the edge network element generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or, through the signaling protocol with the centralized replication point, For example, BGP (Border Gateway Protocol, Border Gateway Protocol) sends notification information to the centralized replication point; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the group corresponding to each virtual subnet. IP address of the multicast group; then, according to the notification information, a corresponding local multicast forwarding table is generated for the centralized replication point. Then, when the edge network element multicasts the packets of the local terminal, it can correctly process the original packet sent by the local terminal according to the local multicast forwarding table, such as writing in the outer layer of the tunnel of the multicast packet. The correct virtual network identification number is sent to the corresponding centralized replication point.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the centralized replication point forwards the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, and sends the multicast packet to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the packet It can reduce the network burden of edge network elements, improve the efficiency of packet multicast, and help improve the communication performance of the network.

In the existing packet forwarding technology, each time a multicast packet is forwarded, the source IP address will change, and after the local terminal managed by each destination edge network element receives the original packet, the original The source terminal of the packet performs unicast communication, but since the IP address of the source edge network element is replaced during the forwarding of the multicast packet, the subsequent unicast communication between the two terminals still needs to pass through the centralized replication point. Control and management result in an excessive burden on the centralized replication point. Therefore, more preferably, FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 4 of the method for processing packet multicast according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the present embodiment optimizes the packet multicast processing method based on the third embodiment, and the method includes:

S401. The source edge network element receives the original packet sent by the second terminal.

For the network architecture in this embodiment, reference may be made to the network architecture shown in FIG. 4 , but a flexible network architecture may be adopted. For example, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the first network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, in order to relieve the burden of edge network elements, the terminal can be dual-homed to two edge network elements (NVE1 and NVE2). During the text, select a link to send the original packet to NVE1 or NVE2 according to the load sharing algorithm (such as hash algorithm); NVE1 and NVE2 are configured with the same edge network element IP address for the centralized replication point.

S402. The source edge network element obtains a multicast packet according to the original packet.

Specifically, the source edge network element encapsulates the original packet in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as multicast information; and then encapsulates the original packet in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel. The outer layer of the second unicast tunnel is encapsulated to obtain the multicast packet.

For example, the edge network element encapsulates the original packet in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel (for example, the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel), and the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as the multicast information. The group IP address corresponds to the virtual subnet, that is, when the edge NE processes the original packet, according to the management information delivered by the centralized management device, the IP address of the multicast group corresponding to the virtual subnet where the current original packet is located can also be understood. , the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel still carries the virtual network identification number VNID, which is used by the destination edge network element to send the original packet to the local terminal, and the IP address of the source edge network element is carried on the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel; After the packet is encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel, the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel (which can be the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel) is encapsulated again. The destination IP address of the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel is the IP address of the centralized replication point, and In this case, the source IP address of the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel is also the IP address of the source edge NE.

If the network architecture shown in Figure 6 is adopted, after NVE1 or NVE2 receives the original packet sent by the second terminal, NVE1 or NVE2 uses the above method to process the original packet, and the source edge network element carried by the outer layer of the tunnel The IP addresses for NVE1 and NVE2 are configured with the same IP addresses made.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned specific tunnel outer layers (ie, the overlay multicast tunnel outer layer and the GRE unicast tunnel outer layer) are only for illustrative examples, and in practice, the tunnel outer layers are not limited by the above examples.

S403. The source edge network element sends a multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

If the network architecture shown in FIG. 6 is adopted in this embodiment, since NVE1 and NVE2 are configured with the same IP addresses of edge network elements, no matter the multicast packet sent by NVE1 or NVE2 to the centralized replication point, the multicast packet The IP addresses of the source edge NEs in this document are the same.

In addition, flexible, centralized replication points can also use load sharing to structure the network. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a second network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, centralized replication point 2 can be deployed to share the forwarding burden of centralized replication point 1. Of course, more centralized replication points can also be deployed to share the forwarding burden of centralized replication point 1; The centralized management device has issued management information to each edge network element in advance to inform the IP address of the centralized replication point corresponding to each virtual subnet. copy point 1, the source edge network element will not send the multicast packet in the virtual subnet 51 to the centralized copy point 1, but will send the multicast packet to the centralized copy point corresponding to the virtual subnet 51 according to the management information point 2. When one of the centralized replication points fails, for example, centralized replication point 1 fails, the centralized management device will update the management information, and issue the updated management information to each normal working centralized replication point again, so that other centralized The replication point (eg, centralized replication point 2 ) bears the burden of the faulty centralized replication point, that is, by delivering management information, the centralized replication point 2 replicates and multicasts multicast packets from virtual subnet 1 to virtual subnet 50 .

S404, the centralized replication point obtains multicast information.

The centralized replication point obtains the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel according to the multicast message, and learns the multicast information carried on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, wherein the multicast information is the multicast group IP address ;

The centralized replication point searches the local multicast forwarding table according to the multicast group IP address, and determines the IP address of at least one destination edge network element. Specifically, since the protocol field of the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel (that is, the outer layer of the above-mentioned unicast GRE tunnel) indicates that the outer layer of the tunnel is the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel, the centralized replication point can The outer layer protocol decapsulates the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel of the multicast packet, and obtains the multicast packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel; and then learns the group carried by the outer layer of the multicast tunnel according to the outer layer protocol of the multicast tunnel. Broadcast group IP address.

S405. The centralized replication point determines at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information.

The centralized replication point searches the local multicast forwarding table according to the IP address of the multicast group, and determines the IP address of at least one destination edge network element.

S406, the centralized replication point sends the original message to the destination edge network element.

The centralized replication point copies the original packets encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and obtains at least one original packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel with the same number of destination edge network elements; Each original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is sent to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel. The outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel carries the IP address of the destination edge network element; for example, the centralized replication point decapsulates the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel in S402, and obtains the multicast packet encapsulated in the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel , after determining the IP address of at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast group IP address on the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel, copy the original packet of the outer layer of the encapsulated multicast overlay tunnel, and copy the original packet obtained by each copy The outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel of the packet is encapsulated again with a layer of the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel. The outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel can be the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel, or the outer layer of other unicast tunnels; thus It can be seen that in S405, the source edge network element IP address serving as the source IP address on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is not replaced.

But it should be added that if part of the destination edge network elements are burdened by other centralized replication points, the IP address of at least one first centralized replication point is also determined according to the multicast information, and the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is copied. to obtain at least one original packet encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel with the same number of destination edge network elements; according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element, each The packet is encapsulated in the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel and sent to each destination edge network element. For example, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a third network architecture in Embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, after the centralized replication point 1 receives the multicast packet sent by the NVE1 borne by the centralized replication point 1, it learns according to the obtained IP address of the multicast group that the destination edge network element except the centralized replication point 1 is burdened by the multicast packet. In addition to NVE3 to NVE10, it also includes destination edge network elements NVE50 to NVE99 burdened by centralized replication point 3, then centralized replication point 2 encapsulates and forwards the multicast packets encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast overlay tunnel to the outer layer of the unicast tunnel. The outer layer of the unicast tunnel can also be the outer layer of the above-mentioned unicast GRE tunnel, but in this case, the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel, that is, the destination IP address of the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel is the IP address of the upper-layer centralized replication point, that is, the outer layer of the unicast GRE tunnel. The IP address of the replication point 1, wherein the IP address of the upper-layer centralized replication point is obtained by the centralized replication point receiving the management information issued by the centralized management device before executing the processing method of this embodiment, and the upper-layer centralized replication point's IP address is obtained. The IP address is stored in the local multicast forwarding table, and when it needs to be forwarded to other first centralized replication point, the packet is first sent to the upper centralized replication point according to the IP address of the upper centralized replication point. If the network architecture shown in FIG. 8 is adopted, since the centralized replication point determines the IP address of the upper-layer centralized replication point according to the local multicast forwarding table in S405, the multicast packet encapsulating the outer layer of the second tunnel is encapsulated and forwarded to the unicast tunnel In the outer layer, the destination IP address of the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel is the IP address of the upper-layer centralized replication point; then the multicast packet encapsulated and forwarded in the outer layer of the unicast tunnel is sent to the upper-layer centralized replication point. It should be supplemented that the network architecture of FIG. 8 is also applicable to the foregoing third embodiment, through the upper-layer centralized replication point, so that the upper-layer centralized replication point sends the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to the At least one replication point in the first set. As shown in Figure 8, the centralized replication point 1 sends the multicast packets encapsulated in the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel to the destination edge network elements according to the IP addresses of the destination edge network elements (NVE3 to NVE10), and also Send the multicast packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel to the upper-layer centralized replication point. The upper-layer centralized replication point and centralized replication point 1 work in the same principle. Decapsulate the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel to learn the multicast overlay tunnel. The IP address of the multicast group carried on the outer layer, and the destination IP address of the next forwarding is determined according to the local multicast forwarding table of the upper-layer centralized copy point as the IP address of the first centralized copy point (centralized copy point 2), which is similar to the centralized copy point 2. Replication point 1, the upper-layer centralized replication point will re-encapsulate the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel on the outer layer of the encapsulated multicast overlay tunnel, but at this time, the destination IP address on the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel encapsulated by the upper-layer centralized replication point is the outer layer of the forwarding unicast tunnel. IP address of replication point 2; finally, centralized replication point 2 sends multicast packets to the edge network elements it manages. The process of centralized replication point 2 sending multicast packets to NVE50 to NVE99 is the same as centralized replication point 1 to NVE3 The process of sending multicast packets by the NVE10 is similar and will not be repeated here.

In addition, similar to Embodiment 3, the centralized replication point supports the source port pruning function, that is, when the centralized replication point copies and forwards the original packet to the destination edge network element, it does not copy and forward it to the source edge network element.

It can be seen from the above description that the centralized replication point can only use the unicast function. Therefore, when the packet multicast processing method in the embodiment of the present invention is applied in the existing network environment, by using the network architecture in FIG. 8 , the existing In some network environments, a device that does not support multicast functions is used as a node in the packet multicast processing method to realize the recycling of old devices. Similarly, the network architecture shown in Figure 8 is used. The source edge NE IP address used as the source IP address at the layer is not replaced.

S407, the destination edge network element obtains the original packet.

After each destination edge network element receives the multicast packet sent by the centralized replication point, it decapsulates the outer layer of the two-layer tunnel of the multicast packet, obtains the original packet, and learns the virtual network ID on the outer layer of the tunnel. and at this time, according to the processing procedures described in S403 to S407, it can be known that the source IP address on the outer layer of the second tunnel of the multicast packet remains the IP address of the source edge network element.

S408. The destination edge network element multicasts the original packet to the first terminal.

The destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the local terminal according to the virtual network identification number to realize the multicast of the message.

The above-mentioned source edge network element and destination edge network element are edge network elements with the same function. Element distinction.

It should be supplemented that, before executing the processing method for packet multicast in this embodiment, the centralized replication point receives the management information issued by the centralized management device, and the management information includes at least the following two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association between any item of the above management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information relationship; generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

The notification information of each edge network element is received through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element; the notification information includes the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element and the multicast corresponding to each virtual subnet. group IP address; then the centralized replication point generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the announcement information, and then after the centralized replication point receives the multicast message, it can determine the next destination IP address according to the local multicast forwarding table; for example, The centralized replication point 1 learns that the multicast group IP address of the multicast packet is Group1, and by querying the local multicast forwarding table to know that Group1 corresponds to the IP address of the centralized replication point 2, it forwards the received multicast packets to the centralized replication point 1. Copy point 2.

Correspondingly, before implementing this embodiment, the edge network element receives management information issued by the centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following two pieces of information: virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication. point IP address information; there is an association relationship between any item of information in the management information and at least one item of information except this item of information; then the edge network element generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; The signaling protocol between the centralized replication points sends notification information to the centralized replication point; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the multicast corresponding to each virtual subnet. information; in this embodiment, the multicast information is a multicast group IP address; according to the announcement information, a corresponding local multicast forwarding table is generated for the centralized replication point. For example, the edge network element advertises the creation and deletion of its own virtual subnets to the centralized replication point, and informs the centralized replication point of the IP address of the multicast group corresponding to each virtual subnet. At the same time as the local multicast forwarding table, the edge network element also generates the local multicast forwarding table accordingly; further, in the network architecture shown in Figure 8, after the centralized replication point receives the notification information sent by the burdened edge network element , and will also send the notification information to other centralized replication points. For example, after the centralized replication point 1 receives the notification information, it will send the notification information to the centralized replication point 2 and the upper-level centralized replication point, so that the centralized replication point 2 and the upper-level centralized replication point Each replication point generates a local multicast forwarding table.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the centralized replication point processes the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, and sends the multicast packet to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the transmission of the packet. Multicast reduces the network burden on edge network elements. At the same time, during the packet multicast process in this embodiment, the multicast packet encapsulates the outer layers of the two-layer tunnel, even if it passes through multiple nodes (centralized replication point, The upper-layer centralized replication (with dots) is copied and forwarded, but the source IP address on the outer layer of the second tunnel of the multicast packet is not replaced, then the two terminals in the virtual subnet can directly perform unicast communication, without the need for centralized The centralized management of replication points reduces the burden of centralized replication points and helps to improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a centralized replication point according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 9, the centralized replication point includes:

a receiving module 501, configured to receive a multicast message sent by a source edge network element, where the multicast message includes multicast information and an original message in the virtual subnet;

A determination module 502, configured to determine at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information;

The sending module 503 is configured to send the original packet to at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner, so that each destination edge network element multicasts the original packet to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet.

Each module in this embodiment corresponds to each of the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the centralized replication point is used to forward the multicast packets sent by the source edge network element, and send the multicast packets to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the multicast of the packets and reduce the It reduces the network burden of edge network elements, improves the efficiency of packet multicast, and helps to improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a centralized replication point according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10 , this embodiment is described in detail on the centralized replication point shown in FIG. 9 , and the determining module 502 is specifically configured to learn the multicast information carried by the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel of the multicast packet, and Obtain the original message; wherein, the multicast information is the virtual network identification number;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the virtual network identification number, and the IP address of the network interconnection protocol of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

Further, the sending module 503 specifically includes:

A copying unit 513, used for copying the original message to obtain at least one original message with the same number of destination edge network elements;

The sending unit 523 is configured to send each original packet to each destination edge network element by encapsulating the outer layer of the destination unicast tunnel according to the IP address of each destination edge network element.

Further, the determining module 502 is specifically configured to obtain the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel according to the multicast message;

Learn the multicast information carried on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, where the multicast information is the IP address of the multicast group;

Search the local multicast forwarding table according to the multicast group IP address, and determine the IP address of at least one destination edge network element.

Then the copying unit 513 is also used for copying the original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and obtaining at least one original message encapsulating the outer layer of the multicast tunnel with the same number of destination edge network elements;

The sending unit 523 is further configured to send each original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element.

Further, the determining module 502 also determines the IP address of at least one first centralized replication point according to the multicast information,

Then the sending module 503 is further configured to forward the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel through encapsulation and forward the outer layer of the unicast tunnel, and send it to the upper-layer centralized replication point, so that the upper-layer centralized replication point can transfer the original packet or the original packet to the outer layer of the unicast tunnel. The original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is sent to at least one first centralized replication point.

The receiving module 501 is further configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, where the management information includes the following at least two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is a relationship between any item of the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information connection relation;

Then the centralized replication point further includes:

A generating module 504, configured to generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

The receiving module 501 is configured to receive notification information of each edge network element through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element; the notification information includes the IP address of each edge network element, the virtual information managed by the edge network element. Subnet information and multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets;

The generating module 504 is further configured to generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the advertisement information.

Each module in this embodiment corresponds to each of the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the centralized replication point forwards the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, and sends the multicast packet to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the packet It can reduce the network burden of edge network elements, improve the efficiency of packet multicast, and help improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of an edge network element according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 11, the edge network element includes:

A receiving module 601, configured to receive the original message sent by the second terminal in the virtual subnet;

The sending module 602 is configured to send a multicast message to the centralized replication point according to the original message, so that through the centralized replication point, at least one destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet; wherein, Multicast packets include multicast information and original packets, and multicast information is determined according to management information.

Each module in this embodiment corresponds to each of the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the source edge network element sends multicast packets to the centralized replication point, and the centralized replication point sends multicast packets to at least one destination edge network element. Therefore, the centralized replication point is burdened with The replication burden in the process of packet multicast reduces the network burden on edge network elements, improves the efficiency of packet multicast, and helps improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of an edge network element according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12 , this embodiment further describes the edge network element in detail on the basis of the edge network element shown in FIG. 11 . The sending module 602 of the edge network element specifically includes:

The encapsulation unit 612 is configured to encapsulate the original packet in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain a multicast packet. The outer layer of the first unicast tunnel carries a virtual network identification number as multicast information, wherein the virtual network identification number corresponds to Virtual subnet.

The sending unit 622 is configured to send the multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

The encapsulation unit 612 is also used to encapsulate the original message in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as the multicast information;

Encapsulate the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel to the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to obtain the multicast packet;

The sending unit 622 is further configured to send the multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, and the management information includes the following information:

The corresponding relationship between the virtual subnet and the virtual network identifier and the centralized replication point, and the corresponding relationship between the virtual subnet and the IP address of the multicast group and the centralized replication point.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, and the management information includes the following at least two pieces of information:

Virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association relationship between any item of information in the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information;

Then the edge network element further includes a generating module 603, the generating module 603 generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; Send notification information to the centralized replication point; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets; then the generating module 604 The notification information is described above, and the corresponding local multicast forwarding table is generated for the centralized replication point.

It should be noted that, in the process of processing the edge network element according to the packet multicast in this embodiment, as a source edge network element, the source edge network element and the destination edge network element are edge network elements with the same function, and can be It is understood that the source edge network element may be the destination edge network element in the process of multicasting other packets, and the edge network element further includes a decapsulation module for decapsulating the outer layer of the tunnel.

Each module in this embodiment corresponds to each of the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the source edge network element sends multicast packets to the centralized replication point, and the centralized replication point sends multicast packets to at least one destination edge network element. Therefore, the centralized replication point is burdened with The replication burden in the process of packet multicast reduces the network burden on edge network elements, improves the efficiency of packet multicast, and helps improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of a centralized replication point according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 13, the centralized replication point includes:

a receiver 701, configured to receive a multicast packet sent by a source edge network element, where the multicast packet includes multicast information and an original packet in the virtual subnet;

A processor 702, configured to determine at least one destination edge network element according to the multicast information;

The transmitter 703 is configured to send the original packet to at least one destination edge network element by means of multicast replication, so that each destination edge network element multicasts the original packet to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet.

Further, the processor 702 is specifically configured to learn the multicast information carried by the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel of the multicast message, and obtain the original message; wherein, the multicast information is a virtual network identification number;

The local multicast forwarding table is searched according to the virtual network identification number, and the IP address of the network interconnection protocol of at least one destination edge network element is determined.

Further, the transmitter 703 is specifically configured to copy the original message to obtain at least one original message with the same number of destination edge network elements;

It is also specifically used to send each original packet to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element.

Further, the processor 702 is specifically configured to obtain, according to the multicast message, the original message encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel;

Learn the multicast information carried on the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, where the multicast information is the IP address of the multicast group;

Search the local multicast forwarding table according to the IP address of the multicast group, and determine the IP address of at least one destination edge network element.

Then the transmitter 703 is used to copy the original message encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and obtain at least one original message with the same number of destination edge network elements encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel;

It is also used to send each original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to each destination edge network element through the outer layer of the encapsulated destination unicast tunnel according to the IP addresses of each destination edge network element.

Further, the processor 702 further determines the IP address of at least one first centralized replication point according to the multicast information,

Then the transmitter 703 is further configured to forward the original packet or the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel through encapsulation and forward the outer layer of the unicast tunnel to the upper-layer centralized replication point, so that the upper-layer centralized replication point can transfer the original packet or the original packet to the outer layer of the unicast tunnel. The original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel is sent to at least one first centralized replication point.

The receiver 701 is further configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following two items of information:

Virtual subnet information, edge network element IP address information, multicast group IP address information, and centralized replication point IP address information; there is a relationship between any item of the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information connection relation;

Then the processor 702 is further configured to generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or,

The receiver 701 is configured to receive notification information of each edge network element through the signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element; the notification information includes the IP address of each edge network element, the virtual information managed by the edge network element. Subnet information and multicast information corresponding to each of the virtual subnets;

The processor 702 is further configured to generate a local multicast forwarding table according to the advertisement information.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the centralized replication point forwards the multicast packet sent by the source edge network element, and sends the multicast packet to the destination edge network element according to the multicast information, so as to realize the packet It can reduce the network burden of edge network elements, improve the efficiency of packet multicast, and help improve the communication performance of the network.

FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of an edge network element according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 14, the edge network element includes:

a receiver 801, configured to receive an original message sent by a second terminal in the virtual subnet;

The transmitter 802 is configured to send a multicast message to the centralized replication point according to the original message, so that through the centralized replication point, at least one destination edge network element multicasts the original message to the first terminal corresponding to the virtual subnet; wherein, Multicast packets include multicast information and original packets, and multicast information is determined according to management information.

Further, the transmitter 802 is configured to encapsulate the original packet in the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel to obtain a multicast packet, and the outer layer of the first unicast tunnel carries a virtual network identification number as multicast information, wherein the virtual network The identification number corresponds to the virtual subnet.

The transmitter 802 is configured to send a multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

The transmitter 802 is further configured to encapsulate the original packet in the outer layer of the multicast tunnel, and the outer layer of the multicast tunnel carries the multicast group IP address as the multicast information;

Encapsulate the outer layer of the second unicast tunnel to the original packet encapsulated with the outer layer of the multicast tunnel to obtain the multicast packet;

The transmitter 802 is further configured to send the multicast packet to the centralized replication point.

The receiver 801 is further configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, where the management information includes the following information:

The corresponding relationship between the virtual subnet and the virtual network identifier and the centralized replication point, and the corresponding relationship between the virtual subnet and the IP address of the multicast group and the centralized replication point.

The receiver 801 is configured to receive management information issued by the centralized management device, where the management information includes at least the following two items of information:

Virtual subnet information, multicast group IP address information and centralized replication point IP address information; there is an association relationship between any item of information in the management information and at least one item of information other than this item of information;

Then the edge network element further includes a processor 803 for generating a local multicast forwarding table according to the management information; or, the transmitter 802 is further configured to send a notification to the centralized copy point through a signaling protocol with the centralized copy point information; the notification information includes the IP address of the edge network element, the virtual subnet information managed by the edge network element, and the multicast information corresponding to each virtual subnet; the generation module is oriented to the centralized replication point according to the notification information. Generate the corresponding local multicast forwarding table.

It should be noted that, in the process of processing the edge network element according to the packet multicast in this embodiment, as the source edge network element, the source edge network element and the destination edge network element are edge network elements with the same function, and the edge network element can be It is understood that the source edge network element may be the destination edge network element in the process of multicasting other packets, and the receiver 801 of the edge network element also has the function of decapsulating the outer layer of the tunnel.

In this embodiment, by introducing a centralized replication point, the source edge network element sends multicast packets to the centralized replication point, and the centralized replication point sends multicast packets to at least one destination edge network element. Therefore, the centralized replication point is burdened with The replication burden in the process of packet multicast reduces the network burden on edge network elements, improves the efficiency of packet multicast, and helps improve the communication performance of the network.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiments may be completed by program instructions related to hardware. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the steps including the above method embodiments are executed; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, but not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features thereof can be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. scope.

Claims (18)

1. a processing method of message multicast, is characterized in that, comprises: The centralized replication point receives a first packet sent by the source edge network element, where the first packet includes multicast information and an original packet; The centralized replication point determines the at least one destination edge network element according to advertisement information received from at least one destination edge network element and the multicast information in the first packet, and the advertisement information includes the multicast information, the multicast information includes a virtual network identification number; The centralized replication point sends the original message to the at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein after the centralized replication point sends the original packet to the at least one destination edge network element in a multicast replication manner, the method further comprises: 2 . The at least one destination edge network element multicasts the original message to a terminal corresponding to the multicast information. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the centralized replication point, according to advertisement information received from at least one destination edge network element and the multicast information in the first packet, Identify at least one destination edge network element, including: The centralized replication point obtains the virtual network identification number by decapsulating the first packet; The centralized replication point determines the IP address of the at least one destination edge network element according to the virtual network identification number. 4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the centralized replication point is a centralized overlay network overlay multicast replication device. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the original packet is sent to the source edge network element by a terminal managed by the source edge network element. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the multicast information is located in the outer layer of the tunnel of the first packet. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal managed by the source edge network element and the terminal receiving the original packet in the at least one destination edge network element are located in the same virtual subnet. 8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the centralized replication point, according to advertisement information received from at least one destination edge network element and the multicast information in the first packet, Determining the at least one destination edge network element includes: The centralized replication point generates a local multicast forwarding table according to the announcement information; The centralized replication point searches the local multicast forwarding table according to the multicast information in the first message, and determines at least one destination edge network element. 9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one destination edge network element does not include the source edge network element. 10. A centralized replication point comprising a receiver, a processor and a transmitter, wherein: the receiver, configured to receive a first packet sent by the source edge network element, where the first packet includes multicast information and an original packet; The processor is configured to determine at least one destination edge network element according to advertisement information received from at least one destination edge network element and the multicast information in the first packet, where the advertisement information includes the group broadcast information, the multicast information includes a virtual network identification number; The transmitter is configured to send the original message to the at least one destination edge network element by multicast replication. 11. The centralized replication point of claim 10, wherein: The processor is specifically configured to search a local multicast forwarding table according to the virtual network identification number, and determine the IP address of the at least one destination edge network element. 12 . The centralized replication point according to claim 10 or 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to, according to the IP address of the at least one destination edge network element, send the original packet through the encapsulation destination unicast. 13 . The outer layer of the tunnel is respectively sent to the at least one destination edge network element. 13. The centralized replication point of claim 11, wherein: The receiver is configured to receive the announcement information of each edge network element through a signaling protocol between the centralized replication point and at least one edge network element; the announcement information includes the IP address of each edge network element, the edge network element Meta-managed virtual subnet information and multicast information corresponding to each virtual subnet, the processor is configured to generate the local multicast forwarding table according to the advertisement information, and the at least one edge network element includes the source an edge network element and the at least one destination edge network element. 14. The centralized replication point according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the centralized replication point is a centralized overlay network overlay multicast replication device. The centralized replication point according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the original packet is sent to the source edge network element by a terminal managed by the source edge network element. 16. The centralized replication point according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the terminal managed by the source edge network element and the terminal receiving the original packet in the at least one destination edge network element are located in the same virtual sub-network network. 17. A network system, characterized by comprising the centralized replication point and source edge network element according to any one of claims 10 to 16. 18. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising program instructions that, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

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