CN102137007B - Method and system for generating network topology as well as coordinator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a network topology generation method, system and coordinator, which belong to the technical field of communication. The system of the embodiment of the present invention includes a virtualized server network manager, a coordinator, and a server; the method includes: obtaining a port parameter of a switch from a virtual machine, and the port parameter is obtained by the virtual machine by listening to a link layer message of the switch ; Obtaining port parameters of a virtual switch connected to the switch; generating a network topology according to the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch. In the embodiment of the present invention, the network topology can be generated by monitoring the message of the link layer of the switch and obtaining the port parameters of the vSwitch. In the embodiment of the present invention, the network topology can be generated without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch. This allows for easier management and facilitates data transfer for various applications.

Description

Network topology generation method, system and coordinator

technical field

The invention relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a network topology generation method, system and coordinator.

Background technique

A virtual machine refers to virtualizing a server into multiple isolated virtual machines, or virtualizing multiple servers into a single virtual machine to improve resource utilization and simplify system management. Existing virtual machine carries out data interaction through vSwitch (VirtualSwitch, virtual switchboard), and establishes physical connection between server through network card and switchboard; Wherein, this switchboard can be Tor (Top-of-Rack, top-of-rack switchboard), Other switches are also possible.

A common vSwitch has multiple ports to connect virtual machines and switches respectively. And common virtual machines and virtual switches are managed through vCenter (virtualized server network management). At the same time, the physical network and the virtual network can be coordinated through an Orchestrator (coordinator).

Link discovery is a layer 2 discovery (Layer 2 Discovery) set up to improve the scalability of the network, such as LLDP protocol (Link Layer Discovery Protocol, Link Layer Discovery Protocol) or CDP protocol (Cisco Discovery Protocol, Cisco Discovery Protocol), etc. . Link discovery enables nodes in the network to send messages to other nodes, so that other nodes know their own existence. Taking the LLDP protocol as an example, a node can encapsulate and send its own processing capability, management address, device identifier, interface identifier, etc. to other directly connected nodes.

Usually, a network topology needs to be generated at the control end for easy management and application. However, since the existing vSwitch shields the MAC address of the server, the control end of the virtual machine cannot obtain a complete network topology.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the problem that the control terminal of the virtual machine cannot obtain a complete network topology, an embodiment of the present invention proposes a network topology generation method, system, and coordinator. The technical solution is as follows:

The embodiment of the present invention proposes a network topology generation method, including:

Obtaining port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, where the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer message of the switch;

Obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch;

A network topology is generated according to the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch.

The embodiment of the present invention also proposes a coordinator, including:

A receiving module, configured to acquire port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, where the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer packets of the switch;

An obtaining module, configured to obtain port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch;

A network topology generating module, configured to generate a network topology through the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch.

The embodiment of the present invention also proposes a network topology generation system, including: a virtualized server network manager, a coordinator, and a server;

The network manager of the virtualization server is used to make the server generate the virtual machine;

The server is used to generate a virtual machine, and the virtual machine monitors the message of the link layer of the switch to obtain the port parameters of the switch;

The coordinator is used to obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch from the network management of the virtualization server, obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, and generate a network topology.

The beneficial effect of the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention is: the embodiment of the present invention can receive the message of the link layer of the monitoring switch through the virtual machine, and obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch to generate the network topology. In the embodiment of the present invention, without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch, the port parameters of the switch and the virtual switch can be obtained to generate a network topology. This facilitates administration and facilitates data transfer for various applications. Listening to link-layer packets does not require virtual machines to perform complex calculations and storage.

Description of drawings

In order to illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings listed below are only some embodiments of the present invention. As far as the skilled person is concerned, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings on the premise of not paying creative work.

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of the second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is the structural representation of the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a network structure implementing an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the object, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the implementation manner of the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Example 1

The first embodiment of the present invention proposes a network topology generation method, the process of which is shown in Figure 1, including:

Step 101. Obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer packets of the switch;

Step 102, obtaining port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch;

Step 103, generating a network topology according to the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch.

Wherein, the switch can be any switch in the prior art, such as a top-of-rack switch (Tor). The message of this link layer can be LLDP agreement message, also can be other agreement, for example CDP agreement (Cisco Discovery Protocol, Cisco Discovery Protocol), (Extreme Discovery Protocol, extreme discovery protocol), NDP agreement (Nortel Discovery Protocol, Nortel Discovery Protocol), etc.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the virtual machine can receive the message of monitoring the link layer of the switch, and obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch, so as to generate the network topology. In the embodiment of the present invention, without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch, the port parameters of the switch and the virtual switch can be obtained to generate a network topology. This facilitates administration and facilitates data transfer for various applications. Listening to link-layer packets does not require virtual machines to perform complex calculations and storage.

Example 2

The second embodiment of the present invention proposes a method for generating a network topology, which is improved on the basis of the first embodiment. In the embodiment of the present invention, the coordinator can obtain the switch port parameters from the virtual machine, and obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch from the vCenter, so as to generate the network topology. The process is shown in Figure 2, including:

Step 201, the Orchestrator obtains the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, and the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer packets of the switch.

If the message of the link layer is an LLDP protocol message, a virtual machine can be generated by vCenter, and the virtual machine is made to run the LLDP Daemon program (link layer discovery protocol daemon program). Among them, the LLDP Daemon can monitor the LLDP packets of the link layer. That is, the step 201 may specifically include:

vCenter makes the server generate a virtual machine, and makes the virtual machine run the LLDP Daemon program;

The virtual machine monitors the LLDP protocol message in the network to obtain the LLDP protocol message of the switch;

The virtual machine parses the LLDP protocol message to obtain the port parameters of the switch in the LLDP protocol message, and sends the parameter to the coordinator.

The existing LLDP protocol message can encapsulate information such as the main capabilities, management address, device identifier, and interface identifier of the local device in an LLDPDU (Link Layer Discovery Protocol Data Unit, Link Layer Discovery Protocol Data Unit) for publication. Therefore, the virtual machine in the embodiment of the present invention can learn the port parameters of the switch by parsing the LLDP protocol message.

Step 202, the Orchestrator acquires port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch.

Wherein, step 202 may specifically include:

The Orchestrator sends a request to the vCenter to request to obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch;

vCenter sends the port parameters of vSwitch to Orchestrator.

Usually, the port parameters of the virtual switch are stored in the vCenter, so the Orchestrator can obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch by sending a request to the vCenter.

In an embodiment of the present invention, only the port parameters of the uplink port of the vSwitch can be obtained. The uplink port refers to the port through which the vSwitch is connected to the switch.

Step 203, the Orchestrator generates a network topology according to the port parameters of the vSwitch and the port parameters of the switch.

Wherein, after obtaining the port parameters of the nodes in the network, the network topology can be generated in various ways in the prior art, for example, a common MIB (Management Information Base, management information base) can be used. In the existing MIB network topology, data objects are in a tree-like hierarchical structure. The branches of the structure tree represent logical groupings of data objects; and the nodes in the branches represent data objects. This allows the individual branches and nodes to be represented graphically through the MIB browser. Of course, this is just an example. In the prior art, there are many ways to generate the network topology according to the port parameters of the nodes in the network, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the LLDP message can be monitored through the LLDP Daemon of the virtual machine, without developing a new application program to save development costs. At the same time, the port parameters of the vSwitch can be obtained through the vCenter, so as to reduce the system overhead required for generating the network topology.

Example 3

The third embodiment of the present invention proposes a coordinator whose structure is shown in Figure 3, including:

The receiving module 301 is configured to obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer message of the switch;

An acquisition module 302, configured to acquire port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch;

A network topology generating module 303, configured to generate a network topology based on the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the virtual machine can receive the message of monitoring the link layer of the switch, and obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch, so as to generate the network topology. In the embodiment of the present invention, without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch, the port parameters of the switch and the virtual switch can be obtained to generate a network topology. This allows for easier management and facilitates data transfer for various applications. Listening to link-layer packets does not require virtual machines to perform complex calculations and storage.

Example 4

The fourth embodiment of the present invention proposes a coordinator, which is improved on the basis of the third embodiment. Coordinators include:

The receiving module 301 is configured to obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, and the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer packets of the switch.

Wherein, the receiving module 301 may be specifically configured to receive the port parameters of the switch acquired by the virtual machine through the link layer discovery protocol daemon (LLDP Daemon) monitoring the link layer message of the switch.

Wherein, the virtual machine can be generated through vCenter, and the virtual machine runs the LLDP Daemon program to monitor the LLDP protocol message in the network, so as to obtain the LLDP protocol message of the switch. The virtual machine can also parse the LLDP protocol message to obtain the port parameters of the switch in the LLDP protocol message.

The obtaining module 302 is configured to obtain port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch.

Wherein, the obtaining module 302 may be specifically configured to obtain the port parameters of the uplink port of the virtual switch from the network management of the virtualization server.

A network topology generating module 303, configured to generate a network topology based on the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the existing LLDP Daemon can be used to monitor LLDP messages, without developing new application programs to save development costs. At the same time, the port parameters of the vSwitch can be obtained through the vCenter, so as to reduce the system overhead required for generating the network topology.

It should be noted that: the above-mentioned third and fourth embodiments are only illustrated with the division of the above-mentioned functional modules. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function distribution can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The methods proposed in the above-mentioned third and fourth embodiments and the first and second embodiments belong to the same idea; therefore, the same parts will not be described again.

Example 5

The fifth embodiment of the present invention proposes a virtual machine, the structure of which is shown in Figure 4, including:

The monitoring module 401 is used to monitor the message of the link layer of the switch to obtain the port parameters of the switch;

A sending module 402, configured to send the port parameters to a coordinator, so that the coordinator generates a network topology.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the virtual machine can receive the message of monitoring the link layer of the switch, and obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch, so as to generate the network topology. In the embodiment of the present invention, without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch, the port parameters of the switch and the virtual switch can be obtained to generate a network topology. This allows for easier management and facilitates data transfer for various applications. Listening to link-layer packets does not require virtual machines to perform complex calculations and storage.

Example 6

The sixth embodiment of the present invention proposes a virtual machine, which is improved on the basis of the fifth embodiment, and its structure is shown in Figure 5, including:

The monitoring module 401 is configured to monitor the link layer message of the switch, so as to obtain the port parameters of the switch.

A sending module 402, configured to send the port parameters to a coordinator, so that the coordinator generates a network topology.

Wherein, the packet of the link layer is an LLDP protocol packet. Then the monitoring module 401 may specifically include:

The daemon unit 4011 is used to monitor the link layer discovery protocol message of the switch through the LLDP Daemon;

The parsing unit 4012 is configured to parse the link layer discovery protocol message to obtain port parameters of the switch.

The virtual machine in the embodiment of the present invention can be set in a server, or the virtual machine can be set in an external shared storage device, and the external shared storage device is connected to the server through a network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the existing LLDP Daemon can be used to monitor LLDP messages, without developing new application programs to save development costs.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned fifth and sixth embodiments are only illustrated with the division of the above-mentioned functional modules. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function distribution can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The above-mentioned fifth and sixth embodiments and the methods proposed in the first and second embodiments belong to the same idea; therefore, the same parts will not be repeated here.

Example 7

The seventh embodiment of the present invention proposes a network topology generation system, the structure of which can be shown in FIG. 6 , including: a virtualized server network manager 501 , a coordinator 502 and a server 505 .

When implementing the embodiment of the present invention, it may be implemented by the device shown in FIG. 7 . As shown in FIG. 7 , it includes a vCenter 501 , an Orchestrator 502 , a server 505 running a virtual machine 503 and a virtual switch 504 , and a switch 506 . The server 505 running the virtual machine 503 and the virtual switch 504 is connected to the switch 506, the vCenter 501 is connected to the server 505, and the Orchestrator 502 is connected to the switch 506 and the vCenter 501 respectively.

The virtualization server network manager 501 is configured to make the server 505 generate the virtual machine 503;

The server 505 is used to generate a virtual machine 503, and the virtual machine 503 monitors the message of the link layer of the switch to obtain the port parameters of the switch;

The coordinator 502 is configured to obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch 504 from the virtualization server network manager 501 and obtain the port parameters of the switch 506 from the virtual machine 503 to generate a network topology.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the virtual machine can receive the message of monitoring the link layer of the switch, and obtain the port parameters of the vSwitch, so as to generate the network topology. In the embodiment of the present invention, without making improvements to the vSwitch and the switch, the port parameters of the switch and the virtual switch can be acquired to generate a network topology. This allows for easier management and facilitates data transfer for various applications. Listening to link-layer messages does not require a virtual machine to perform complex calculations and storage, and it is easy to add a virtual machine to the existing virtual machine system, so the cost is low.

Example 8

The sixth embodiment of the present invention proposes a network topology generation system, which is improved on the basis of the seventh embodiment, and includes: a virtualized server network manager 501 , a coordinator 502 and a server 505 .

The virtualization server network manager 501 is configured to make the server 505 generate the virtual machine 503;

The server 505 is used to generate a virtual machine 503, and the virtual machine 503 monitors the message of the link layer of the switch to obtain the port parameters of the switch;

The coordinator 502 is configured to obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch from the network management of the virtualization server, obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine 503, and generate a network topology.

Wherein, the link layer message may be a link layer discovery protocol message. Then the virtual machine 503 can specifically be used to run the link layer discovery protocol daemon program to monitor the link layer discovery protocol message of the switch; and parse the link layer discovery protocol message to obtain the port parameters of the switch.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the existing LLDP Daemon can be used to monitor LLDP messages, without developing new application programs to save development costs.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned seventh and eighth embodiments are only illustrated with the division of the above-mentioned functional modules. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function distribution can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The above-mentioned seventh and eighth embodiments and the methods proposed in the first and second embodiments belong to the same idea; therefore, the same parts will not be repeated here.

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

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included in the protection of the present invention. within range.

Claims (5)

1. A network topology generation method, characterized in that, comprising: Obtaining port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, where the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer message of the switch; Obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch; generating a network topology according to the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch; Wherein, the link layer message is a link layer discovery protocol message, and the port parameter of the switch is obtained from the virtual machine, and the port parameter is obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer message of the switch, Specifically include: Obtain port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine; The port parameter is the port parameter of the switch obtained by parsing the virtual machine through the link layer discovery protocol daemon and after monitoring the link layer discovery protocol message sent by the switch. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said obtaining the port parameters of the virtual switch comprises: Obtain the port parameters of the uplink port of the virtual switch from the network management system of the virtualization server. 3. A coordinator, characterized in that it comprises: A receiving module, configured to acquire port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine, where the port parameters are obtained by the virtual machine by monitoring the link layer packets of the switch; An obtaining module, configured to obtain port parameters of the virtual switch connected to the switch; A network topology generation module, configured to generate a network topology through the port parameters of the switch and the port parameters of the virtual switch; Wherein, the receiving module is specifically configured to: receive the port parameters of the switch acquired by the virtual machine through the link layer discovery protocol daemon monitoring the link layer message of the switch. 4 . The coordinator according to claim 3 , wherein the acquiring module is specifically configured to: acquire the port parameters of the uplink port of the virtual switch from the network management of the virtualization server. 5. A network topology generating system, characterized in that, comprising: a virtualized server network manager, a coordinator and a server; The network manager of the virtualization server is used to make the server generate the virtual machine; The server is used to generate a virtual machine, and the virtual machine monitors the message of the link layer of the switch to obtain the port parameters of the switch; The coordinator is used to obtain the port parameters of the virtual switch from the network management of the virtualization server, and obtain the port parameters of the switch from the virtual machine to generate a network topology; Wherein, the message of the link layer is a link layer discovery protocol message; the virtual machine is specifically used to run the link layer discovery protocol daemon to monitor the link layer discovery protocol message of the switch and resolve the link layer discovery protocol message. Route layer discovery protocol packets to obtain the port parameters of the switch.

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