CN118713992A - Zero configuration deployment method, control device and network device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application discloses a zero-configuration deployment method, a control device, and a network device, which are applied to a zero-configuration deployment scenario. The first network device obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device, and sends the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device to the control device, so that the control device sends the configuration information for executing the deployment to the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device. Since the first network device can register and obtain the configuration information by providing the site identifier of the first site and the type information of the first network device to the control device, that is, the configuration information in the control device is not bound to the device identifier of the first network device, and there is no need to enter the device identifier of the first network device in advance in the control device, which is conducive to improving the deployment efficiency of the network device.

Description

Zero configuration deployment method, control device and network device

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a zero-configuration deployment method, a control device, and a network device.

Background Art

Zero touch provisioning (ZTP) (also known as zero touch deployment) refers to the technology that allows new or empty network devices to automatically obtain configuration information and perform configuration deployment (also known as deployment deployment) when they are powered on.

In the traditional zero-configuration deployment solution, the administrator can import the device identification of each network device to be sent to a certain site into the control device, create configuration information based on the device identification of each network device, and then store the configuration information of each network device in correspondence with the device identification of the network device in the control device. When a network device is powered on at the site, the control device can receive the device identification of the network device, and then the control device can search for the configuration information of the network device based on the device identification of the network device, and then send the configuration information of the network device to the network device, so that the network device performs the deployment based on the configuration information.

However, since the configuration information in the control device is bound to the device ID of the network device, before the network device is sent to the site, the administrator needs to import the device ID of each network device into the control device in advance. Moreover, after the network device arrives at the site, the start-up personnel need to find the corresponding network device based on the device ID for installation, which results in low efficiency in network device deployment.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a zero-configuration deployment method, a control device, and a network device, which are used to improve the deployment efficiency of network devices.

In the first aspect, the present application provides a zero-configuration deployment method, which can be applied to a zero-configuration layout scenario, and can be executed by a network device that requires zero-configuration layout (for example, the first network device described later), or by a component of a network device that requires zero-configuration layout (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking the network device that requires zero-configuration layout as the first network device as an example, the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, and obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device; the first network device sends a first message to the control device based on the address information of the control device, the first message includes the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, and the device type information of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device; after the first network device receives the configuration information from the control device, the first network device performs the start-up deployment based on the configuration information.

The second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and deployed in the control device, and the first network device is a network device to be deployed and accessed to the first site through the second network device. Optionally, the first network device can be connected to the second network device through a physical connection, or the first network device can also be connected to the second network device through a physical connection and at least one network device, so as to access the first site through the second network device.

In a possible example, the first network device and the second network device are of the same device type. For example, the first network device and the second network device are both routing devices (eg, routers). For another example, the first network device and the second network device are both firewall devices.

In another possible example, the first network device and the second network device are of different device types. For example, the first network device is a switching device (e.g., a switch) or an access device (e.g., a wireless access point), and the second network device is a routing device (e.g., a router) or a firewall device.

In the present application, after the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, it can obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device. Then, the first network device can send the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device to the control device based on the address information of the control device, so that the control device can send the configuration information for executing the initial deployment to the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device. Since the first network device can register and obtain the configuration information by providing the site identifier of the first site and the type information of the first network device to the control device, that is, the configuration information in the control device may not be bound to the device identifier of the first network device, therefore, the control device does not need to enter the device identifier of the first network device in advance, nor does the initialization personnel need to search for the first network device based on the device identifier of the first network device when the first network device is online, thus, it is beneficial to improve the deployment efficiency of network devices.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information is related to the device type of the first network device. It can also be understood that the configuration information is determined based on the device type information of the first network device. For example, after obtaining the device type information of the first network device, the control device can determine the configuration information to be sent to the first network device based on the device type information of the first network device from the configuration information of multiple network devices corresponding to the first site where the first network device is located.

In this implementation, the configuration information in the control device is related to the device type of the first network device, but is not bound to the device identifier of the first network device. Therefore, the administrator only needs to input the configuration information set according to the device type in the control device, and does not need to enter the device identifier of the first network device in advance in the control device. In addition, the start-up personnel only need to search for a network device of the device type as the first network device based on the device type, and do not need to search for the first network device based on the device identifier of the first network device. Therefore, it is beneficial to improve the deployment efficiency of network devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identifies the first network device.

In this embodiment, if the device identifier of the first network device can not only uniquely identify the first network device, but also reflect the device type of the first network device, then the device type information of the first network device can be the device identifier of the first network device. For example, the device identifier of the first network device is composed of multiple characters, and one or more characters of the multiple characters can reflect the device type of the first network device. For example, the device identifier of the first network device is the equipment serial number (equipment serial number, ESN) of the first network device, and the ESN can reflect the device type of the first network device. In this case, the device type information of the first network device can be the ESN of the first network device. In one example, the aforementioned first message includes the site identifier of the first site and the device identifier of the first network device (for example, the ESN of the first network device), and the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device. Since the device identifier of the first network device carried by the first message can not only uniquely identify the first network device, but also reflect the device type of the first network device, it is beneficial to save the payload of the first message and save the registration overhead of the first network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

In this implementation manner, the device type information of the first network device does not include the device identification of the first network device, and the device identification of the first network device is only used to uniquely identify the first network device. Exemplarily, the device identification of the first network device is the media access control address (MAC) address of the first network device, and the MAC address of the first network device is only used to uniquely identify the first network device, and cannot reflect the device type of the first network device.

Optionally, the device type information of the first network device is a device name of the first network device, and the device name of the first network device can reflect the device type of the first network device. The device names of network devices of the same device type can be the same. For example, the device name of the first network device is composed of multiple characters, and one or more characters of the multiple characters can reflect the device type of the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the first message further includes adjacency information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection position of the first network device in the first site. It can also be understood that the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection relationship between the first network device and other network devices in the first site.

Exemplarily, the adjacency information of the first network device includes physical address information and physical interface information of the network device connected to the first network device, wherein the physical address information may be a MAC address; and the physical interface information may be a number of a physical interface of the device.

Optionally, the configuration information is related to the device type of the first network device and the connection position of the first network device in the first site. It can also be understood that the configuration information is determined based on the device type information of the first network device and the adjacency information of the first network device. Optionally, the first site includes multiple network devices, and the adjacency information of different network devices is different, that is, the connection positions of different network devices in the first site are different. In other words, the adjacency information of each network device can uniquely identify a network device in the first site.

In this embodiment, the configuration information in the control device is related to the device type of the first network device and the connection position of the first network device in the first site, but is not bound to the device identification of the first network device. Therefore, the administrator only needs to input the configuration information set according to the device type in the control device, and does not need to enter the device identification of the first network device in advance in the control device. In addition, the start-up personnel only need to find a network device of the device type as the first network device based on the device type, and do not need to find the first network device based on the device identification of the first network device. Therefore, it is beneficial to improve the deployment efficiency of the network device. In addition, the adjacency information of different network devices in the first site is different. Therefore, the adjacency information of each network device can uniquely identify a network device in the first site. It is beneficial for the administrator to set differentiated configurations for each network device in the first site based on the adjacency information.

In a possible implementation, after the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device obtains adjacency information based on a first protocol, and the first protocol includes a link layer discovery protocol (LLDP) or a neighbor discovery protocol (NDP).

In this embodiment, the first network device can obtain adjacency information based on the first protocol after accessing the first site, without the need for instructions or control from other devices to trigger the acquisition of adjacency information. This is beneficial for the first network device to quickly obtain adjacency information after going online, thereby improving the efficiency of the first network device in obtaining adjacency information.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, and the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a wide area network (WAN) interface. The priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface. The first routing configuration is used to enable the first network device to communicate with the control device through the WAN interface of the first network device after initial deployment, and then the first network device exchanges management signaling of the first network device with the control device through the WAN interface of the first network device. It is beneficial for the first network device to switch management traffic (i.e., multiple management signalings exchanged between the control device and the network device) from the second network device to the first network device after initial deployment, and the second network device no longer consumes traffic of the mobile interface, which can save traffic of the mobile interface of the second network device.

In the second aspect, the present application provides a zero-configuration deployment method, which can be applied to a zero-configuration layout scenario, and the zero-configuration deployment method can be executed by a control device, or can be executed by a component of the control device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking a control device as an example, the control device receives a first message from a first network device, and the first message includes a site identifier of a first site accessed by the first network device through a second network device and device type information of the first network device; then, the control device determines configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, and the control device sends the configuration information to the first network device, and the configuration information is used by the first network device to perform the initial deployment.

The second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and deployed in the control device, and the first network device is a network device to be deployed and accessed to the first site through the second network device. Optionally, the first network device can be connected to the second network device through a physical connection, or the first network device can also be connected to the second network device through a physical connection and at least one network device, so as to access the first site through the second network device.

In a possible example, the first network device and the second network device are of the same device type. For example, the first network device and the second network device are both routing devices (eg, routers). For another example, the first network device and the second network device are both firewall devices.

In another possible example, the first network device and the second network device are of different device types. For example, the first network device is a switching device (e.g., a switch) or an access device (e.g., a wireless access point), and the second network device is a routing device (e.g., a router) or a firewall device.

In the present application, the control device can receive the site identifier of the first site where the first network device is located and the device type information of the first network device from the first network device, and determine the configuration information for the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, and then send the configuration information to the first network device so that the first network device performs the deployment based on the configuration information. Since the control device determines the configuration information to be sent to the first network device based on the site identifier and the device type information, the control device does not need to bind the configuration information of the network device with the device identifier of the network device, which can avoid the administrator from importing the device identifier to the control device and the deployment personnel from searching for the network device according to the device identifier, thereby improving the deployment efficiency of the network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identifies the first network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the first message further includes adjacency information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate a connection position of the first network device in the first site. The control device determines the configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, including: the control device determines the configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site, the device type information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device.

In this implementation, since the first network device can provide the control device with the site identifier and device type information of the first site and can also provide the adjacency information indicating the connection position of the first network device in the first site, the control device can distinguish different network devices of the same device type through the adjacency information of each network device, and then can issue the configuration information of the first network device to the first network device. Therefore, it is possible to achieve differentiated configuration of different network devices of the same device type without binding the device identifier, which is conducive to further improving the efficiency of network device deployment.

In one possible implementation, the control device includes configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices, the configuration information of the multiple preconfigured network devices includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, and among the configuration information of the multiple network devices in the first site, the configuration information of at least two network devices with the same device type is different, that is, the configuration information of different network devices with the same device type in the first site is not completely the same.

In this implementation, it is proposed that the control device can store configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, and among the configuration information of the multiple network devices in the first site, there are at least two network devices with the same device type whose configuration information is different, that is, the configuration information of different network devices with the same device type in the first site is not completely the same. Therefore, it is conducive to realizing differentiated configuration for network devices of the same device type.

In a possible implementation, the control device includes a first correspondence relationship corresponding to the first site, and the first correspondence relationship is used to indicate the correspondence between adjacency information of multiple network devices in the first site and configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site. The adjacency information of each network device is used to indicate the connection position of the network device in the first site, and different network devices have different connection positions in the first site.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the control device stores the configuration information of each network device in the first site in correspondence with the adjacency information of each network device. Since different network devices have different connection positions in the first site, the control device can distinguish the configuration information of different network devices based on the adjacency information, which is beneficial for the control device to determine the configuration information of the network device based on the adjacency information of the network device.

In a possible implementation, the control device determines the configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site, the device type information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device, including: the control device determines the first correspondence corresponding to the first site based on the site identifier of the first site; the control device determines that the configuration information corresponding to the adjacency information is the configuration information of the first network device based on the adjacency information of the first network device and the first correspondence.

In this embodiment, since the control device stores a first corresponding relationship, that is, the corresponding relationship between the configuration information of each network device in the first site and the adjacency information of each network device, when the control device obtains the adjacency information of the first network device, the control device can determine the configuration information of the first network device based on the adjacency information, which is beneficial for the control device to quickly and accurately find the configuration information pre-configured by the administrator for the first network device, and further helps the control device to quickly and accurately allocate configuration information to the first network device, thereby improving the efficiency of registering the first network device.

In one possible implementation, the control device includes a preconfigured site topology, the preconfigured site topology includes a first site topology indicated by a site identifier of a first site, configuration information of multiple network devices in the preconfigured site topology includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site topology, and among the multiple network devices included in the first site topology, there are at least two network devices with the same device type whose configuration information is different.

Optionally, the control device can generate a site topology of the first site based on the adjacency information received from multiple network devices in the first site, and display the adjacency relationship of each network device in the first site to the administrator through the site topology of the first site, which is beneficial for the administrator to manage and maintain each network device in the first site after the network devices in the first site are online.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the control device stores the configuration information of the first network device and the device identification of the first network device in correspondence with each other.

In this implementation, if the first message includes the device identification of the first network device, the control device stores the identification information of the first network device in the first message in correspondence with the configuration information of the first network device. This is beneficial for the control device to quickly and accurately find the first network device based on the device identification of the first network device when maintaining and managing the first network device in the later stage, which is beneficial for improving the efficiency of the control device in managing the first network device.

In a possible implementation, before the control device receives the first message from the first network device, the method also includes: the control device receives a device identifier of the second network device from the second network device; the control device sends configuration information of the second network device to the second network device, and the configuration information of the second network device includes address information of the control device and a site identifier of the first site.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the configuration information sent by the control device to the second network device includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site, so that the first network device can obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device after accessing the first site through the second network device. Since the first network device does not need to establish a connection with other servers or data centers to obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site, it is beneficial for the first network device to quickly obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site, thereby improving the efficiency of the first network device in obtaining the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the second network device includes a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) configuration, and the DHCP configuration is used to indicate that the second network device is a DHCP server, and other network devices connected to the second network device are DHCP clients. The DHCP configuration includes a DHCP Option configuration, and the DHCP Option configuration includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site. The DHCP Option configuration is used to provide the first network device with the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site in the DHCP process.

In this embodiment, the control device configures the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site to the second network device through DHCP configuration, and configures the second network device as a DHCP server, so that the first network device connected to the second network device acts as a DHCP client, and then the first network device can obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site through the DHCP process. Therefore, it is beneficial for the first network device to quickly obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site, and improves the efficiency of the first network device in obtaining the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site.

In a possible implementation, the second network device includes a mobile interface. Exemplarily, the mobile interface is a cellular interface. For example, the cellular interface may be a 3G cellular interface or a long term evolution (LTE) cellular interface. With the development of communication technology, the mobile interface may also be a mobile interface based on 5G technology or a mobile interface based on 6G technology, etc., which is not limited here.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the second network device also includes a second routing configuration, and the second routing configuration is used to configure the second network device to access the second route of the control device through the mobile interface, so that the second network device communicates with the control device through the mobile interface of the second network device after executing the configuration layout, and then the second network device exchanges the management signaling of the second network device with the control device through the mobile interface of the second network device. In other words, the second network device may not use the WAN interface during the registration and deployment process (or the second network device does not have a WAN interface), which is conducive to reducing the dependence of the registration and deployment process of the second network device on the WAN interface.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, which is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a WAN interface. The priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface.

In this embodiment, although the control device has sent the second routing configuration to the second network device (i.e., configuring the second network device to access the second route of the control device through the mobile interface), the control device sends the first routing configuration to the first network device that comes online later (i.e., configuring the first network device to access the first route of the control device through the WAN interface, and the priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route), and the first network device and the second network device can perform routing learning, so the second network device switches to interacting with the control device through the WAN port of the first network device. For example, the management signaling sent by the second network device to the control device is forwarded to the control device via the WAN interface of the first network device; the management signaling sent by the control device to the second network device is forwarded to the second network device via the WAN interface of the first network device. Since both the first network device and the second network device no longer forward management signaling through the mobile interface, the second network device no longer consumes traffic.

It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods in the first aspect above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the first aspect for details, and no further details will be given here.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a network device, which is a network device to be deployed. The network device can be a routing device (e.g., a router), a switching device (e.g., a switch), an access device (e.g., an access point), or a firewall device. The network device includes an interface module and a processing module.

Among them, the interface module is used to access the first site through the second network device, and obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device, the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started in the control device; the interface module is also used to send a first message to the control device based on the address information of the control device, the first message includes the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, the device type information of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device; the interface module is also used to receive configuration information from the control device; the processing module is used to perform startup deployment based on the configuration information.

In a possible implementation manner, the configuration information is related to a device type of the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or, the first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the first message also includes adjacency information of the first network device, the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate a connection position of the first network device in the first site, and the configuration information is related to a device type of the first network device and a connection position of the first network device in the first site.

In a possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to obtain adjacency information based on a first protocol, where the first protocol includes a Link Layer Discovery Protocol LLDP or a Neighbor Discovery Protocol NDP.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, and the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a wide area network (WAN) interface. The priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface.

It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods in the first aspect above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the first aspect for details, and no further details will be given here.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a control device, which is a device, apparatus or server for distributing configuration information to network devices to be deployed. The control device includes a transceiver module and a processing module.

Among them, the transceiver module is used to receive a first message from the first network device, the first message includes the site identifier of the first site accessed by the first network device through the second network device and the device type information of the first network device, and the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started in the control device; the processing module is used to determine the configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device; the transceiver module is also used to send the configuration information to the first network device, and the configuration information is used for the first network device to perform the start-up deployment.

In a possible implementation, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or, the first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes adjacency information of the first network device, where the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate a connection position of the first network device in the first site.

The processing module is specifically configured to determine configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site, device type information of the first network device, and adjacency information of the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the control device includes a storage module. The storage module is used to store configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices, the configuration information of the multiple preconfigured network devices includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, and the configuration information of at least two network devices with the same device type in the multiple network devices in the first site has different configuration information.

In a possible implementation, the storage module is also used to store a first correspondence relationship corresponding to the first site, where the first correspondence relationship is used to indicate the correspondence between adjacency information of multiple network devices in the first site and configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, and the adjacency information of each network device is used to indicate the connection position of the network device in the first site, and different network devices have different connection positions in the first site.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is specifically configured to:

Determine a first corresponding relationship corresponding to the first site based on the site identifier of the first site;

Based on the adjacency information of the first network device and the first corresponding relationship, it is determined that the configuration information corresponding to the adjacency information is the configuration information of the first network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the storage module is further configured to store the configuration information of the first network device and the device identification of the first network device in correspondence with each other.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used for:

receiving a device identification of the second network device from the second network device;

The configuration information of the second network device is sent to the second network device, where the configuration information of the second network device includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site.

In a possible implementation manner, the configuration information of the second network device further includes a second routing configuration, where the second routing configuration is used to configure a second route for the second network device to access the control device through the mobile interface.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, which is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a WAN interface. The priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface.

In a possible implementation manner, the first network device and the second network device are of the same device type; the first network device and the second network device are both routing devices; or the first network device and the second network device are both firewall devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the first network device and the second network device are of different device types; the first network device is a switching device or an access device, and the second network device is a routing device or a firewall device.

It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods of the first aspect or some implementation methods of the second aspect mentioned above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the first aspect or the second aspect for details, and no further details will be given here.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a device, which may be an integrated circuit chip. The integrated circuit chip includes a processor. The processor may call a program or instruction to enable the device to execute a method as described in any one of the embodiments of the aforementioned various aspects.

Optionally, the device further includes a memory, the processor is coupled to the memory, and the memory is used to store the aforementioned program or instruction, so that the processor calls the program or instruction from the aforementioned memory.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the embodiments in the foregoing aspects.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the aforementioned aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1A is a system architecture diagram applicable to the zero-configuration deployment method provided in this application;

FIG1B is an example diagram of a system architecture applicable to the zero-configuration deployment method provided in this application;

FIG. 2A is an example diagram of a zero-configuration deployment solution in conventional technology;

FIG. 2B is another example diagram of a zero-configuration deployment solution in conventional technology;

FIG2C is another example diagram of a zero-configuration deployment solution in conventional technology;

FIG3 is a flow chart of the zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG4 is an exemplary diagram of an embodiment of a zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG5 is another flow chart of the zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG6 is an exemplary diagram of another embodiment of the zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG7 is another flow chart of the zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG8 is an exemplary diagram of another embodiment of the zero-configuration deployment method provided by the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a control device provided by the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a network device provided in the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

The zero configuration deployment method provided in this application can be applied to a scenario where multiple network devices need to perform zero configuration deployment. The following is a brief introduction to the network system in this scenario in conjunction with Figure 1A:

As shown in FIG1A , the network system includes a control device and a plurality of network devices to be configured. Among them, the control device stores configuration information configured by the administrator for each network device, and the control device is used to provide configuration information to the network device to be configured, and the network device to be configured is used to perform deployment based on the configuration information. Exemplarily, the aforementioned control device may be a controller, a server or management platform with control and management functions, etc.; the aforementioned network device may be a routing device (e.g., a router), a switching device (e.g., a switch), an access device (e.g., a wireless access point), a firewall and other devices, which are not limited in this application. The aforementioned multiple network systems may include at least one network device among routing devices, switching devices, access devices and firewalls, and each network device may have one or more, which is not limited here. Exemplarily, the aforementioned network system may be a software-defined wide area network (Software-defined network in a wide area network, SD-WAN), or a branch network of a software-defined branch (Software-defined branch, SD-branch), which is not limited in this application.

Taking a common branch network as an example, as shown in FIG1B, the network system includes a control device, a client, and multiple network devices constituting a branch site, and the branch site includes at least one routing device (for example, router 1 and router 2), at least one switching device (for example, switch 1 and switch 2 connected to router 1) and at least one access device (for example, access point 1 and access point 2 connected to switch 1, access point 3 and access point 4 connected to switch 2, etc.). It should be noted that the router 1 in the example shown in FIG1B can be connected to the router 2, and the router 2 can also be connected to at least one switch (not shown in the figure), and the switch connected to the router 2 can also be connected to at least one access node (not shown in the figure), which is not limited here. In practical applications, multiple network devices can be selected to form a branch site according to networking requirements, and this application is not limited. Generally, the network devices close to the network in the system first perform the deployment, and the network devices far away from the network access the network based on the deployed network devices and then perform the deployment. Taking FIG1B as an example, the router 1 close to the network performs the deployment before the switch 1 far away from the network, and the switch 1 performs the deployment after the router 1 performs the deployment.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are two zero-configuration deployment solutions in traditional technology. The network devices close to the network in the branch site can perform the deployment based on the method shown in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B. As shown in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B, the administrator can import the device identification of each network device to be sent to a certain site (including the network device 1 in the example shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B and the network device 2 in the example shown in FIG. 2C) into the control device through the client, and create configuration information for the device identification of each network device, and then store the configuration information of each network device in correspondence with the device identification of the network device to the control device. Take the configuration of network device 1 as an example. After the start-up personnel arrive at the site, they search for network device 1 based on device identification 1. After the network device 1 is powered on at the site, the network device 1 obtains the IP address assigned by the DHCP server to the network device 1 from the dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server, and the network device 1 will also obtain the address information of the control device (for example, the IP address and port number of the control device). In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the address information of the control device is stored in the registration query center. Network device 1 obtains the address information of the registration query center through the DNS server based on the domain name of the registration query center, and then sends a query application to the registration query center based on the address information of the registration query center to obtain the address information of the control device. In the example shown in Figure 2B, the address information of the control device is stored in the DHCP server. In the process of network device 1 obtaining the IP address of network device 1 from the DHCP server, the address information of the control device can also be obtained from the DHCP server. After network device 1 obtains the address information of the control device, the network device 1 sends the device identification of network device 1 (i.e., device identification 1) to the control device. The control device searches for the configuration information of network device 1 based on the received device identification 1, and sends the configuration information of network device 1 to network device 1. Network device 1 performs the start-up deployment based on the received configuration information.

Further, as shown in FIG2C , after the network device 1 close to the network performs the deployment, the network device 2 far away from the network can access the network based on the deployed network device 1 and then perform the deployment. Specifically, after the deployment personnel arrive at the site, they search for the network device 2 based on the device identification 2. After the network device 2 is powered on at the site, the network device 2 obtains the IP address assigned by the DHCP server to the network device 2 from the DHCP server, and the network device 2 will also obtain the address information of the control device (for example, the IP address and port number of the control device) from the network device 1. Then, the network device 2 sends the device identification of the network device 2 (i.e., the device identification 2) to the control device. The control device searches for the configuration information of the network device 2 based on the received device identification 2, and sends the configuration information of the network device 2 to the network device 2. The network device 2 performs the deployment based on the received configuration information. It should be noted that the configuration information of the network device 1 can configure the network device 1 as a DHCP server, and the network device (for example, the network device 2) connected to the network device 1 is a DHCP client, so that the network device 2 executes the DHCP process to obtain the address information of the control device from the network device 1.

It can be seen that in the traditional technical solution, the configuration information in the control device is bound to the device identification of the network device. Before the network device is sent to the site, the administrator needs to import the device identification of each network device into the control device in advance. Moreover, after the network device arrives at the site, the start-up personnel need to find the corresponding network device based on the device identification for installation. Therefore, the efficiency of network device deployment is low.

In this regard, the present application provides a zero-configuration deployment method, a control device, and a network device, which can implement zero-configuration deployment of network devices without entering device identifiers in advance on the control device, thereby improving the deployment efficiency of network devices.

The main process of the zero configuration deployment method provided by the present application will be introduced below in conjunction with Figure 3. In the zero configuration deployment method, the control device and the first network device mainly perform the following steps:

Step 301: A first network device obtains address information of a control device and a site identifier of a first site.

Specifically, the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, and obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device.

The second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and deployed in the control device, and the first network device is a network device to be deployed and connected to the first site through the second network device. The second network device can adopt any deployment mode, which is not limited by this application.

In one possible example, the first network device and the second network device are of the same device type. For example, the first network device and the second network device are both routing devices (e.g., routers). For another example, the first network device and the second network device are both firewall devices. Taking the example that the first network device and the second network device are both routers, in the example shown in FIG1B , if the second network device may be a registered and deployed router 1, the first network device may be a router 2 that accesses the site through router 1; if the second network device may be a registered and deployed router 2, the first network device may be a router 1 that accesses the site through router 2.

In another possible example, the first network device and the second network device belong to different device types. For example, the first network device is a switching device (e.g., a switch) or an access device (e.g., a wireless access point), and the second network device is a routing device (e.g., a router). For another example, the first network device is a switching device (e.g., a switch), an access device (e.g., a wireless access point) or a routing device (e.g., a router), and the second network device is a firewall device. Taking the first network device as a switching device and the second network device as a routing device as an example, in the example shown in FIG1B , if the second network device can be a registered and deployed router 1, the first network device can be a switch 1 or a switch 2 that accesses the site through the router 1. Taking the first network device as an access device and the second network device as a routing device as an example, in the example shown in FIG1B , if the second network device can be a registered and deployed router 1, the first network device can be an access point 1 or an access point 2 that accesses the site through the router 1 and the switch 1, and the switch 1 is used to forward messages between the access point 1 (or the access point 2) and the router 1.

In this step, the first network device can be connected to the second network device through a physical connection, or the first network device can be connected to the second network device through a physical connection and at least one network device, so as to access the first site through the second network device. After the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the first network device can obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device.

Since the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started with the control device, the second network device has obtained the address information of the control device before registering in the control device. The address information of the control device in the second network device can be obtained from other servers or data centers. For example, in the example shown in FIG2A, the address information of the control device in the second network device is obtained from the registration query center. For another example, in the example shown in FIG2B, the address information of the control device in the second network device is obtained from a DHCP server. The present application does not limit the way in which the second network device obtains the address information of the control device. Exemplarily, the address information of the control device includes the IP address and port number of the control device.

In addition, the second network device can interact with the control device in the process of registering to the control device and information related to the registration. Therefore, the site identifier of the first site in the second network device can be the site identifier sent by the control device to the second network device during the interaction between the second network device and the control device. Exemplarily, the site identifier can be information that can uniquely identify a site, such as a site code or a site identity (Site ID). This application does not limit the specific implementation method of the site identifier.

For the specific process of the second network device acquiring the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site, please refer to the relevant description in steps 501 to 504 below, which will not be repeated here.

Step 302: The first network device sends a first message to the control device; correspondingly, the control device receives the first message from the first network device.

Since the first network device can obtain the address information of the control device from the second network device, the first network device can send information related to the registration of the first network device to the control device based on the address information of the control device. Since the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the information or message sent by the first network device to the control device can be forwarded to the control device through the second network device.

The first message includes a site identifier of the first site and device type information of the first network device. The device type information of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device. The device type refers to types such as routing devices, switching devices, access devices, and firewall devices. Exemplarily, if the first network device is a switching device, the device type information of the first network device is used to indicate that the device type of the first network device is a switching device, rather than a routing device or other device.

Optionally, the first message includes a device identifier of the first network device, and the device identifier of the first network device can uniquely identify a network device. In other words, the device identifier is unique, and the device identifiers of any two network devices are different. Exemplarily, the device identifier of the first network device can be an equipment serial number (equipment serial number, ESN) of the first network device, or a MAC address of the first network device, or other information that can uniquely identify the first network device, which is not limited here.

It should be noted that the device type information of the first network device may be implemented in a variety of ways, which are described below respectively:

In a possible implementation, if the device identifier of the first network device can not only uniquely identify the first network device, but also reflect the device type of the first network device, then the device type information of the first network device can be the device identifier of the first network device. For example, the device identifier of the first network device is composed of multiple characters, and one or more characters of the multiple characters can reflect the device type of the first network device. For example, the device identifier of the first network device is the ESN of the first network device, and the ESN can reflect the device type of the first network device. In this case, the device type information of the first network device can be the ESN of the first network device.

In an example of this implementation, the aforementioned first message includes a site identifier of the first site and a device identifier of the first network device (for example, the ESN of the first network device), and the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate a device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device.

In another possible implementation, the device type information of the first network device does not include the device identification of the first network device, and the device identification of the first network device is only used to uniquely identify the first network device. Exemplarily, the device identification of the first network device is the MAC address of the first network device, and the MAC address of the first network device is only used to uniquely identify the first network device, but cannot reflect the device type of the first network device.

Optionally, the device type information of the first network device is the device name of the first network device, and the device name of the first network device can reflect the device type of the first network device. The device names of network devices of the same device type can be the same. For example, the device name of the first network device is composed of multiple characters, and one or more of the multiple characters can reflect the device type of the first network device. For example, if the device name of the first network device is "S1720X-XXXX", "S" indicates that the device type of the first network device is a switch. For another example, if the device name of the first network device is "AR120-XXXX", "R" indicates that the device type of the first network device is a router. In actual applications, the device name of the first network device can be implemented in a variety of different ways, which are not listed here one by one.

In an example of this implementation, the first message includes a site identifier of the first site and a device name of the first network device, where the device name of the first network device is used to indicate a device type of the first network device. Optionally, the first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device (e.g., a MAC address of the first network device), where the device identifier of the first network device is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

Step 303: The control device determines configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device in the first message.

The configuration information is determined by the control device based on the device type information of the first network device, which can be understood as being related to the device type of the first network device. The configuration information of network devices with different device types in the first site is different, that is, the configuration information of network devices of different device types in the configuration information of each network device in the first site stored in the control device is different. For example, the configuration information of the routing device is different from the configuration information of the switching device, and the configuration information of the switching device is different from the configuration information of the access device, which will not be elaborated here.

Specifically, the control device determines that the first network device is connected to the first site based on the site identifier of the first site, and the control device determines the device type of the first network device based on the device type information of the first network device. Then, the control device determines the configuration information corresponding to the device type of the first network device in the first site as the configuration information to be sent to the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the control device stores configuration information of each device type of network device in the first site. Optionally, in the same site, network devices of the same device type correspond to the same configuration information, and network devices of different device types correspond to different configuration information. Optionally, the configuration information corresponding to network devices of the same device type in different sites is not necessarily the same.

For example, if the control device stores configurations of two sites, site 1 and site 2, and each site includes at least three types of network devices, namely, a router, a switch, and an access point, the configuration information stored in the control device may be as shown in the following Table 1-1:

Table 1-1

In the example shown in Table 1-1, if the site identifier of the site where the first network device is located is "ID-Site 1", and the device type information of the first network device indicates that the first network device is a switch, the control device determines that the configuration information to be sent to the first network device is "Configuration Information-S1".

It should be noted that the configuration information includes interface configuration (for example, wide area network (WAN) interface configuration and local area network (LAN) interface configuration), routing configuration (for example, static routing configuration and/or dynamic routing configuration), virtual local area network (VLAN) configuration (for example, management VLAN configuration and/or plug and play VLAN (PnP VLAN) configuration), system configuration and other configurations related to the business of the first network device, which are not listed here one by one.

It should also be noted that in some application scenarios, the aforementioned configuration information is also called a deployment file, which may be a deployment file or a version file, and may include system software, patch files, configuration files, etc. This application does not limit the name of the file or information used for deployment of network devices.

Optionally, if the first message includes the device identification of the first network device, the control device will store the device identification of the first network device. It should be noted that the device identification of the first network device can be carried in the first message as the device type information of the first network device, or it can be carried in the first message for uniquely identifying the first network device, which is not limited here. Optionally, the control device stores the configuration information to be sent to the first network device and the device identification of the first network device in correspondence. This is beneficial for the control device to quickly and accurately find the first network device based on the device identification of the first network device when it maintains and manages the first network device in the later stage, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of the control device in managing the first network device.

Optionally, the control device also stores part or all of the content in the first message (for example, device type information of the first network device, device name of the first network device, etc.) in correspondence with the configuration information of the first network device, which facilitates the control device to manage and maintain the first network device after the first network device is registered.

Step 304: The control device sends configuration information to the first network device; correspondingly, the first network device receives the configuration information from the control device.

The configuration information is used by the first network device to perform deployment.

Step 305: The first network device performs deployment based on the configuration information.

Specifically, the first network device loads various configurations in the configuration information to configure interfaces, routes, VLANs, etc., so that the first network device can exchange service information of the first network device with the control device after the configuration is completed.

For ease of understanding, the following is an introduction with reference to the specific example shown in FIG4 :

As shown in FIG4 , the administrator performs pre-configuration on the control device through the client, that is, writes the site identifiers of each planned site, the network devices of each device type contained in each site, and the configuration information corresponding to the network devices of each device type into the control device. In this process, the administrator does not need to import the device identifiers of the network devices that need to be sent to the site to the control device. After the administrator completes the pre-configuration operation, the start-up personnel search and load the network devices (for example, at least one router, at least one switch, at least one access point, etc.) that need to be registered for the start-up at a certain site (for example, site 1) from the warehouse based on the device type. After the start-up personnel arrive at site 1, the start-up personnel search for network devices based on the device type and connect the network devices to the designated location and power on. For example, if a switch needs to be connected to a certain location at site 1, the start-up personnel only need to take out a switch from the truck as the first network device and connect it to the location, without selecting a switch corresponding to a certain ESN as the first network device. For example, if a router needs to be connected to a certain location at site 1, the start-up personnel only need to take out a router from the truck as the first network device and connect it to the location, without selecting a router corresponding to a certain ESN as the first network device. After the network device is powered on, the first network device will obtain configuration information and perform deployment according to the method described in the above steps 301 to 305. There is no need for deployment personnel to perform additional configuration on the first network device.

In this embodiment, since the control device determines the configuration information to be sent to the first network device based on the site identifier and the device type information, the administrator does not need to import the device identifier of the first network device in advance, and the control device does not need to store the device identifier of each network device and the configuration information of each network device in correspondence before the network device goes online. The administrator only needs to configure the configuration information based on the device type, and the start-up personnel only need to search for devices of the same type based on the device type. Therefore, it is beneficial to improve the efficiency of zero-configuration deployment.

It should be noted that the zero configuration deployment method provided by the present application may have multiple embodiments, and an embodiment of the zero configuration deployment method provided by the present application will be introduced below in conjunction with FIG5. In the zero configuration deployment method, the control device, the first network device and the second network device mainly perform the following steps:

Step 501: The second network device obtains address information of a control device.

The second network device is the first network device to be accessed to the first site. The second network device is used as an anchor point for other network devices accessing the first site. Optionally, the second network device is a routing device (eg, a router).

Specifically, the second network device obtains the address information of the control device from other servers or data centers. Exemplarily, the address information of the control device includes the IP address and port number of the control device.

In one possible example, as shown in FIG2A , the control device can connect to and communicate with the registration query center, and the address information of the control device can be synchronized to the registration query center, that is, the address information of the control device is stored in the registration query center. In this example, the address information of the control device in the second network device is obtained from the registration query center. Specifically, the second network device obtains the address information of the registration query center (for example, the IP address and port number of the registration query center) through the DNS server based on the domain name of the registration query center, and then the second network device sends a query application to the registration query center based on the address information of the registration query center, and the registration query center sends the address information of the control device to the second network device.

In another possible example, as shown in FIG2B , the address information of the control device is configured in advance in the DHCP server by the administrator. In this example, the address information of the control device in the second network device is obtained from the DHCP server through the DHCP process. Specifically, the second network device broadcasts the DHCP request message through the management network port and the Ethernet interface in sequence (for example, the interface request sequence is: management network port->high-bandwidth Ethernet interface->low-bandwidth Ethernet interface). Then, the DHCP server sends a DHCP response message to the second network device. The Option option in the DHCP response message carries the information that the second network device needs to obtain from the DHCP server. For example, the Option option includes the IP address of the second network device (that is, the temporary IP address assigned by the DHCP server to the second network device) and the address information of the control device.

It should be noted that when the address information of the control device is stored in other servers, network elements, computers or data centers, the manner in which the second network device obtains the address information of the control device is not exactly the same, and will not be listed one by one here.

Step 502: The second network device sends the device identification of the second network device to the control device; correspondingly, the control device receives the device identification of the second network device from the second network device.

The device identification of the second network device is used to uniquely identify the second network device. Exemplarily, the device identification may be an equipment serial number (ESN) or other information that can uniquely identify the second network device, which is not limited here.

Step 503: The control device determines configuration information of the second network device based on the device identification of the second network device.

Since the second network device is the first network device to be connected to the first site, that is, the second network device is used as an anchor point for other network devices connected to the first site, the administrator imports the device identification of the second network device when planning the first site, and stores the configuration information configured for the second network device in the control device in correspondence with the device identification of the second network device. Therefore, the control device can find the configuration information of the second network device based on the device identification of the second network device.

Step 504: The control device sends the configuration information of the second network device to the second network device; correspondingly, the second network device receives the configuration information of the second network device from the control device.

The configuration information of the second network device includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the second network device includes a DHCP configuration, and the DHCP configuration is used to indicate that the second network device is a DHCP server, and other network devices connected to the second network device are DHCP clients. The DHCP configuration includes a DHCP Option configuration, and the DHCP Option configuration includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site. The DHCP Option configuration is used to provide the first network device with the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site in the DHCP process. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step 506 below, which will not be repeated here.

In addition, the configuration information of the second network device also includes interface configuration (for example, WAN interface configuration, LAN interface configuration or mobile interface configuration), routing configuration (for example, static routing configuration and/or dynamic routing configuration), VLAN configuration (for example, management VLAN configuration and/or PnP VLAN configuration), system configuration and other configurations related to the business of the second network device.

In a possible implementation, the second network device includes a mobile interface. Exemplarily, the mobile interface is a Cellular interface. For example, the Cellular interface may be a 3G Cellular interface or an LTE Cellular interface. With the development of communication technology, the mobile interface may also be a mobile interface based on 5G technology or a mobile interface based on 6G technology, etc., which is not limited here.

When the second network device includes a mobile interface, the routing configuration of the second network device includes a second routing configuration, and the second routing configuration is used to configure the second network device to access the second route of the control device through the mobile interface, so that the second network device communicates with the control device through the mobile interface of the second network device after executing the configuration deployment, and then the second network device exchanges the management signaling of the second network device with the control device through the mobile interface of the second network device. Exemplarily, the management signaling includes the signaling of the second network device reporting performance data to the control device, the changed/newly added configuration information issued by the control device, the remote login device request and other management-related signaling. It should be noted that the multiple management signalings interacting between the control device and the network device are also called management traffic. In other words, the second network device may not use the WAN interface during the registration and startup process (or the second network device does not have a WAN interface), which is conducive to reducing the dependence of the registration and startup process of the second network device on the WAN interface.

Step 505: The second network device performs deployment based on the configuration information of the second network device.

Specifically, the second network device loads various configurations in the configuration information to configure interfaces, routes, VLANs, etc., so that the second network device can interact with the control device to exchange management signaling after the configuration is completed.

In addition, if the second network device includes a mobile interface, and the routing configuration of the second network device includes a second routing configuration, the second network device communicates with the control device through the mobile interface after configuring the second routing. For example, the second network device exchanges management signaling of the second network device with the control device through the mobile interface.

Step 506: The first network device obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device through the DHCP process.

In this embodiment, the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, that is, the second network device can be understood as an anchor point of the first network device to be accessed to the first site. There is a physical connection between the first network device and the second network device. For example, the first network device is connected to the second network device through a physical network cable. For example, the first network device is connected to the second network device through a PnP VLAN.

Specifically, since the configuration information of the second network device includes DHCP configuration, and the DHCP Option configuration includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site. Therefore, after the first network device is connected to the second network device, the broadcast DHCP request message can reach the second network device, that is, the first network device broadcasts the DHCP request message as a DHCP client, and the second network device replies to the first network device as a DHCP server with a DHCP response message. The Option option in the DHCP response message carries the information that the first network device needs to obtain from the second network device. For example, the Option option includes the IP address of the first network device (that is, the temporary IP address assigned by the DHCP server to the first network device), the address information of the control device, and the site identifier of the first site.

Step 507: The first network device sends a first message to the control device; correspondingly, the control device receives the first message from the first network device.

The first message includes a site identifier of the first site and device type information of the first network device.

Optionally, the first message includes a device identifier of the first network device.

For explanations about the first message, the type information of the first network device, and the device identification of the first network device, please refer to the relevant description in the above step 301, which will not be repeated here.

In a possible implementation, if the second network device includes a mobile interface, and the control device configures a second route for accessing the control device through the mobile interface to the second network device, the first message sent by the first network device to the control device is forwarded to the control device via the mobile interface of the second network device.

Step 508: The control device determines configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site in the first message and the device type information of the first network device.

The configuration information of the first network device may be understood as the configuration information determined by the control device to be sent to the first network device.

Step 509: The control device sends the configuration information of the first network device to the first network device; correspondingly, the first network device receives the configuration information from the control device.

In a possible implementation, if the second network device includes a mobile interface, and the control device configures a second route for accessing the control device through the mobile interface to the second network device, the configuration information sent by the control device to the first network device is forwarded to the first network device via the mobile interface of the second network device.

Step 510: The first network device performs deployment based on the configuration information.

In this embodiment, steps 507 to 510 are similar to steps 302 to 305, and for details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in steps 302 to 305. For the configuration information of the first network device, please refer to the relevant descriptions in steps 303 to 305. Compared with the configuration information of the first network device in steps 303 to 305, the routing configuration of the first network device may include a first routing configuration.

In a possible implementation, the first network device is connected to the second network device via a physical network cable, and the routing configuration of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, and the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device via a WAN interface, the priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device via a mobile interface. The first routing configuration is used to enable the first network device to communicate with the control device via the WAN interface of the first network device after deployment, and then the first network device exchanges management signaling of the first network device with the control device via the WAN interface of the first network device.

It should be noted that, although the control device has sent the second routing configuration to the second network device (i.e., configuring the second network device to access the second routing of the control device through the mobile interface), the control device has sent the first routing configuration to the first network device that came online later (i.e., configuring the first network device to access the first routing of the control device through the WAN interface, and the priority of the first routing is higher than the priority of the second routing), and the first network device and the second network device can perform routing learning, so the second network device switches to interacting with the control device through the WAN port of the first network device. For example, the management signaling sent by the second network device to the control device is forwarded to the control device via the WAN interface of the first network device; the management signaling sent by the control device to the second network device is forwarded to the second network device via the WAN interface of the first network device. Since neither the first network device nor the second network device forwards management signaling through the mobile interface, the second network device no longer consumes traffic on the mobile interface due to forwarding management signaling.

For ease of understanding, the following takes the example that both the first network device and the second network device are routers, and describes the specific example shown in FIG6 :

In the example shown in FIG6 , router 1 is an example of a first network device, and router 2 is an example of a second network device. After being powered on, router 2 accesses the network through a mobile network, and then obtains the address information of the control device from a server or data center (e.g., a registration query center) storing the address information of the control device through the mobile network, and then registers with the control device through the mobile network and obtains the configuration information of router 2 from the control device. After router 1 is connected to router 2 through a physical network cable, during the registration process of router 1, the message or message (e.g., the first message described above) sent by router 1 to the control device is forwarded to the control device via the mobile interface of router 2, and the configuration information (including the first routing configuration) sent by the control device to router 1 is also forwarded to router 1 via the mobile interface of router 2. When router 1 configures the WAN interface based on the first routing configuration, and the priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, the communication between router 1 and the control device (e.g., the management signaling of the interactive router 1) goes through the WAN interface of router 1, and does not pass through the mobile interface of router 2. After that, the communication between router 2 and the control device (for example, the management signaling of the interaction between router 2) also goes through the WAN port of router 1 instead of the mobile interface of router 2. Therefore, the management traffic (for example, multiple management signalings of the interaction between the control device and the router) is switched from router 2 to router 1, and router 2 no longer consumes the traffic of the mobile interface, which is conducive to saving the traffic of the mobile interface of router 2.

In this embodiment, the second network device accesses the network through the mobile interface to obtain the address information of the control device, and obtains the configuration information of the second network device from the control device through the mobile interface. Therefore, the registration and startup process of the second network device does not require a WAN port, which can reduce the dependence of the network device on the WAN port type during the registration and startup process. In addition, after the first network device is started and put online, the first network device can use the management channel established between the first network device and the control device through a physical network cable (for example, Interlink) as the main link to carry management traffic, while the link through which the second network device and the control device communicate through the mobile interface is used as a backup link that does not carry management traffic and does not consume the traffic of the mobile interface.

It should be noted that the first network device is one of the multiple network devices that access the first site through the second network device. There may be other network devices in the first site that access the first site through the second network device. The aforementioned other network devices may belong to the same device type as the first network device. At this time, the control device cannot perform differentiated configurations for the first network device and other network devices based only on the device type information and the site identifier of the first site. In other words, since the administrator cannot distinguish between different network devices of the same device type when entering the configuration information in advance, the control device may only store the configuration information of the network devices of the device type to which the first network device belongs, and does not configure different configuration information based on different network devices of the same device type.

In this regard, the present application also provides another embodiment of a zero configuration deployment method to solve the aforementioned problem. Another embodiment of the zero configuration deployment method provided by the present application will be introduced below in conjunction with FIG. 7. In the zero configuration deployment method, the control device and the first network device mainly perform the following steps:

Step 701: A first network device obtains adjacency information based on a first protocol.

Specifically, after the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the first network device obtains adjacency information based on the first protocol.

The second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and deployed in the control device, and the first network device is a network device to be deployed and connected to the first site through the second network device. For the introduction of the first network device and the second network device, please refer to the relevant description in step 301 above, which will not be repeated here.

Among them, the adjacency information (Adjacency) of the first network device is used to indicate the connection position of the first network device in the first site; it can also be understood that the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection relationship between the first network device and other network devices in the first site.

In a possible implementation, the adjacency information of the first network device includes physical address information and physical interface information of the network device connected to the first network device. The physical address information may be a MAC address; the physical interface information may be the number of the physical interface of the device. Exemplarily, the physical interface information may be represented as a board/slot/port. For example, the physical interface information of a network device connected to the first network device is GE0/0/0, that is, the first network device is connected to the network device via GE0/0/0.

It should be noted that there may be more than one network device connected to the first network device in the first site, that is, the adjacency information obtained by the first network device includes information of multiple network devices connected to the first network device. For example, if the network devices connected to the first network device in the first site include three network devices, namely, network device A, network device B, and network device C, the adjacency information of the first network device may be as shown in the following Table 2-1:

Table 2-1

Optionally, the adjacency information of the first network device may also include information such as a physical interface description and an interface connection relationship, which are not listed here one by one.

It should also be noted that the first site includes multiple network devices, and the adjacency information of different network devices is different, that is, the connection positions of different network devices in the first site are different. In other words, the adjacency information of each network device can uniquely identify a network device in the first site.

In addition, the first protocol may be a link layer discovery protocol (LLDP), a neighbor discovery protocol (NDP), or other protocols capable of discovering adjacency relationships. Optionally, the first protocol may be a single protocol or a combination of multiple protocols, which is not limited here.

Step 702: The first network device obtains address information of the control device and a site identifier of the first site.

Specifically, after the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the first network device obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device.

In this embodiment, step 702 is similar to the above step 301. Please refer to the relevant description in the above step 301 for details, which will not be repeated here.

Step 703: The first network device sends a first message to the control device; correspondingly, the control device receives the first message from the first network device.

The first message includes the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device. For the introduction of the device type information and the site identifier of the first site, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above step 302, which will not be repeated here.

In addition, the first message also includes the adjacency information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection position of the first network device in the first site. For the introduction of the adjacency information, please refer to the relevant description in the above step 702, which will not be repeated here.

Step 704: The control device determines configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site in the first message, the device type information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device.

The control device includes configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices, and the configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices is configuration information of network devices in multiple sites. The configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site. Optionally, among the configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, the configuration information of at least two network devices with the same device type is different, that is, the configuration information of different network devices with the same device type in the first site is not completely the same. For example, the first site includes 3 switches, and the control device stores the configuration information of the 3 switches in the first site, and the configuration information of the aforementioned 3 switches is not completely the same.

In a possible implementation, the control device includes a first correspondence corresponding to the first site, and the first correspondence is used to indicate the correspondence between the adjacency information of multiple network devices in the first site and the configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site. The control device determines the first correspondence of the first site based on the site identifier of the first site; the control device determines that the configuration information corresponding to the adjacency information is the configuration information of the first network device based on the adjacency information of the first network device and the first correspondence.

Optionally, the configuration information of each network device in the first corresponding relationship is the full configuration information of the network device. The full configuration information includes interface configuration (e.g., WAN interface configuration, LAN interface configuration, or mobile interface configuration), routing configuration (e.g., static routing configuration and/or dynamic routing configuration), VLAN configuration (e.g., management VLAN configuration and/or PnP VLAN configuration), system configuration, software configuration, and other configurations related to the business of the network device, which are not listed here one by one.

In a possible implementation, the adjacency information of each network device in the first correspondence may directly correspond to the full configuration information of the network device. For example, taking the first site including 2 routers, 3 switches and 4 access points as an example, the first correspondence corresponding to the first site may be as shown in the following Table 3-1:

Table 3-1

In the example shown in Table 3-1, if the site identifier of the first site is "ID-Site 1", the device type information of the first network device indicates that the device type of the first network device is "switch", and the adjacency information of the first network device is "adjacency information 3", then the control device can determine that the configuration information of the first network device is "full configuration information-S1-1".

In another possible implementation, the device type in the first correspondence corresponds to basic configuration information, and the adjacency information corresponds to the differentiated configuration information of the network device. The aforementioned basic configuration information and differentiated configuration information constitute the full configuration information of a network device. Among them, the basic configuration information refers to the same configuration information for network devices of the same device type in the same site, and the basic configuration information can maintain the operation of the network device, but lacks some personalized functions or services. For example, the three switches in the first site all need to be configured with interface configuration, routing configuration and VLAN configuration. Differentiated configuration information refers to the personalized configuration that is unique to the network device and different from other network devices. For example, among the three switches in the first site, switch 1 needs to be configured with a software system different from switch 2 and switch 3, and the software configuration of switch 1 is a differentiated configuration. For another example, router 1 has only a WAN interface, while router 2 has a WAN interface and a mobile interface. The WAN interface configuration in the interface configuration configured for router 1 and router 2 is the basic configuration information, and the mobile interface configuration of router 2 is a differentiated configuration. In actual applications, the administrator can set basic configuration information and differentiated configuration information for each network device based on networking requirements, which will not be listed one by one here.

Exemplarily, taking the case where the first site includes 2 routers, 3 switches and 4 access points, the first corresponding relationship corresponding to the first site may be as shown in the following Table 3-2:

Table 3-2

In the example shown in Table 3-2, if the site identifier of the first site is "ID-site 1", and the device type information of the first network device indicates that the device type of the first network device is "switch", the control device can determine that the basic configuration information of the first network device is configuration information-S1. In addition, if the adjacency information of the first network device is "adjacency information 3", the control device can determine that the differentiated configuration information of the first network device is "VLAN configuration 1", that is, the switch VLAN requires personalized configuration.

Optionally, the network device may also have only basic configuration information without differentiated configuration information. For example, in the example shown in Table 3-2, the router whose adjacency information is "adjacency information 1" in the first site may use only basic configuration information without configuring differentiated configuration information. For another example, in the example shown in Table 3-2, the access point whose adjacency information is "adjacency information 8" in the first site may use only basic configuration information without configuring differentiated configuration information.

It should be noted that if the adjacency information of each network device in the first correspondence can directly correspond to the full configuration information of the network device, that is, the control device adopts the implementation method corresponding to the example shown in Table 3-1, then the control device needs to store 9 copies of the full configuration information; if the device type in the first correspondence corresponds to the basic configuration information, and the adjacency information corresponds to the differentiated configuration information of the network device, that is, the control device adopts the implementation method corresponding to the example shown in Table 3-2, then the control device only needs to store 3 copies of the basic configuration information and several copies of the differentiated configuration information. When the size of the basic configuration information is much larger than the size of the differentiated configuration information, adopting the implementation method corresponding to the example shown in Table 3-2 is conducive to saving the storage space of the control device.

It should also be noted that the control device contains configuration information of multiple sites, and the configuration information of the network device in each site may have a corresponding relationship with the adjacency information of the network device, or only the configuration information of the network device in the first site has a first corresponding relationship with the adjacency information of the network device, while the configuration information of the network devices in other sites only has a corresponding relationship with the device type information of the network device. This application is not limited.

In addition, in a possible implementation, the control device can obtain a preconfigured site topology input by an administrator when planning a site, and the preconfigured site topology includes at least one site topology. For example, the preconfigured site topology includes a first site topology indicated by a site identifier of a first site.

Optionally, for multiple virtual network devices in a preconfigured site topology, the connection position of each virtual network device in the site topology indicates the connection position where the start-up personnel need to install the physical network device in the site. The connection position of each virtual network device in the site topology is stored in the control device in the form of adjacency information. For example, the administrator configures two virtual switches in the first site topology, then the connection position of each of the two virtual switches in the first site topology is the connection position where the start-up personnel need to install the switch after arriving at the first site, and the connection position of the virtual switch in the first site topology is stored in the control device in the form of adjacency information of the switch. In addition, the adjacency information of each virtual network device is stored corresponding to the configuration information of the virtual network device, for example, the first corresponding relationship corresponding to the aforementioned first site. Optionally, among the multiple virtual network devices included in the first site topology, there are at least two virtual network devices with the same device type whose configuration information is different.

Optionally, each virtual network device in the first site topology corresponds to a virtual device number, different virtual network devices have different virtual device numbers, each virtual device number is stored in correspondence with adjacency information, and each virtual device number is stored in correspondence with configuration information. For example, taking Table 3-1 as an example, the list storing the first correspondence relationship may be as shown in Table 3-3 below:

Table 3-3

Exemplarily, taking Table 3-2 as an example, the list storing the first correspondence relationship may be as shown in Table 3-4 below:

Table 3-4

It should be noted that the aforementioned virtual device number is only for the convenience of the administrator to distinguish different network devices during configuration operations (for example, creating configuration information or modifying configuration information). Since the adjacency information of a network device often contains the physical address information of multiple network devices and the interface information of multiple network devices, compared with the administrator carefully reading the content of the adjacency information to distinguish different network devices, the virtual device number randomly set by the administrator can simply and clearly reflect the different network devices. This is conducive to improving the configuration efficiency of the administrator and reducing the complexity of the administrator's operation on the control device.

It should also be noted that the virtual device number is not the same as the device identifier mentioned above. The virtual device number is a simple identifier set by the administrator to distinguish virtual network devices, which can be changed as long as the administrator can distinguish different virtual network devices. The device identifier is the unique identity identifier carried on the network device when it leaves the factory and cannot be changed.

Optionally, the control device can generate a site topology of the first site based on the adjacency information received from multiple network devices in the first site, and display the adjacency relationship of each network device in the first site to the administrator through the site topology of the first site, which is beneficial for the administrator to manage and maintain each network device in the first site after the network devices in the first site are online.

Optionally, the control device stores the configuration information of the first network device and the device identification of the first network device in correspondence. Exemplarily, after the network device in the first site is registered and started, the control device can replace the virtual device number with the device identification so that the administrator can distinguish different network devices by the device identification in subsequent management and maintenance operations.

In addition, for the specific content of the configuration information of the first network device, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above step 303 and step 510, which will not be repeated here.

Step 705: The control device sends the configuration information of the first network device to the first network device; correspondingly, the first network device receives the configuration information of the first network device from the control device.

Step 706: The first network device performs deployment based on the configuration information of the first network device.

For ease of understanding, the following is an introduction with reference to the specific example shown in FIG8 :

As shown in FIG8 , the administrator performs pre-configuration on the control device through the client, that is, writes the site identifiers of each planned site, the network devices of each device type contained in each site, and the configuration information corresponding to the network devices of each device type and the connection position of each network device in the site (that is, the adjacency information of each network device) into the control device. In this process, the administrator does not need to import the device identifiers of the network devices that need to be sent to the site to the control device. After the administrator completes the pre-configuration operation, the start-up personnel search and load the network devices (for example, at least one router, at least one switch, at least one access point, etc.) that need to be registered for the start-up at a certain site (for example, site 1) from the warehouse based on the device type. After the start-up personnel arrive at site 1, the start-up personnel search for network devices based on the device type and connect the network devices to the designated location and power them on. For example, if a switch needs to be connected to a certain location at site 1, the start-up personnel only need to take out a switch from the truck as the first network device and connect it to the location, without selecting a switch corresponding to a certain ESN as the first network device. For example, if a router needs to be connected to a certain location of site 1, the start-up personnel only need to take out a router from the truck as the first network device and connect it to the location, without having to select a router corresponding to a certain ESN as the first network device. After the network device is powered on, the first network device will obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of site 1 from the second network device, and send the device type information of the first network device, the site identifier and adjacency information of site 1, etc. to the control device. Then, the control device determines the configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier, device type information and adjacency information of site 1, and sends the configuration information to the first network device, so that the first network device performs the start-up deployment based on the configuration information. There is no need for the start-up personnel to perform additional configuration on the first network device. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions corresponding to the aforementioned steps 701 to 706.

In this embodiment, since the first network device can provide the control device with the site identifier and device type information of the first site and can also provide the adjacency information indicating the connection position of the first network device in the first site, the control device can distinguish different network devices of the same device type through the adjacency information of each network device, and then can issue the configuration information of the first network device to the first network device. Therefore, it is possible to achieve differentiated configuration of different network devices of the same device type without binding the device identifier, which is conducive to further improving the efficiency of network device deployment.

In addition, as shown in FIG9 , the present application further provides a control device 90, and FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the control device 90 provided by the present application. The control device 90 may be a server or a management platform. The control device 90 may include only one server or multiple servers, which is not limited here. The control devices in the method embodiments corresponding to the aforementioned FIG3 , FIG5 or FIG7 may all be based on the structure of the control device 90 shown in FIG9 in the present embodiment.

As shown in Fig. 9, the control device 90 may include a processor 901 and a transceiver 902. The processor 901 is coupled to the transceiver 902.

The processor 901 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL) or any combination thereof. The processor 901 may refer to one processor or may include multiple processors, which is not specifically limited here.

The transceiver 902 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a device in the transceiver unit for implementing a receiving function may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiver unit for implementing a sending function may be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

Optionally, the control device further includes a memory 903, and the processor 901 is coupled to the memory 903. The memory 903 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 903 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 901. Optionally, the memory 903 may be integrated with the processor 901, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 903 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled and executed by the processor 901, and the various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 901. The memory 903 may include volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM); the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD); the memory 903 may also include a combination of the above-mentioned types of memory. The memory 903 may refer to one memory or may include multiple memories.

Exemplarily, the memory 903 is used to store configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices, where the configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices is configuration information of network devices in multiple sites. The configuration information of multiple preconfigured network devices includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site. Optionally, among the configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, there are at least two network devices with the same device type whose configuration information is different, that is, the configuration information of different network devices with the same device type in the first site is not completely the same.

Exemplarily, the memory 903 is also used to store a first corresponding relationship corresponding to the first site, and the first corresponding relationship is used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the adjacency information of multiple network devices in the first site and the configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site. Optionally, the configuration information of each network device in the first corresponding relationship is the full configuration information of the network device. Among them, the full configuration information includes interface configuration (for example, WAN interface configuration, LAN interface configuration or mobile interface configuration), routing configuration (for example, static routing configuration and/or dynamic routing configuration), VLAN configuration (for example, management VLAN configuration and/or PnP VLAN configuration), system configuration, software configuration and other configurations related to the business of the network device, which are not listed here one by one.

Exemplarily, the memory 903 is also used for pre-configured site topology input by the administrator when planning a site, and the pre-configured site topology includes at least one site topology. For example, the pre-configured site topology includes a first site topology indicated by a site identifier of a first site.

Exemplarily, the memory 903 is also used to store adjacency information of multiple network devices from the first site, and the processor 901 generates a site topology of the first site based on the adjacency information of the multiple network devices, so that the administrator can view the adjacency relationship of each network device in the first site at any time.

In one implementation, the memory 903 stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 901 calls the aforementioned computer-readable instructions to execute to implement the following functions:

Among them, the transceiver 902 is used to receive a first message from the first network device, the first message includes the site identifier of the first site accessed by the first network device through the second network device and the device type information of the first network device, and the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started in the control device; the processor 901 is used to determine configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device; the transceiver 902 is also used to send configuration information to the first network device, and the configuration information is used for the first network device to perform startup deployment.

Optionally, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or, the first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the first message further includes adjacency information of the first network device, where the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate a connection position of the first network device in the first site. The processor 901 is specifically configured to determine configuration information of the first network device based on a site identifier of the first site, device type information of the first network device, and adjacency information of the first network device.

In a possible implementation, the processor 901 is specifically used to: determine a first correspondence corresponding to the first site based on the site identifier of the first site; and determine that the configuration information corresponding to the adjacency information is the configuration information of the first network device based on the adjacency information of the first network device and the first correspondence.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver 902 is further used to: receive a device identifier of the second network device from the second network device; and send configuration information of the second network device to the second network device, wherein the configuration information of the second network device includes address information of the control device and a site identifier of the first site.

For the rest, please refer to the methods related to the control device in the corresponding embodiments of FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 7 , which will not be described in detail here.

In addition, as shown in Figure 10, the present application also provides a network device 100, and Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the network device 100 provided by the present application. The device 100 can be used to implement the function of the first network device introduced in the above text, and can also be used to implement the function of the second network device introduced in the above text. Exemplarily, if the device 100 performs the function of the first network device in the above text, the device 100 can be a router, a switch, an access point or a firewall. If the device 100 performs the function of the second network device in the above text, the device 100 can be a router or a firewall. The first network device or the second network device in the method embodiment corresponding to the aforementioned Figures 3, 5 or 7 can be based on the structure of the device 100 shown in Figure 10 in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG10 , the network device 100 may include a processor 1001 and a communication interface 1002 . The processor 1001 is coupled to the communication interface 1002 .

The processor 1001 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The processor 1001 may refer to one processor or may include multiple processors, which is not specifically limited here.

Wherein, the processor 1001 is used to implement the forwarding processing of the message or message. For example, the processor 1001 forwards the received message based on the forwarding table stored in the forwarding table entry memory. If the destination address of the message is the address of the network device 100, the message is sent to the CPU (such as the central processing unit) for processing; if the destination address of the message is not the address of the network device 100, the next hop and the output interface corresponding to the destination address are found from the forwarding table according to the destination address, and the message is forwarded to the output interface corresponding to the destination address. Wherein, the processing of the uplink message may include: processing of the message input interface, forwarding table search; the processing of the downlink message may include: forwarding table search, etc.

The communication interface 1002 may be an interface board (also called a line processing unit (LPU)), a line card or a service board. The communication interface 1002 is used to provide various service interfaces and implement data packet forwarding. Service interfaces include but are not limited to Ethernet interfaces, POS (Packet over SONET/SDH) interfaces, etc., and Ethernet interfaces are, for example, flexible Ethernet service interfaces (FlexE Clients).

In addition, the communication interface 1002 also includes a physical interface card, which is used to implement the docking function of the physical layer, and the original traffic enters the interface board from this, and the processed message is sent from the physical interface card. The physical interface card is also called a daughter card, which can be installed on the interface board and is responsible for converting the optical signal into a message and forwarding the message to the network processor for processing after checking the legitimacy of the message. Optionally, the communication interface 1002 includes a WAN interface, a LAN interface or a mobile interface.

Optionally, the network device further includes a memory 1003, and the processor 1001 is coupled to the memory 1003. The memory 1003 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 1003 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 1001. Optionally, the memory 1003 may be integrated with the processor 1001, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 1003 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled and executed by the processor 1001, and the various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 1001. The memory 1003 may include volatile memory (volatile memory), such as random-access memory (random-access memory, RAM); the memory may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), flash memory (flash memory), hard disk drive (hard disk drive, HDD) or solid-state drive (solid-state drive, SSD); the memory 1003 may also include a combination of the above-mentioned types of memory. The memory 1003 may refer to one memory or may include multiple memories.

Exemplarily, the memory 1003 is used to store the acquired address information and site identifier of the control device (for example, the site identifier of the first site). The memory 1003 is also used to store the device type information of the network device (for example, the device type information of the first network device). The memory 1003 is also used to store the adjacency information of the network device (for example, the adjacency information of the first network device). The memory 1003 is also used to store the device identifier of the network device (for example, the ESN of the first network device). The memory 1003 is also used to store the configuration information of the network device acquired from the control device (for example, the configuration information of the first network device or the configuration information of the second network device).

In one implementation, when the network device 100 is used to implement the function of the first network device, the processor 1001 and the communication interface 1002 implement the following functions:

Among them, the communication interface 1002 is used to access the first site through the second network device, and obtain the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device, and the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started in the control device; the communication interface 1002 is also used to send a first message to the control device based on the address information of the control device, the first message includes the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, and the device type information of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device; the communication interface 1002 is also used to receive configuration information from the control device; the processor 1001 is used to perform startup deployment based on the configuration information.

Optionally, the configuration information is related to a device type of the first network device.

Optionally, the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or, the first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, which is used to uniquely identify the first network device.

Optionally, the first message also includes adjacency information of the first network device, the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection position of the first network device in the first site, and the configuration information is related to the device type of the first network device and the connection position of the first network device in the first site.

In a possible implementation, the processor 1001 obtains adjacency information based on a first protocol, where the first protocol includes a Link Layer Discovery Protocol LLDP or a Neighbor Discovery Protocol NDP.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, and the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a wide area network (WAN) interface. The priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface.

For the rest, please refer to the method related to the first network device in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 7 , which will not be described in detail here.

In one implementation, when the network device 100 is used to implement the function of the second network device, the processor 1001 and the communication interface 1002 implement the following functions:

The communication interface 1002 is used to obtain the address information of the control device from other servers or data centers; and send the device identification of the second network device to the control device; and receive the configuration information of the second network device from the control device. The processor 1001 is used to perform deployment based on the configuration information of the second network device.

The configuration information of the second network device includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site.

In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the second network device includes a DHCP configuration, and the DHCP configuration is used to indicate that the second network device is a DHCP server, and other network devices connected to the second network device are DHCP clients. The DHCP configuration includes a DHCP Option configuration, and the DHCP Option configuration includes the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site. The DHCP Option configuration is used to provide the first network device with the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site in the DHCP process. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step 506 below, which will not be repeated here.

In addition, the configuration information of the second network device also includes interface configuration (for example, WAN interface configuration, LAN interface configuration or mobile interface configuration), routing configuration (for example, static routing configuration and/or dynamic routing configuration), VLAN configuration (for example, management VLAN configuration and/or PnP VLAN configuration), system configuration and other configurations related to the business of the second network device.

For the rest, please refer to the method related to the second network device in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 or FIG. 7 , which will not be described in detail here.

In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or an instruction in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor for execution. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

In addition, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. For example, the method related to the control device in Figure 3, Figure 5 or Figure 7 is implemented. For another example, the method related to the network device (for example, the first network device) in Figure 3, Figure 5 or Figure 7 is implemented. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instruction can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instruction can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the control device as shown in Figure 3, Figure 5 or Figure 7 above.

In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the network device (e.g., the first network device) as described above in Figures 3, 5 or 7.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (20)

1. A zero-configuration deployment method, comprising: The first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, and obtains the address information of the control device and the site identifier of the first site from the second network device, where the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started with the control device; The first network device sends a first message to the control device based on the address information of the control device, where the first message includes a site identifier of the first site and device type information of the first network device, where the device type information of the first network device is used to indicate a device type of the first network device; The first network device receives configuration information from the control device; The first network device performs deployment based on the configuration information. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information is related to a device type of the first network device. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, and the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or, The first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to uniquely identify the first network device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the first message also includes adjacency information of the first network device, the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate the connection position of the first network device in the first site, and the configuration information is related to the device type of the first network device and the connection position of the first network device in the first site. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that after the first network device accesses the first site through the second network device, the method further comprises: The first network device obtains the adjacency information based on a first protocol, where the first protocol includes a Link Layer Discovery Protocol LLDP or a Neighbor Discovery Protocol NDP. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is characterized in that the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a wide area network (WAN) interface, the priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is the route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface. 7. A zero-configuration deployment method, comprising: The control device receives a first message from a first network device, where the first message includes a site identifier of a first site accessed by the first network device through a second network device and device type information of the first network device, where the second network device is a network device in the first site that has been registered and started with the control device; The control device determines configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device; The control device sends the configuration information to the first network device, where the configuration information is used by the first network device to perform deployment. 8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the device type information of the first network device includes a device identifier of the first network device, and the device identifier of the first network device is used to indicate the device type of the first network device and uniquely identify the first network device; or The first message also includes a device identifier of the first network device, where the device identifier of the first network device is used to uniquely identify the first network device. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the first message further includes adjacency information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device is used to indicate a connection position of the first network device in the first site; The control device determines configuration information based on the site identifier of the first site and the device type information of the first network device, including: The control device determines configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site, device type information of the first network device, and adjacency information of the first network device. 10. The method according to claim 9 is characterized in that the control device includes configuration information of multiple pre-configured network devices, the configuration information of the multiple pre-configured network devices includes configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, and among the configuration information of the multiple network devices in the first site, the configuration information of at least two network devices with the same device type is different. 11. The method according to claim 10 is characterized in that the control device includes a first correspondence corresponding to the first site, the first correspondence is used to indicate the correspondence between the adjacency information of multiple network devices in the first site and the configuration information of multiple network devices in the first site, the adjacency information of each network device is used to indicate the connection position of the network device in the first site, and different network devices have different connection positions in the first site. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the control device determines the configuration information of the first network device based on the site identifier of the first site, the device type information of the first network device, and the adjacency information of the first network device, comprising: The control device determines a first corresponding relationship corresponding to the first site based on the site identifier of the first site; The control device determines, based on the adjacency information of the first network device and the first corresponding relationship, that configuration information corresponding to the adjacency information is the configuration information of the first network device. 13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the method further comprises: The control device stores the configuration information of the first network device and the device identification of the first network device in correspondence. 14. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 13, characterized in that before the control device receives the first message from the first network device, the method further comprises: The control device receives a device identification of the second network device from the second network device; The control device sends configuration information of the second network device to the second network device, where the configuration information of the second network device includes address information of the control device and a site identifier of the first site. 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the configuration information of the second network device also includes a second routing configuration, and the second routing configuration is used to configure a second route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface. 16. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 15 is characterized in that the configuration information of the first network device includes a first routing configuration, the first routing configuration is used to configure a first route for the first network device to access the control device through a WAN interface, the priority of the first route is higher than the priority of the second route, and the second route is a route for the second network device to access the control device through a mobile interface. 17. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 16 is characterized in that the first network device and the second network device belong to the same device type; the first network device and the second network device are both routing devices; or the first network device and the second network device are both firewall devices. 18. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 16 is characterized in that the first network device and the second network device belong to different device types; the first network device is a switching device or an access device, and the second network device is a routing device or a firewall device. 19. A device, comprising a processor and a memory; wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor calls the computer program to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; or execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 18. 20. A communication system, comprising: A first network device that executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a control device that executes the method according to any one of claims 7 to 18.