Method and Apparatus for Provisioning a Network Element

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for configuring a Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) interface within Virtual Private LAN Service using Multi-Protocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP). Previously, the only ways to enable PBB interfaces for transmission were by learning, which poses security and scalability concerns due to flooding, or by manual configuration, which is impractical for large networks. Embodiments of the present invention enable custom topologies to be built in a controlled manner, which has not previously been possible for PBB over VPLS. By using MP-BGP messages to exchange PBB interface information between nodes, peering relationships are established, and communities may be built with any desired topology. Previously, PBB has only been used as a connectionless bridge; embodiments of the present invention use PBB as a connection between edge nodes. Network designers are provided increased flexibility, and security and congestion are improved, benefiting end users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of provisioning a network element, the method comprising:
 signaling from a given node to peer nodes to configure remote interfaces, the remote interfaces being interfaces of the peer nodes; and   configuring a logical local interface of the given node based on signaling with community attributes received from the peer nodes.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) interfaces of a PBB network inside an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Layer 2 service. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are PBB interfaces of a PBB network and further wherein the signaling and the configuring enable establishing of peering relationships between the logical local PBB interface of the given node and the remote PBB interfaces of the peer nodes absent normal Ethernet bridging. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 negotiating PBB capability between the logical local interface of the given node and the remote interfaces of the peer nodes via Multi-Protocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP), wherein the configuring includes using information agreed upon during the negotiating, and further wherein negotiating PBB capability includes using an exchange of at least one of address family identifier (AFI) and subsequent address family identifier (SAFI) information with the peer nodes.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are PBB interfaces, the method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 parsing an MP-BGP message to identify a virtual switching instance (VSI) on the logical local PBB interface of the given node; and 
 configuring the remote PBB interfaces of the peer nodes based on the VSI identified. 
 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus for provisioning a network element, the apparatus comprising:
 a signaling module to signal from a given node to peer nodes to configure remote interfaces, the remote interfaces being interfaces of the peer nodes; and   a configuration module to configure a logical local interface of the given node based on signaling with community attributes received from the peer nodes.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) interfaces of a PBB network inside an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Layer 2 service. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are PBB interfaces of a PBB network and further wherein the signaling module and the configuration module are configured to enable establishing of peering relationships between the logical local PBB interface of the given node and the remote PBB interfaces of the peer nodes absent normal Ethernet bridging. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a negotiation module configured to negotiate PBB capability between the logical local interface of the given node and the remote interfaces of the peer nodes via Multi-Protocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP), wherein the configuration module is further configured to use information agreed upon during negotiation of the PBB capability and wherein the negotiating module is further configured to negotiate the PBB capability using an exchange of at least one of address family identifier (AFI) and subsequent address family identifier (SAFI) information with the peer nodes.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the remote interfaces of the peer nodes and the logical local interface of the given node are PBB interfaces, the apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a parsing module configured to parse an MP-BGP message to identify a virtual switching instance (VSI) on the logical local PBB interface of the given node, and further wherein the remote PBB interfaces of the peer nodes are configured based on the VSI identified. 
 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , further including a transmitting module to transmit traffic to peer nodes in a network topology at a PBB layer through application of the common community attributes. 
     
     
         12 . A method of building a community topology in a network topology, the method comprising:
 at a given node, parsing a message received via signaling to the given node to configure interfaces at the given node;   configuring an interface at the given node based on the parsing; and   signaling from the given node based on the configuring, the signaling from the given node including information related to the given node, including community attributes, to build the community topology by enabling members of a community to interface and communicate with one another in the network topology.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the message is an MP-BGP message and the interfaces are PBB interfaces. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein parsing the message received includes parsing an MP-BGP message to identify a VSI and further wherein the configuring is based on the VSI identified. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the interfaces are PBB interfaces of a PBB network inside an OSI Layer 2 service. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the remote interfaces and the logical local interface are PBB interfaces of a PBB network and further wherein the signaling and the configuring enable establishing of a peering relationship between the interfaces absent normal Ethernet bridging. 
     
     
         17 . An apparatus for building a community topology in a network topology, apparatus comprising:
 at least one interface;   a parsing module to parse a message received via signaling to configure the at least one interface;   a configuration module to configure the at least one interface based on the message parsed; and   a signaling module to signal based on the message parsed, the signaling including community attributes, to build the community topology in the network topology.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the message parsed is an MP-BGP message that is parsed to identify a VSI used to configure the at least one interface. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a negotiation module configured to negotiate PBB capability between the at least one interface and interfaces of peer nodes via MP-BGP, wherein the configuration module is further configured to use information agreed upon during negotiation of the PBB capability and wherein the negotiating module is further configured to negotiate the PBB capability using an exchange of at least one of address family identifier (AFI) and subsequent address family identifier (SAFI) information with the peer nodes.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further including a transmitting module to transmit traffic to peer nodes in the community topology built in the network topology at a PBB layer through application of the common community attributes.