Cisco Technology, Inc.

Clarence Filsfils

Stefano Benedetto Previdi

David Delano Ward

Pablo Camarillo Garvia

Francois Clad

Zafar Ali

Jean-Philippe Vasseur

Ahmed Refaat Bashandy

Stewart Frederick Bryant

Rakesh Gandhi

Peter Psenak

Syed Kamran Raza

Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Abdelsalam

Carlos M Pignataro

Muthurajah Sivabalan

Pradosh Mohapatra

Ketan Jivan Talaulikar

John H W Bettink

Sami Boutros

Jisu Bhattacharya

Daniel C Frost

George Swallow

Ian Michael Charles Shand

Nagendra Kumar Nainar

John Galen Scudder

Jim Guichard

Darren Russell Dukes

James Neil Guichard

Patrice Brissette

Sagar Soni

Faisal Iqbal

Tarek Saad

Ornan Alexander Gerstel

Patrick Khordoc

Keyur Patel

Eric C Rosen

Robert Raszuk

Jaganbabu Rajamanickam

Swadesh Agrawal

Robert Hanzl

Yuri Tsier

Bhupendra Yadav

Paul Wells

John Bettink

Gaurav Dawra

Rex Emmanuel Fernando

Mohammed Ismael Tatar

John William Evans

Eric Albin Voit

Hendrikus G P Bosch

Jan Medved

Reshad Rahman

Gargi Nalawade

David J Tsiang

Alan Gous

Walid Wakim

Peter De Vriendt

Ali Sajassi

Samer Salam

Frank Brockners

Robert C Olsen

Alberto Rodriguez Natal

Luca Martini

Gabriele Maria Galimberti

Marc Portoles Comeras

Christopher Metz

Jose Antonio Liste

Stephane Litkowski

Lester C Ginsberg

Pankaj Bhagra

Nikunj Vaidya

Lakshmi Sharma

Mike Shand

Ijsbrand Wijnands

David R Oran

Gregory J Shepherd

William Mark Townsley

John Harper

Anna Charny

Dino Farinacci

Anthony Joseph Li

Subhasri Dhesikan

Eric Osborne

Francois Le Faucheur

Cedell Adam Alexander, Jr

Benoit Claise

Garry Paul Epps

Neeraj Malhotra

Andre Jean-Marie Surcouf

Michael Laor

Shyamsundar Nandkishor Maniyar

Jerome Tollet

Dezhong Cai

Amila Pradeep Kumara Tharaperiya Gamage

Emmanuel P Tychon

Olivier Bonaventure

Michael F Keohane

Balaji Muthuvarathan

John M Zwiebel

Vijay Rangarajan

Techniques for processing path tracing probe packets using hardware (e.g., hardware memory of a node) and without the involvement of a path tracing collector component of a network controller. A source node may be configured to generate and assign random flow labels to a large number of probe packets and send them through the network to a sink node. The sink node may determine whether a flow indicated by the probe packet has previously been traversed. Additionally, the sink node may determine latency values associated with the flows, and store probe packets in corresponding latency bins. The latency bins may be stored in hardware memory of the sink node. Telemetry data representing the probe packets stored in the latency bins may be sent to a network controller for further network analysis.

Hardware accelerated path tracing analytics

Techniques for providing an optimized behavior to source node(s) of a path tracing sequence allowing for implementation of path tracing source node behavior on an ASIC with edit-depth limitations and/or on an ASIC that does not have access to the full 64-bit timestamp. A source node having optimized behavior may be configured to record a first full 64-bit timestamp in an SRH PT-TLV header of a probe packet using the CPU of the source node. A source node having the optimized behavior may also be configured to compute a midpoint compressed data (MCD) entry and record the entry into an MCD stack of a probe packet using the NPU of the source node. A sink node and/or network controller may be configured to determine a final timestamp for the probe packet through the network by leveraging the SRH PT-TLV header and the MCD entry.

Optimizing path tracing to enable network assurance in existing network hardware

In one embodiment, a method by an apparatus of a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) network includes accessing an attestation token for the apparatus. The method further includes encoding the attestation token in a BGP signaling message. The method further includes sending the BGP signaling message with the encoded attestation token to a second apparatus of the BGP network.

Applying attestation to the border gateway protocol (BGP)

Techniques for monitoring data transport in a network virtualization function (NVF) chain. A path tracing packet is generated having a Midpoint Compressed Data (MCD) to collect path tracing information of the NVF chain. The NVF node is configured to record an MCD containing Wide Local Path Tracing Identification (WL PT ID). The WL PT ID includes a first field having a value that indicates that a non-standard path tracing format is to be used and has a second field that indicates a particular path tracing format to be used. The path tracing packet is passed through the NVF chain and is then received back again after passing through the NVF chain. Data collected by the path tracing packet is analyzed to determine which NVF nodes the path tracing packet passed through, and the amount of time taken for the path tracing packet to pass through, the NVF chain.

Virtual network function proof of transit

Disclosed are systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media to measure performance of distinct paths of a network. A method includes determining a collection of hashes of a network based on a network probe event, each hash in the collection of hashes corresponding to a distinct path from a first edge device to a second edge device through the network; transmitting a collection of probes from the first edge device in the network, wherein each probe in the collection of probes is assigned a hash selected from the collection of hashes; receiving probes from the collection of probes at the second edge device; and determining a network performance of each distinct path through the network.

Path assurance in shared transport

A network node receives a data packet. In response to receiving the data packet, the network node performs a lookup on a label stack of the data packet to determine a next hop for the data packet. The network node scans the label stack to identify a Structured Entropy Label (SEL). The SEL includes a Path Tracing Indicator (PTI). The network node computes Midpoint Compressed Data (MCD) as a result of the PTI being set to a pre-defined value. The network node records the MCD in a MCD stack of the data packet by shifting the MCD stack and stamping the MCD on top of the MCD stack. The network node transmits the data packet to the next hop with the recorded MCD stack. The network sink node encapsulates the received data packet to generate an encapsulated data packet and transmits the data packet.

Mechanisms for packet path tracing and per-hop delay measurement in segment routing with multiprotocol label switching (SR-MPLS) networks

The present technology is directed to a system and method for implementing network resource partitioning and Quality of Service (QoS) separation through network slicing. Embodiments of the present invention describe scalable network slicing method based on defining Segment Routing Flexible Algorithm to represent a network slice and assigning a distinct QoS policy queue to each of the Flexible Algorithms configured on a network node. Therefore, scalable network slice based queuing is implemented wherein a single packet processing queue is assigned to each Flex-Algorithm based network slice. QoS policy queue may be implemented in a hierarchical fashion by differentiation between flow packets in a single QoS policy queue based on value of experimental bits in the header.

Scalable network slice based queuing using segment routing flexible algorithm

In one embodiment, a service chain data packet is instrumented as it is communicated among network nodes in a network providing service-level and/or networking operations visibility. The service chain data packet includes a particular header identifying a service group defining one or more service functions, and is a data packet and not a probe packet. A network node adds networking and/or service-layer operations data to the particular service chain data packet, such as, but not limited to, in the particular header. Such networking operations data includes a performance metric or attribute related to the transport of the particular service chain packet in the network. Such service-layer operations data includes a performance metric or attribute related to the service-level processing of the particular service chain data packet in the network.

Segment routing network signaling and packet processing

Various implementations disclosed herein enable malleable routing for data packets. For example, in various implementations, a method of routing a type of data packets is performed by a device. In some implementations, the device includes a non-transitory memory and one or more processors coupled with the non-transitory memory. In some implementations, the method includes determining a routing criterion to transmit a set of data packets across a network. In some implementations, the method includes identifying network nodes and communication links in the network that satisfy the routing criterion. In some implementations, the method includes determining a route for the set of data packets through the network nodes and the communication links that satisfy the routing criterion. In some implementations, the method includes configuring the network nodes that are on the route with configuration information that allows the set of data packets to propagate along the route.

Malleable routing for data packets

In one embodiment, a method includes determining a secure path through a first plurality of network nodes within a network and determining an alternate secure path through a second plurality of network nodes within the network. The method also includes routing network traffic through the first plurality of network nodes of the secure path and detecting a failure in the secure path using single-hop BFD authentication. The method further includes rerouting the network traffic through the second plurality of network nodes of the alternate secure path.

Systems and methods for securing network paths

The present disclosure provides a packet tracing mechanism will be described that provides packet tracing information to a mobile network controller. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a data packet sent from a source node to a destination node; determining if the data packet is to be updated with packet tracing information; and upon determining that the data packet is to be updated, updating the packet tracing information of the data packet to include identification of the network device and an ingress timestamp of the data packet at the network device for a corresponding network controller to determining network routing policies.

Packet tracing mechanism in a network leveraging SRv6

Disclosed are systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media to encode network functions in a packet header. A method includes receiving a first packet from a source device that is to be delivered to a destination address through a network; determining a route to the destination address; identifying at least one network function for the first packet; encapsulating the first packet in a second packet, wherein a header of the second packet includes the route to the destination address in a destination address field and local processing metadata associated with the at least one network function in a source address field; and forwarding the second packet to a next network node of the network identified in the destination address.

Methods and apparatus for encoding local processing metadata in network headers

In one embodiment, Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) is implemented using Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Segment Routing (SRv6) underlay network and SRv6-enhanced Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) signaling. A particular route associated with a particular Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Segment Routing (SRv6) Segment Identifier (SID) is advertised in a particular route advertisement message of a routing protocol (e.g., BGP). The SID includes encoding representing a particular Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) Layer 2 (L2) flooding Segment Routing end function of the particular router and a particular Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI), with the particular SID including a routable prefix to the particular router. The particular router receives a particular packet including the particular SID; and in response, the particular router performs the particular EVPN end function on the particular packet.

Ethernet virtual private network using segment routing

This disclosure describes techniques for detecting and monitoring paths in a network. The techniques include causing a source node to generate probe packets to traverse a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network, for instance. In some examples, the probe packets include entropy values that correspond to individual equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) paths of the network. The probe packets may be received at an SDN controller from a sink node after traversing the network. Analysis of the probe packets allow path discovery and mapping of the entropy values to ECMP paths. The mapping of discovered paths may be used for optimization of network monitoring activities, including second subsequent probe packets over particular ECMP paths based on the mapped entropy values.

Network path detection and monitoring

Techniques for utilizing entropy labels of a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label stack for performing monitoring operations (e.g., telemetry, performance measurement, OAM, etc.) without altering the MPLS label stack and/or packet path (e.g., ECMP path). The techniques may include determining, by a node of a network, to perform a monitoring operation associated with traffic that is to be sent along a path through the network. In some examples, the node may receive a packet that is to be sent along the path and encapsulate the packet with an MPLS header. The MPLS header may include an entropy label, entropy label indicator, or other label that is capable of carrying a flag indicating the monitoring operation to be performed. The flag may be carried in a TTL field or traffic class field of the label such that the MPLS label stack is not altered to trigger the monitoring operation.

Performance measurement, telemetry, and OAM in MPLS networks using entropy labels

Growing community of inventors

Brussels, Belgium

Clarence Filsfils