Cisco Technology, Inc.

Juniper Networks, Inc.

James Neil Guichard

Paul M Quinn

Carlos M Pignataro

David Delano Ward

Surendra M Kumar

Hendrikus G P Bosch

W Scott Wainner

Nagendra Kumar Nainar

Clarence Filsfils

Nagaraj Bagepalli

Alessandro Duminuco

Jean-Philippe Vasseur

Luca Martini

Stefano Benedetto Previdi

Keyur Patel

Michael R Smith

Brian Eliot Weis

Jan Medved

George Swallow

Prashanth Patil

K Tirumaleswar Reddy

Humberto Jose La Roche

Robert Hanzl

Abhijit Patra

Rex Emmanuel Fernando

Thomas David Nadeau

Javed Asghar

Daniel C Tappan

Yixing Ruan

Navindra Yadav

Gonzalo A Salgueiro

Rajiv Asati

Daniel George Wing

Kevin Shatzkamer

Jeffrey Michael Napper

Eric C Rosen

Darrin Joseph Miller

W Mark Townsley

Luyuan Fang

Maciek Konstantynowicz

Mohammed Azhar Sayeed

David A McGrew

John T Chapman

Ian McDowell Campbell

Wojciech Dec

Ravi Shekhar

Warren Scott Wainner

Pradosh Mohapatra

Naiming Shen

Govind Prasad Sharma

Michael E Lipman

Earl Hardin Booth, Iii

Christopher Metz

Craig Thomas Hill

Michael H Behringer

Reinaldo Penno

John Mullooly

Nobushige Akiya

Peter De Vriendt

Bertrand Duvivier

Saul Adler

Clarence A M Filsfils

Dave Barach

Jayaraman R Iyer

Sebastian Jeuk

Mohamed Khalid

Monique Jeanne Morrow

Bruce Stuart Davie

Robert Raszuk

Tirumaleswar Reddy

Gargi Nalawade

David Richard Barach

Robert H Thomas

Khalil A Jabr

Michael David Geller

Ruchi D Kapoor

Leonid Sandler

Moshe Kravchik

Roy Michael Brooks

Hendrikus Gp Bosch

Matthew Henry Birkner

Venkateswara Rao Yarlagadda

S Scott Van De Houten

Kenneth Gray

Steven Richard Stites

Michael T Piecuch

Kris Michielsen

Sumit Mukhopadhyay

Azhar Mohammed Sayeed

Simon Spraggs

Jean-Phillipe Vasseur

Henk Smit

Gerhard Wieser

Mike Milano

Alena Lifar

Yavindra Yadav

John J Mullooly

George L Swallow

A network node in a service function chain system receives a peer detection packet from a service function device in a service function path. The peer detection packet includes an inner packet with a header, such as a network service header. The network node detects a status indicator in the header that indicates a degradation in performing a service function at the service function device. The network node adjusts the service function path to compensate for the degradation in performing the service function at the service function device.

Network service header (NSH) relaying of serviceability of a service function

In one embodiment, a system and method are disclosed for sending a request and receiving a reply. The request contains a network service header including a flow label field and a target index field. The flow label field contains a set of available flow labels. The target index field includes a value indicating a target node. The reply contains information indicating which of the flow labels can be used to route a packet to each of the next hop nodes downstream from the device that sent the reply. This process can be repeated for other nodes on a path, and other paths in a service topology layer. The information determined by this process can be used to perform other necessary functionalities at the service topology layer.

Multi-path aware tracing and probing functionality at service topology layer

An apparatus having logic elements to receive an incoming packet associated with a first service function chain; identify a next hop service function for the incoming packet as a non-reactive service function; create a duplicate packet; forward the duplicate packet to the non-reactive service function; and forward the incoming packet to a next reactive service function. An apparatus having logic to receive an incoming packet associated with a first service function chain (SFC), having a first service path identifier (SPI); determine that the incoming packet has a first service index (SI), and that a next-hop SI identifies a non-reactive service function (NRSF); receive a duplicate packet of the incoming packet; rewrite a service header of the duplicate packet to identify a second SFC having a second SPI; and alter the first SI of the incoming packet to identify a next reactive service function in the first SFC.

System and method for improved service chaining

Embodiments are directed to a service function configured to receive, from a service function forwarder, a data packet comprising a bit field to indicate that a packet drop is to be monitored; apply a policy for the data packet; determine that the data packet is to be dropped based on the policy; set a drop-propagate bit in a header of the data packet; and transmit the data packet to the service function forwarder. Embodiments are directed to a service function forwarder configured to receive a data packet from a service function, the data packet comprising a bit set to indicate that a packet drop is to be monitored; generate an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) message, the ICMP message comprising a destination address for the ICMP message identified from the data packet; transmit the ICMP message to the destination address; and drop the data packet from the service function chain.

Identifying sources of packet drops in a service function chain environment

In a first enclave of a label switching network (LSN), a protocol data unit (PDU) of the LSN is formatted to include a network service field specifying a service to be applied to the PDU. The service field can be positioned between PDU data link layer and network layer fields. The PDU specifies PDU routing/forwarding information for a path in the LSN ending in an LSN second enclave, and routing/forwarding for a destination between path segments in a non-LSN. The PDU is communicated from the first enclave, via the non-LSN, to the second enclave in accordance with the routing/forwarding information for the destination between path segments in the non-LSN. In the second enclave, each network service specified for the PDU is determined and then applied to the PDU. The second enclave transmits the network serviced PDU from the second enclave in accordance with the routing/forwarding information of the PDU in the label switching network.

Network services across non-contiguous subnets of a label switched network separated by a non-label switched network

A method for augmenting metadata of a network service header is disclosed. The method includes receiving, at a first service node, a packet or frame of a traffic flow, wherein the packet has a payload and the network service header including a first metadata and a first service path information for the traffic flow, classifying, by the first service node, at least one of the payload and the first metadata to generate a second metadata different from the first metadata, and augmenting, by the first service node, the first metadata using the second metadata before forwarding the packet or frame to a second service node.

Metadata augmentation in a service function chain

Various systems and methods for determining whether to allow or continue to allow access to a protected data asset are disclosed herein. For example, one method involves receiving a request to access a protected data asset, wherein the request is received from a first user device; determining whether to grant access to the protected data asset, wherein the determining comprises evaluating one or more criteria associated with the first user device, and the criteria comprises first information associated with a first policy constraint; and in response to a determination that access to the protected data asset is to be granted, granting access to the protected data asset.

Digital data asset protection policy using dynamic network attributes

A method is described and in one embodiment includes receiving at a forwarding node of a Service Function Chain ('SFC')-enabled network a packet having a packet header including at least one context header comprising metadata information for the packet, wherein the metadata information comprises price information indicative of a value of a traffic flow of which the packet comprises a part; identifying based on the metadata information and at least one of network state and environmental information a Virtual Network Function ('vNF') to which to forward the packet for processing; and forwarding the packet to the identified vNF for processing.

Techniques for implementing loose hop service function chains price information

Presented herein are techniques for use in a network environment that includes one or more service zones, each service zone including at least one instance of an in-line application service to be applied to network traffic and one or more routers to direct network traffic to the at least one service, and a route target being assigned to a unique service zone to serve as a community value for route import and export between routers of other service zones, destination networks or source networks via a control protocol. An edge router in each service zone or destination network advertises routes by its destination network prefix tagged with its route target. A service chain is created by importing and exporting of destination network prefixes by way of route targets at edge routers of the service zones or source networks.

Chaining service zones by way of route re-origination

In one embodiment, a service function classifier device determines a classification of a packet using one or more packet classification rules. The device selects a service function path based on the classification of the packet. The device determines one or more traffic flow characteristics based on the classification of the packet. The device generates a service function chaining (SFC) header that identifies the selected service function path and the determined one or more traffic flow characteristics. The SFC header is configured to cause a device along the service function path to forward the encapsulated packet based on the identified service function path and the determined one or more traffic flow characteristics. The device sends the packet along the selected service function path as an encapsulated packet that includes the generated SFC header.

Propagating flow characteristics in service function chaining (SFC) headers

In one embodiment, a device in a network receives a packet that includes a forwarding label for a service in a service chain. The packet encapsulates a service chain header for the service chain. The device swaps the forwarding label for the service in the packet for a reserved label that identifies the packet as encapsulating the service chain header. The device forwards the packet with the reserved label to the service.

Forwarding packets with encapsulated service chain headers

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to augmenting a Network Service Header (NSH) metadata of a data packet with a virtual routing and forwarding identifier (VRF-ID) and forgoing augmenting a virtual private network (VPN) label into a multiprotocol label switched (MPLS) metadata of the data packet. A provider edge router can use the VRF-ID to identify a next hop for the data packet as a service to be applied prior to forwarding the data packet to a VPN site.

Extending NSH services into the VPN L2/L3 domain

Aspects of the embodiments are directed to a service classifier configured for steering cloned traffic through a service function chain. The service classifier is configured to create a cloned data packet by creating a copy of a data packet; activate a mirror bit in a network service header (NSH) of the cloned data packet, the mirror bit identifying the cloned packet to a service function forwarder network element as a cloned packet; and transmit the cloned packet to the service function forwarder network element.

Steering of cloned traffic in a service function chain

Growing community of inventors

New Boston, NH, United States of America

James Neil Guichard