Metaswitch Networks Limited

Simon Wingrove

Michael James Curtis

Alex Pollitt

Shaun Crampton

Steve Balls

Fiona Corden

Casey Davenport

Christopher David Liljenstolpe

Tom Denham

Paul Tiplady

Measures, including methods, systems, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums and computer programs for use in routing packet data. At a network switching device, a data packet is received from a device located upstream of the network switching device. The received data packet comprises routing data associated with a routing decision which has been taken for the data packet upstream of the network switching device. The routing data comprises an abstract media access control (MAC) address corresponding to a next hop destination for the data packet located downstream of the network switching device. At the network switching device, the abstract MAC address in the data packet is replaced with a real MAC address of the next hop downstream destination. At the network switching device, the data packet is forwarded towards the next hop downstream destination.

Packet data routing

Measures for processing data in a packet-switched network. A first device is configured to snoop control packets of a predetermined control plane protocol in the network. The predetermined control plane protocol is operated by a plurality of other devices in the network to obtain Layer 2 information on the basis of known Layer 3 information. The first device does not operate the predetermined control plane protocol in the network. At the first device, in response to identifying that a given snooped packet was generated according to the predetermined control plane protocol. Layer 3 information associated with a second device in the plurality is extracted from the given snooped control plane protocol packet on the basis of known Layer 2 information associated with the second device. The second device is connected to the first device.

Data processing

Measures for processing data in a packet-switched network. At a first device in the network, a packet transmitted from a second device in the network is received. The received packet comprising an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a third device in the network. On the basis of the IP address for the third device comprised in the received data packet, lookup in an IP routing table of the second device is initiated to obtain a next-hop address for the received packet. The obtained next-hop IP address is determined to be an IP address of a device connected to the first device.

Measures for processing data in a packet-switched network. At a first device in the network, an echo request packet is transmitted into the network. The echo request packet comprises a predetermined identifier. An echo response packet is received from a second device in the network. In response to the received echo response packet comprising the predetermined identifier, the received echo response packet is identified as a packet generated on the basis of an echo request packet originated from the first device, and an Internet Protocol (IP) address comprised in the received echo response packet is determined to be an IP address of the second device.

Certain examples described herein provide a system and method for validating a routing function for a network device. In one example, a network device has a run-time policy engine, wherein the run-time policy engine implements a routing configuration file and the routing configuration file defines a routing function for network traffic. A file editor is also provided that loads the routing configuration file. The file editor has an editor policy engine that duplicates a functionality of the run-time policy engine. In one example, the routing configuration file has at least one validation portion that has one or more route statements with definitions indicative of expected routing function behavior. The file editor parses the routing configuration file by implementing the routing configuration file using the editor policy engine. The editor policy engine applies the routing function defined by the routing configuration file to the one or more route statements and indicates where a result of the routing function does not conform to the definitions indicative of expected routing function behavior. These examples may help to reduce routing errors due to configuration errors in network devices.

Validating a routing function

Measures for configuring a network aggregation device in a network. First routing data for a plurality of internet protocol (IP) flows configured on at least one edge device of a service provider network is identified. The edge device is located towards the service provider network from the network aggregation device. At least one utility metric for at least one IP flow in the identified plurality of IP flows is calculated. The at least one utility metric is calculated at least in part on the basis of one or more destination IP addresses associated with the at least one IP flow. A subset of IP flows from the identified plurality of IP flows is selected at least in part on the basis of the calculated at least one utility metric. Second routing data for the selected subset of IP flows is configured on the network aggregation device.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Simon Wingrove