Patent Application
20250106139
This patent application claims priority to India Provisional Patent Application No. 202341064503, filed on Sep. 26, 2023, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING ENERGY EFFICIENT NETWORKS,” and assigned to the assignee hereof. The disclosure of the prior application is considered part of and is incorporated by reference into this patent application.
An interface or port of a network device includes multiple hardware components (e.g., optics, a laser, a processor, and/or the like) that enable the network device to establish a link with another network device. An interface or port of the other network device also includes such multiple hardware components.
Some implementations described herein relate to a method. The method may include providing, by a first network device, a link discovery message to a second network device, and identifying a link with the second network device based on the link discovery message. The method may include providing, to the second network device, a first control channel message that identifies the link at the first network device, a current state of the link as a power on state, and a desired state of the link as a power sleep state, and receiving, from the second network device, a second control channel message that identifies the link at the second network device, the current state of the link as the power on state, and the desired state of the link as the power sleep state. The method may include placing the link in the power sleep state based on the first control channel message and the second control channel message.
Some implementations described herein relate to a first network device. The first network device may include one or more memories and one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to provide a link discovery message to a second network device, and identify a link with the second network device based on the link discovery message. The one or more processors may be configured to provide, to the second network device, a first control channel message that identifies the link at the first network device, a current state of the link as a power on state, and a desired state of the link as a power sleep state, and receive, from the second network device, a second control channel message that identifies the link at the second network device, the current state of the link as the power on state, and the desired state of the link as the power sleep state. The one or more processors may be configured to divert all traffic flowing on the link, and place the link in the power sleep state based on the first control channel message and the second control channel message.
Some implementations described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a first network device, may cause the first network device to provide a link discovery message to a second network device a, and identify a link with the second network device based on the link discovery message. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the first network device, may cause the first network device to provide, to the second network device, a first control channel message that identifies the link at the first network device, a current state of the link as a power on state, and a desired state of the link as a power sleep state, and receive, from the second network device, a second control channel message that identifies the link at the second network device, the current state of the link as the power on state, and the desired state of the link as the power sleep state. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the first network device, may cause the first network device to determine that the power sleep state requested in the first control channel message is acknowledged when the desired state of the link in the second control channel message is set to the power sleep state, and place the link in the power sleep state based on the first control channel message and the second control channel message.
The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.
A network may include multiple energy efficient (e.g., green) network devices and multiple energy inefficient network devices. Network planners design a network for worst-case traffic conditions while also catering to various potential resiliency scenarios. Typically, the network capacity is under-utilized, due to traffic conditions. Also, the actual traffic patterns may exhibit periodicity with regard to overall network utilization.
The total power required to keep a link and an interface of a network device operational is significant. The link, the interface, and associated hardware components consume significant power even when the link and the interface are in an idle state (e.g., not sending or receiving traffic). For example, a network device with one hundred and 400 gigabit (Gb) ports will consume kilowatts (kW) of power for the interfaces alone. Furthermore, when two directly-connected network devices are not exchanging traffic, the links and the interfaces of the network devices unnecessarily consume power. Thus, current techniques for managing network devices consume computing resources (e.g., processing resources, memory resources, communication resources, and/or the like), power resources, networking resources, and/or the like associated with failing to adjust power consumption and bandwidth of connected network devices based on a traffic rate, failing to power off links and interfaces of the connected network device during idle states and wasting power with the idle links and interfaces, failing to power off the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, unnecessarily maintaining the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, and/or the like.
Some implementations described herein relate to providing a link power management protocol for connected network devices. For example, a first network device may provide a link discovery message to a second network device, and may identify a link with the second network device based on the link discovery message. The first network device may provide, to the second network device, a first control channel message that identifies the link at the first network device, a current state of the link as a power on state, and a desired state of the link as a power sleep state, and may receive, from the second network device, a second control channel message that identifies the link at the second network device, the current state of the link as the power on state, and the desired state of the link as the power sleep state. The first network device may divert all traffic flowing on the link, and may place the link in the power sleep state based on the first control channel message and the second control channel message.
In this way, the implementations provide a link power management protocol for connected network devices. For example, a first network device may be connected to a second network device via a link. The connected network devices may utilize the link power management protocol to control transition events (e.g., transitioning a link to a power sleep state), and to enable higher layer protocols to prepare for the transition events. The first network device may exchange one or more periodic link discovery messages with the second network device to identify a link participating in power state changes. The first network device may exchange one or more control channel messages with the second network device to implement a power state change for the identified link. Thus, the connected network devices conserve computing resources, networking resources, and/or the like that would otherwise have been consumed by failing to adjust power consumption and bandwidth of connected network devices based on a traffic rate, failing to power off links and interfaces of the connected network device during idle states and wasting power with the idle links and interfaces, failing to power off the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, unnecessarily maintaining the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, and/or the like.
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The link power management protocol may identify each network device by an identification (e.g., a Node ID) that is unique across the network, such as a thirty-two-bit network device ID or any other existing identification of the network device. The link power management protocol may utilize a null terminated character string to identify a network device side of the link (e.g., a first side connected to the first network device and a second side connected to the second network device). This may enable independent implementation approaches without any restriction for any consistent link numbering. Various applications (e.g., routing protocols, telemetry, configuration settings, and/or the like) may interact with the link power management protocol to transition a link to a desired link state. The link power management protocol may interact with platform management software to power off or power on links. A link may be placed in a powered-on state when the link is participating in transmission or receipt of traffic. A link may be placed in a power sleep state when the link is powered off by the link power management protocol. A link may be placed in a powered-off state when the link is administratively powered off.
The Node ID TLV may include a unique distinguisher of a network device across the network. The local link name string TLV may include an encoded character string with a length identified in a TLV field of a local port. The remote learned link name string TLV may include an encoded character string with a length identified in a TLV field of a remote port. The optional TLV may include two types of optional timer values: a link up alarm suppression timer and a power sleep wait timer. The link up alarm suppression timer may include timer value settings shared by a peer network device that is used for suppressing alarms temporarily during power state transition. After power state transition negotiation is acknowledged, a peer network device may wait for expiration of the power sleep wait timer before placing the link in the power sleep state. A value of the power sleep wait timer may be selected such that the power sleep wait timer provides sufficient time for data to be flushed out or for any protocol actions to be performed.
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In this way, the implementations provide a link power management protocol for connected network devices. For example, a first network device may be connected to a second network device via a link. The connected network devices may utilize the link power management protocol to control transition events (e.g., transitioning a link to a power sleep state) gracefully, and to enable higher layer protocols to prepare for the transition events. The first network device may exchange one or more periodic link discovery messages with the second network device to identify a link participating in power state changes. The first network device may exchange one or more control channel messages with the second network device to implement a power state change for the identified link. Thus, the connected network devices conserve computing resources, networking resources, and/or the like that would otherwise have been consumed by failing to adjust power consumption and bandwidth of connected network devices based on a traffic rate, failing to power off links and interfaces of the connected network device during idle states and wasting power with the idle links and interfaces, failing to power off the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, unnecessarily maintaining the idle links and interfaces during non-peak utilization times of the connected network devices, and/or the like.
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The endpoint device 210 includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and/or providing information, such as information described herein. For example, the endpoint device 210 may include a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone or a radiotelephone), a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a handheld computer, a gaming device, a wearable communication device (e.g., a smart watch, a pair of smart glasses, a heart rate monitor, a fitness tracker, smart clothing, smart jewelry, or a head mounted display), a network device, a server device, a group of server devices, or a similar type of device. In some implementations, the endpoint device 210 may receive network traffic from and/or may provide network traffic to other endpoint devices 210 and/or the server device 230, via the network 240 (e.g., by routing packets using the network devices 220 as intermediaries).
The network device 220 includes one or more devices capable of receiving, processing, storing, routing, and/or providing traffic (e.g., a packet or other information or metadata) in a manner described herein. For example, the network device 220 may include a router, such as a label switching router (LSR), a label edge router (LER), an ingress router, an egress router, a provider router (e.g., a provider edge router or a provider core router), a virtual router, a route reflector, an area border router, or another type of router. Additionally, or alternatively, the network device 220 may include a gateway, a switch, a firewall, a hub, a bridge, a reverse proxy, a server (e.g., a proxy server, a cloud server, or a data center server), a load balancer, and/or a similar device. In some implementations, the network device 220 may be a physical device implemented within a housing, such as a chassis. In some implementations, the network device 220 may be a virtual device implemented by one or more computer devices of a cloud computing environment or a data center. In some implementations, a group of network devices 220 may be a group of data center nodes that are used to route traffic flow through the network 240.
The server device 230 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, providing, and/or routing information, as described elsewhere herein. The server device 230 may include a communication device and/or a computing device. For example, the server device 230 may include a server, such as an application server, a client server, a web server, a database server, a host server, a proxy server, a virtual server (e.g., executing on computing hardware), or a server in a cloud computing system. In some implementations, the server device 230 may include computing hardware used in a cloud computing environment.
The network 240 includes one or more wired and/or wireless networks. For example, the network 240 may include a packet switched network, a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a fourth generation (4G) network, such as a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, a cloud computing network, or the like, and/or a combination of these or other types of networks.
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The bus 310 includes one or more components that enable wired and/or wireless communication among the components of the device 300. The bus 310 may couple together two or more components of
The memory 330 includes volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. For example, the memory 330 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive, and/or another type of memory (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and/or an optical memory). The memory 330 may include internal memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, or a hard disk drive) and/or removable memory (e.g., removable via a universal serial bus connection). The memory 330 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 330 stores information, instructions, and/or software (e.g., one or more software applications) related to the operation of the device 300. In some implementations, the memory 330 includes one or more memories that are coupled to one or more processors (e.g., the processor 320), such as via the bus 310.
The input component 340 enables the device 300 to receive input, such as user input and/or sensed input. For example, the input component 340 may include a touch screen, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a microphone, a switch, a sensor, a global positioning system sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or an actuator. The output component 350 enables the device 300 to provide output, such as via a display, a speaker, and/or a light-emitting diode. The communication interface 360 enables the device 300 to communicate with other devices via a wired connection and/or a wireless connection. For example, the communication interface 360 may include a receiver, a transmitter, a transceiver, a modem, a network interface card, and/or an antenna.
The device 300 may perform one or more operations or processes described herein. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory 330) may store a set of instructions (e.g., one or more instructions or code) for execution by the processor 320. The processor 320 may execute the set of instructions to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. In some implementations, execution of the set of instructions, by one or more processors 320, causes the one or more processors 320 and/or the device 300 to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. In some implementations, hardwired circuitry may be used instead of or in combination with the instructions to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 320 may be configured to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
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The input component 410 may be one or more points of attachment for physical links and may be one or more points of entry for incoming traffic, such as packets. The input component 410 may process incoming traffic, such as by performing data link layer encapsulation or decapsulation. In some implementations, the input component 410 may transmit and/or receive packets. In some implementations, the input component 410 may include an input line card that includes one or more packet processing components (e.g., in the form of integrated circuits), such as one or more interface cards (IFCs), packet forwarding components, line card controller components, input ports, processors, memories, and/or input queues. In some implementations, the device 400 may include one or more input components 410.
The switching component 420 may interconnect the input components 410 with the output components 430. In some implementations, the switching component 420 may be implemented via one or more crossbars, via busses, and/or with shared memories. The shared memories may act as temporary buffers to store packets from the input components 410 before the packets are eventually scheduled for delivery to the output components 430. In some implementations, the switching component 420 may enable the input components 410, the output components 430, and/or the controller 440 to communicate with one another.
The output component 430 may store packets and may schedule packets for transmission on output physical links. The output component 430 may support data link layer encapsulation or decapsulation, and/or a variety of higher-level protocols. In some implementations, the output component 430 may transmit packets and/or receive packets. In some implementations, the output component 430 may include an output line card that includes one or more packet processing components (e.g., in the form of integrated circuits), such as one or more IFCs, packet forwarding components, line card controller components, output ports, processors, memories, and/or output queues. In some implementations, the device 400 may include one or more output components 430. In some implementations, the input component 410 and the output component 430 may be implemented by the same set of components (e.g., and input/output component may be a combination of the input component 410 and the output component 430).
The controller 440 includes a processor in the form of, for example, a CPU, a GPU, an APU, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a DSP, an FPGA, an ASIC, and/or another type of processor. The processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. In some implementations, the controller 440 may include one or more processors that can be programmed to perform a function.
In some implementations, the controller 440 may include a RAM, a ROM, and/or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, etc.) that stores information and/or instructions for use by the controller 440.
In some implementations, the controller 440 may communicate with other devices, networks, and/or systems connected to the device 400 to exchange information regarding network topology. The controller 440 may create routing tables based on the network topology information, may create forwarding tables based on the routing tables, and may forward the forwarding tables to the input components 410 and/or output components 430. The input components 410 and/or the output components 430 may use the forwarding tables to perform route lookups for incoming and/or outgoing packets.
The controller 440 may perform one or more processes described herein. The controller 440 may perform these processes in response to executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space spread across multiple physical storage devices.
Software instructions may be read into a memory and/or storage component associated with the controller 440 from another computer-readable medium or from another device via a communication interface. When executed, software instructions stored in a memory and/or storage component associated with the controller 440 may cause the controller 440 to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
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In some implementations, process 500 includes determining that the power sleep state requested in the first control channel message is acknowledged when the desired state of the link in the second control channel message is set to the power sleep state.
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In some implementations, process 500 includes providing, to the second network device, a third control channel message that identifies the link at the first network device, the current state of the link as the power sleep state, and the desired state of the link as the power on state, and placing the link in the power on state when providing the third control channel message to the second network device.
In some implementations, process 500 includes receiving, from the second network device, a fourth control channel message that identifies the link at the second network device, the current state of the link as the power sleep state, and the desired state of the link as the power on state. In some implementations, the fourth control channel message causes the second network device to power on the link. In some implementations, process 500 includes starting a link up timer, and verifying that the link is enabled after expiration of the link up timer. In some implementations, process 500 includes enabling alarm handling based on failing to verify that the link is enabled, and generating an alarm with the alarm handling.
The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.
As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be used to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein.
Although particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.
No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term “set” is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, and/or the like), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”).
In the preceding specification, various example embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202341064503 | Sep 2023 | IN | national |
