LAN-VPLS STITCHING METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM
According to one embodiment, provider edge routers may be queried and required information for deploying a missing VPLS service on a target router may be obtained. This allows a Local Area Network (LAN) to Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) to stitch in an automated manner without an operator of the cloud management system requiring knowledge of the types of VPLS services involved in the stitching process.
1 . A method for connecting a Local Area Network (LAN) to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) via a Provider Edge (PE) router using a layer 2 Virtual Private LAN service (VPLS), the VPN being facilitated by an underlying physical network of a Service Provider (SP) and the VPN being managed by a cloud management system, the method comprising:
the cloud management system providing a list of available VPLS services for connecting said LAN to the VPN along with an address of said PE router, each VPLS service having a different VPLS identifier (VPLS_ID);
choosing a VPLS service from among the list of VPLS services;
the cloud management system determining whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on the PE router;
if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is deployed, the cloud management system generating a Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network;
if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is not deployed, the cloud management system obtaining a list of all the VPLS services that are deployed on other PE routers within said underlying physical network of the SP that are associated with the chosen VPLS service;
the cloud management system determining whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on another PE router based on the obtained list;
if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is on another PE router, the cloud management system obtaining deployment information from said another PE router, the cloud management system further deploying the suitable VPLS service on the PE router using the deployment information and subsequently generating the Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the VPN facilitates VPLS services of different types.
3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the network facilitates native and Provider Back Bone (PBB) VPLS services.
4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein determining that a suitable VPLS service is deployed on the PE router comprises:
determining that an operating model of the VPLS service to be used for connecting the LAN to the VPN is a native operating model when a native VPLS service is deployed on the PE router;
determining that an operating model of the VPLS service to be used for connecting the LAN to the VPN is a PBB operating model when an I-VPLS service is deployed on the PE router.
5 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein determining whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on another PE router comprises:
determining that an operating model of the VPLS service to be used for connecting the LAN to the VPN network is a native operating model when no I-VPLS service and no B-VPLS service is deployed on any of the other PE routers, the cloud management system being configured to deploy a native VPLS service on the PE router and to subsequently generate the Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network.
6 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein determining whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on another PE router comprises:
determining that an operating model of the VPLS service to be used for connecting the LAN to the VPN is a PBB operating model when an I-VPLS service is deployed on any of the other PE router;
in which case the obtaining of deployment information from the another PE router comprises obtaining information for connecting an I-VPLS service to a B-VPLS service from the I-VPLS service on the another PE router;
the cloud management system being further configured to deploy a I-VPLS service on the PE router using the B-VPLS service connecting information and to subsequently generate the Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network.
7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the connecting information comprises a B-VPLS identifier (ID) of the B-VPLS service instance the I-VPLS service to be deployed has to connect to, the connecting information further comprising a B-VPLS service maximum transmission unit (MTU).
8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cloud management system is configured to issue a warning when a suitable VPLS service has not been found on the PE router or on another PE router.
9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the cloud management system is configured to issue a warning when a B-VPLS service is found on the PE router and/or when only a B-VPLS service is found on the other PE routers.
10 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the cloud management system is configure to issue a warning when no deployment information can be obtained from another PE router on which a suitable VPLS service was found.
11 . A method to connect a plurality of LANs to a VPN via corresponding Provider Edge (PE) routers using a layer 2 Virtual Private LAN service (VPLS), to effectively form a single Ethernet LAN, the method comprising each of said plurality of LANs connecting to the VPN network in accordance with claim 1 using the same VPLS_ID.
12 . A cloud management system for managing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which is facilitated by an underlying physical network of a Service Provider (SP), said VPN being configured to allow connections with a Local Area Network (LAN) via a Provider Edge (PE) router using a layer 2 Virtual Private LAN service (VPLS), the cloud management system being configured to:
provide a list of available VPLS services for connecting said LAD to the VPN network along with an address of said PE router, each VPLS service having a different VPLS identifier (VPLS_ID), and to then determine whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on the PE router;
the cloud management system being further configured to, if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is deployed:
generate a Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network; and
the cloud management system being further configured to, if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is not deployed:
obtain a list of all the VPLS services that are deployed on other PE routers within said underlying physical network of the SP that are associated with the chosen VPLS service;
determine whether a suitable VPLS service is deployed on another PE router based on the obtained list;
obtain deployment information from said another PE router if it is determined that a suitable VPLS service is on another PE router;
deploy the suitable VPLS service on the PE router using the deployment information and to subsequently generate the Service Access Point (SAP) within the PE router to connect the LAN to the VPN network.
13 . A cloud management system for managing a VPN which is facilitated by an underlying physical network of a Service Provider SP, said VPN being configured to allow connections with a plurality of LANs via corresponding PE routers using a layer 2 Virtual Private LAN service VPLS, to effectively form a single Ethernet LAN, wherein the cloud management system is configured to connect each of said plurality of LANs to the VPN using the same VPLS_ID as defined in claim 12 .
14 . A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which, when carried out by a processing unit in a cloud management system, implements the method as defined in claim 1 .