Method and device for checking forwarding tables of network nodes by means of check packets

1. A method for checking a forwarding table, comprising:

generating, by a network check device, a check packet according to network topology information, wherein the check packet comprises a source Internet Protocol (IP) address and a destination IP address, wherein the source IP address is an IP address of the network check device, the check packet further comprises a label stack comprising N link labels, N is a quantity of hops from the network check device to a to-be-checked network node, and N≥1;

sending, by the network check device, the check packet to the to-be-checked network node according to the label stack;

receiving, by the network check device, a notification message sent by a feedback node, wherein the notification message indicates that the feedback node has received the check packet forwarded by the to-be-checked network node, and the feedback node is a next-hop node of the to-be-checked network node; and

determining, by the network check device according to the notification message and the network topology information, whether a forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of generating the check packet comprises:

determining, by the network check device according to the destination IP address and the network topology information, a forwarding path from the network check device to the destination IP address and the to-be-checked network node on the forwarding path, wherein the network topology information comprises the forwarding path and route information of each hop on the forwarding path; and

determining, by the network check device according to the network topology information, the quantity of hops from the network check device to the to-be-checked network node and a link label of each hop, and generating the check packet according to the quantity of hops and the link label of each hop.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the check packet further comprises time to live (TTL), a value of TTL set by the network check device is N+1, and the method further comprises:

receiving, by the feedback node, the check packet forwarded by the to-be-checked network node; and

subtracting, by the feedback node, 1 from the value of TTL carried in the received check packet, and sending the notification message when determining that the value of TTL is 0.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining whether the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct comprises:

determining the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct when the feedback node that sends the notification message is consistent with the network topology information; and

determining the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is incorrect when the feedback node that sends the notification message is inconsistent with the network topology information.

5. A network check device comprising:

a memory comprising instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to:

generate a check packet according to network topology information, wherein the check packet comprises a source Internet Protocol (IP) address and a destination IP address, the source IP address is an IP address of the network check device, the check packet further comprises a label stack comprising N link labels, N is a quantity of hops from the network check device to a to-be-checked network node, and N≥1;

send the check packet to the to-be-checked network node according to the label stack;

receive a notification message sent by a feedback node, wherein the notification message indicates that the feedback node has received the check packet forwarded by the to-be-checked network node, and the feedback node is a next-hop node of the to-be-checked network node; and

determine, according to the notification message and the network topology information, whether a forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct.

6. The network check device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to:

determine, according to the destination IP address and the network topology information, a network path and the to-be-checked network node on the network path, wherein the forwarding path comprises the network path;

determine, according to the network topology information, the quantity of hops from the network check device to the to-be-checked network node and a link label of each hop; and

generate the check packet according to the quantity of hops and the link label of each hop.

7. The network check device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to obtain the network topology information from a software-defined networking (SDN) controller.

8. The network check device according to claim 5 , wherein the check packet further comprises time to live (TTL), a value of TTL set by the network check device is N+1, and the notification message is sent by the feedback node when the value of TTL in the check packet is 0, and 1 is subtracted from the value of TTL by each network node receiving the check packet.

9. The network check device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to:

determine the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct when the feedback node that sends the notification message is consistent with the network topology information; and

determine the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is incorrect when the feedback node that sends the notification message is inconsistent with the network topology information.

10. A system for checking a forwarding table, comprising:

a network check device;

a to-be-checked network node; and

a feedback node, wherein the feedback node is a next hop of the to-be-checked network node;

wherein the network check device is configured to generate a check packet according to a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address and network topology information, and send the check packet to the to-be-checked network node, wherein the check packet comprises a source IP address and the destination IP address, the source IP address is an IP address of the network check device, wherein the check packet further comprises a label stack comprising N link labels, N is a quantity of hops from the network check device to the to-be-checked network node, and N≥1, and the check packet is sent to the to-be-checked network node according to the label stack;

the to-be-checked network node is configured to receive the check packet, and forward the check packet to the feedback node according to the destination IP address and a forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node; and

the feedback node is configured to receive the check packet and send a notification message to the network check device for the network check device to determine whether the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein

the to-be-checked network node is further configured to pop a topmost link label of the label stack of the check packet received by the to-be-checked network node.

12. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the network check device is configured to generate the check packet by performing operations of:

determining, according to the destination IP address and the network topology information, a forwarding path from the network check device to the destination IP address and the to-be-checked network node on the forwarding path, wherein the network topology information comprises the forwarding path and route information of each hop on the forwarding path;

determining, according to the network topology information, the quantity of hops from the network check device to the to-be-checked network node and a link label of each hop, and

generating the check packet according to the quantity of hops and the link label of each hop.

13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the check packet further comprises a label stack, time to live (TTL), a value of TTL set by the network check device is N+1; wherein

the to-be-checked network node is further configured to subtract 1 from the value of TTL carried in the received check packet by the to-be-checked network node; and

the feedback node is further configured to subtract 1 from the value of TTL carried in the received check packet by the feedback node, and determine that the value of TTL is 0 before sending the notification message to the network check device.

14. The system according to claim 13 , wherein the system further comprises one or more intermediate network nodes, and the one or more intermediate network nodes are configured to:

pop a topmost link label of the label stack and subtract 1 from the value of TTL carried in the check packet received respectively;

determine that the label stack is not empty; and

forward the check packet according to the topmost link label of the label stack carried in the check packet received respectively until the check packet arrives at the to-be-checked network node.

15. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the network check device is configured to:

determine the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is correct when the feedback node that sends the notification message is consistent with the network topology information; and

determine the forwarding table of the to-be-checked network node is incorrect when the feedback node that sends the notification message is inconsistent with the network topology information.