Reachability detection in trill networks

1. A method, comprising:

processing a command to test reachability in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network, wherein the command specifies a type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network;

generating a network-test request flame based at least on the specified type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network and an address of a destination node;

transmitting a network testing request frame from a source node to a destination node; and

in response to a network-testing response frame corresponding to the network-testing request frame, determining reachability of the destination node.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame includes an Ethernet frame.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the Ethernet frame includes a field which indicates that the Ethernet frame is an Operation, Administration, and Management (OAM) frame.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame is a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) frame.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame includes TRILL headers comprising an address of the destination node in an outer media access control (MAC) destination address (DA) field.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame includes TRILL headers and an encapsulated Ethernet frame, and wherein an Ethertype field of the encapsulated Ethernet frame specifies that the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame is a TRILL OAM frame.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the encapsulated Ethernet frame includes a TRILL OAM header field.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the TRILL OAM header field includes an operation code (opcode) field, and wherein the opcode field specifies whether a TRILL OAM frame is a request frame or a response frame.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the TRILL OAM header field includes a transaction identifier, and wherein the network-testing request frame and the corresponding network-testing response frame have the same transaction identifier.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a round trip time between the time when the network-testing request frame is transmitted and the time when the network-testing response frame is received.

11. A switch, comprising:

a processing mechanism configured to process a command to test reachability in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network, wherein the command specifies a type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network;

a packet generator configured to generate a network-test request flame based at least on the specified type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network and an address of a destination node; and

a transmission mechanism configured to transmit a network testing request frame from a source node to a destination node; and

a determination mechanism configured to determine, in response to receiving the network-testing response frame corresponding to the network-testing request frame, reachability of the destination node.

12. The switch of claim 11 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame includes an Ethernet frame.

13. The switch of claim 11 , wherein the Ethernet frame includes a field which indicates that the Ethernet frame is an Operation, Administration, and Management (OAM) frame.

14. The switch of claim 11 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame is a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) frame.

15. The switch of claim 14 , wherein the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame includes TRILL headers comprising an address of the destination node in an outer media access control (MAC) destination address (DA) field.

16. The switch of claim 14 , wherein the network-testing request or response frame includes TRILL headers and an encapsulated Ethernet frame, and wherein an Ethertype field of the encapsulated Ethernet frame specifies that the network-testing request frame or the network-testing response frame is a TRILL OAM frame.

17. The switch of claim 16 , wherein the encapsulated Ethernet frame includes a TRILL OAM header field.

18. The switch of claim 17 , wherein the TRILL OAM header field includes an operation code (opcode) field, and wherein the opcode field specifies whether a TRILL OAM frame is a request frame or a response frame.

19. The switch of claim 17 , wherein the TRILL OAM header field includes a transaction identifier, and wherein the network-testing request frame and the corresponding network-testing response frame have the same transaction identifier.

20. The switch of claim 11 , further comprising a round trip time calculator configured to calculate the round trip time between the time when the network-testing request frame is transmitted and the time when the network-testing response frame is received.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

means for processing a command to test reachability in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network, wherein the command specifies a type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network;

means for generating a network-test request frame based at least on the specified type of layer two or layer three network operating on top of the TRILL network and an address of a destination node;

means for transmitting a network testing request frame from a source node to a destination node; and

means for, in response to a network-testing response frame corresponding to the network-testing request frame, determining reachability of the destination node.