# US 12,192,092 B2 · BIER packet forwarding method, device, apparatus, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,192,092 B2 - Document ID: US12192092B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/787,897 - Filed: 2020-12-07 - Published: 2023-02-09 - Granted: 2025-01-07 - Earliest claimed: 2019-12-20 - Assignees: Zte Corporation - Applicants: Zte Corporation - Inventors: Shaofu Peng - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12192092B2 ## CPC - H04L 69/22: Parsing or analysis of headers - H04L 45/02: Topology update or discovery - H04L 45/04: {Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing} - H04L 45/50: using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS] - H04L 45/741: Routing in networks with a plurality of addressing schemes, e.g. with both IPv4 and IPv6 - H04L 47/43: Assembling or disassembling of packets, e.g. segmentation and reassembly [SAR] - H04L 47/70: Admission control; Resource allocation - H04L 47/80: Actions related to the user profile or the type of traffic - H04L 47/825: {Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A BIER packet forwarding method is applied to a packet sending node and includes: setting node information of a BIER forwarding neighboring node in a BIFT forwarding entry; in a case of determining according to the node information that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has a capability of processing a target packet format, encapsulating a BIER packet according to the target packet format; and sending an encapsulated BIER packet to the BIER forwarding neighboring node. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A Bit Indexed Explicit Replication (BIER) packet forwarding method, applied to a packet sending node, comprising: setting node information of a BIER forwarding neighboring node in a Bit Index Forwarding Table (BIFT) forwarding entry; in a case of determining according to the node information that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has a capability of processing a target packet format, encapsulating a BIER packet according to the target packet format; and sending an encapsulated BIER packet to the BIER forwarding neighboring node; wherein in the case of determining according to the node information that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has the capability of processing the target packet format, encapsulating the BIER packet according to the target packet format comprises: in a case where the node information comprises a packet format identifier corresponding to a non-Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) BIER packet, determining that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has the capability of processing the target packet format; and acquiring a BIER non-MPLS Generic Label (BNMGL) in the node information, and encapsulating the BNMGL and a BIER packet payload in a non-MPLS BIER packet format as an MPLS packet. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the node information further comprises at least one of a node identifier or routing information. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, before setting the node information of the BIER forwarding neighboring node in the BIFT forwarding entry, further comprising: receiving at least one piece of BIER information sent by at least one communication node, and creating, according to a respective one piece of BIER information sent by each communication node, a BIFT forwarding entry corresponding to the respective one piece of BIER information; and flooding the respective one piece of BIER information sent by the each communication node to one or more communication nodes other than the each communication node, so that the one or more communication nodes other than the each communication node establish a BIFT forwarding entry corresponding to the respective one piece of BIER information. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the Bit Indexed Explicit Replication (BIER) packet forwarding method according to claim 1. ### Claim 5 A Bit Indexed Explicit Replication (BIER) packet forwarding method, applied to a packet forwarding node, comprising: receiving a BIER packet sent by a packet sending node; searching for, according to a BIER non-Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Generic Label (BNMGL) in the BIER packet, a BNMGL incoming label map entry, and in a case of determining according to a search result that the packet forwarding node has a capability of processing a target packet format, parsing the BIER packet to acquire target node information; and forwarding the BIER packet according to the target node information; wherein in the case of determining according to the search result that the packet forwarding node has the capability of processing the target packet format, parsing the BIER packet to acquire the target node information comprises: in a case where the BNMGL incoming label map entry is found according to the BNMGL in the BIER packet, determining that the packet forwarding node has the capability of processing the target packet format existing; and removing the BNMGL in the BIER packet, extracting a BIER packet header in a non-MPLS BIER packet format, acquiring, according to a BIFT identifier in the BIER packet header, corresponding to the BIFT identifier, and parsing a BitString in the BIER packet header according to the to acquire the target node information. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, before receiving the BIER packet sent by the packet sending node, further comprising: acquiring at least one piece of BIER information sent by at least one communication node, and creating, according to BIER information sent by each communication node, a BIFT forwarding entry corresponding to the BIER information; and flooding BIER information of the packet forwarding node to at least one communication node other than the packet forwarding node, and creating a BNMGL incoming label map entry corresponding to the BIER information of the packet forwarding node. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method according to claim 6, wherein flooding the BIER information of the packet forwarding node to the at least one communication node other than the packet forwarding node, and creating the BNMGL incoming label map entry corresponding to the BIER information of the packet forwarding node comprises: allocating a BNMGL of the packet forwarding node, including the BNMGL in BIER information in a prefix reachable flooding packet, and flooding the prefix reachable flooding packet to the at least one communication node other than the packet forwarding node; and creating the BNMGL incoming label map entry with the BNMGL as a key value, wherein the BNMGL incoming label map entry comprises an operation type and a load mark. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) A device, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory configured to store at least one program; wherein the at least one program, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement the Bit Indexed Explicit Replication (BIER) packet forwarding method according to claim 5. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the Bit Indexed Explicit Replication (BIER) packet forwarding method according to claim 5. ### Claim 10 A device, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory configured to store at least one program; wherein the at least one program, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement: setting node information of a BIER forwarding neighboring node in a Bit Index Forwarding Table (BIFT) forwarding entry; in a case of determining according to the node information that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has a capability of processing a target packet format, encapsulating a BIER packet according to the target packet format; and sending an encapsulated BIER packet to the BIER forwarding neighboring node; wherein in the case of determining according to the node information that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has the capability of processing the target packet format, encapsulating the BIER packet according to the target packet format comprises: in a case where the node information comprises a packet format identifier corresponding to a non-Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) BIER packet, determining that the BIER forwarding neighboring node has the capability of processing the target packet format; and acquiring a BIER non-MPLS Generic Label (BNMGL) in the node information, and encapsulating the BNMGL and a BIER packet payload in a non-MPLS BIER packet format as an MPLS packet. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The device according to claim 10, wherein the node information further comprises at least one of a node identifier or routing information. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The device according to claim 10, before setting the node information of the BIER forwarding neighboring node in the BIFT forwarding entry, the at least one program, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to further implement: receiving at least one piece of BIER information sent by at least one communication node, and creating, according to a respective one piece of BIER information sent by each communication node, a BIFT forwarding entry corresponding to the respective one piece of BIER information; and flooding the respective one piece of BIER information sent by the each communication node to one or more communication nodes other than the each communication node, so that the one or more communication nodes other than the each communication node establish a BIFT forwarding entry corresponding to the respective one piece of BIER information.