The disclosure relates to technology for sending network management information in a network. A source edge node modifies data packets by encapsulating an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) header in the data packets traversing a data path, and the OAM header includes a first indicator field. The source edge node also inserts a segment size field into the OAM header of the data packets based on an indication by the first indicator field, the segment size field indicating the data path is partitioned into segments based on a value of the segment size field.

A Slow Protocol packet processing method and a related apparatus, where the method includes receiving, by a network device, a first Slow Protocol packet, determining, based on port information of a port of the network device receiving the first Slow Protocol packet, that a negotiation process is already completed between the network device and the transmit end device, querying, based on device information of the transmit end device carried in the first Slow Protocol packet, whether a device information base stored by the network device in the negotiation process includes the device information of the transmit end device, and identifying the first Slow Protocol packet as a valid packet in response to a result that the device information base includes the device information of the transmit end device.

Disclosed are a method and a device for automatically implementing IOAM encapsulation, and a storage medium. The method comprises: sending, at an IOAM ingress node, a first message carrying IOAM configuration request information to an IOAM centralized configuration point; receiving, at the IOAM ingress node, a second message carrying IOAM configuration information of IOAM transmission nodes sent from the IOAM centralized configuration point; and performing, at the IOAM ingress node, IOAM encapsulation on a service data message according to the IOAM configuration information of the IOAM transmission nodes.

The disclosure relates to technology for sending network management information in a network. A source edge node modifies data packets by encapsulating an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) header in a select number of the data packets. The OAM header includes a data type bitmap and a node data list. A valid node bitmap is inserted into the OAM header prior to the node data list, and each bit in the valid node bitmap identifies whether one or more nodes in the network add data to the OAM header. A valid data bitmap is then added into the OAM header for each of the one or more nodes identified as adding data to the OAM header. The valid data bitmap indicates types of data items available at the node. Subsequently, the edge node issues the select data packets to the one or more nodes identified in the OAM header.

In one embodiment, in-band operations data included in packets being processed is used to signal among entities of a virtualized packet processing apparatus. Using in-band operations data provides insight on actual entities used in processing of the packet within the virtualized packet processing apparatus. The operations data in the packet is modified to signal a detected overload condition of an entity that participates in communicating the packet within the virtualized packet processing apparatus and/or applying a network service to the packet. An In-Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (IOAM) header is used in one embodiment, with the IOAM header typically including a new Overload Flag to signal the detection of the overload condition. In response to the signaled overload condition, a load balancer is adjusted such that future packets are not distributed to the virtualized entity associated with the detected overload condition.

Embodiments of the disclosure pertain to activating in-band OAM based on a triggering event. Aspects of the embodiments are directed to receiving a first notification indicating a problem in a network; triggering a data-collection feature on one or more nodes in the network for subsequent packets that traverse the one or more nodes; evaluating a subsequent packet that includes data augmented by the data collection feature; and determining the problem in the network based on the data augmented to the subsequent packet.

In one embodiment, a service function forwarder (SFF) analyzes pre-service state and post-service state of an original packet to determine whether to initiate and perform service offload or service bypass. A service function forwarder (SFF) receives a particular packet having a service function chain (SFC) encapsulation of the original packet, the SFC encapsulation identifying a particular service function path (SFP) designating a particular service function (SF). The SFF extracts pre-service state of the original packet, typically adding it to the particular packet in an In-Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (IOAM) data field (or alternatively storing locally) before sending the particular packet to the particular SF. The SFF receives the particular packet after the SF applies the particular network service. In response to analyzing pre-service state and post-service state by the SFF, the SFF may perform service bypass or service offload for subsequently received packets identifying the same particular SFP.

Systems and methods are described herein for performing automated testing of online charging systems associated with telecommunications networks. In some embodiments, the systems and methods utilize various components associated with an online charging system, such as an event mediator, to convert data associated with test cases to be simulated by the online charging system (e.g., data from spreadsheets) into various test requests actionable during the online charging system under when simulating the test cases.

Service availability determination systems and methods include determining availability of a packet service in a Maintenance Interval (MI) based on frame loss measurements in short intervals t and marking each t as available or unavailable based on the frame loss measurements and an associated Frame Loss Ratio (FLR) threshold, wherein each t is a High Loss interval (HLI) when exceeding the FLR threshold; utilizing a sliding window of size n, n being an integer, to determine whether the packet service is available or unavailable; and utilizing an extension period after an end of the MI with the sliding window to ensure all t' s in the MI are marked as available or unavailable.

In an embodiment, a data processing method comprises receiving, at a BIER replicator node that is programmed to implement Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER) protocol, from a data source, a multicast stream packet identifying a service-level multicast group address; using the BIER replicator node, replicating the multicast stream packet according to BIER protocol and transmitting two or more replicated packet streams to two or more BIER receiver nodes that are programmed to implement BIER; using the two or more BIER receiver nodes, transmitting the two or more replicated packet streams to two or more receivers. Other embodiments may use modified iOAM (In-situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance) techniques comprising: using the source, encapsulating an iOAM header and placing in the header one of: an identifier of a replicator policy; a definition of a replicator policy expressed in a symbolic language; receiving the iOAM header at one or more of the BIER replicator nodes; at a particular one of the replicator nodes, performing one of: reading the identifier of the replicator policy, retrieving a pre-defined packet replication policy that matches the identifier, and executing the pre-defined packet replication policy to dynamically adjust packet processing behavior of the particular one of the BIER replicator nodes; or parsing the definition of the replicator policy in the symbolic language to yield a new packet replication policy, and executing the new packet replication policy to dynamically adjust packet processing behavior of the particular one of the BIER replicator nodes.