CN111182033B - Method and equipment for restoring switch - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and equipment for restoring a switch, comprising the following steps: when the switch backs up a configuration file, judging whether to start the BMC backup; in response to starting the BMC backup, the configuration file is saved to the switch and transmitted to the BMC at the same time; Check whether the configuration file saved in the switch is changed at a threshold time; in response to the change, the BMC copies the changed configuration file to the BMC; in response to the switch being restarted for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system, the switch will to obtain the latest saved configuration file to complete the restore of the switch. By using the method of the present invention, the time and manpower required for business recovery after failure can be reduced, and the backup convenience, flexibility and overall operation reliability of the white box switch of the data center are improved.

Description

A method and device for restoring a switch

technical field

The field relates to the field of computers, and more particularly to a method and device for restoring a switch.

Background technique

The white box switch has the function of decoupling software, which can reduce costs and improve the flexibility of use. It can build different components and modules for the specific needs of manufacturers, and is welcomed by many manufacturers and data centers. The biggest highlight of the white-brand switch is its strong openness. Therefore, the white-brand switch has more choices in terms of operating systems and software.

With the maturing of SONiC (Software for Open Network in the Cloud) system and more and more applications in the Internet industry, SONIC+white box switch will be the mainstream access for future data centers The development of switches offers more possibilities. Since the SONIC system itself is open source software and has a short development history, there are still various problems.

BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) is a manager that is independent of other parts of the switch (such as BIOS, CPU + hard disk), and can manage the working status, power supply, sensors, logs, etc. of each device of the switch through IPMI tools. To improve the reliability of switch operation. Since the BMC operates independently of the switch system, the failure of the system will not affect the normal operation of the BMC, so it is suitable for backing up system configuration files.

During the normal operation of the data center switch, the installed SONiC system sometimes needs to be updated, and when the SONiC system does not work normally, the system also needs to be re-installed. At present, the SONiC system uses database configuration files (such as the config_db file) to configure and save various functions. Every time the switch restarts, SONiC will reload the database configuration file to restore the configuration. If the SONiC system is currently updated or re-installed, the configuration file will be restored, and the previous functional configuration will be lost, causing inconvenience in use, and may even cause switch service interruption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a method and device for restoring a switch, which can reduce the time and manpower required to restore services after a fault, and improve the convenience, flexibility, and overall operation of a data center white-box switch backup. reliability.

Based on the above purpose, an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for restoring a switch, including the following steps:

The switch judges whether to start BMC backup when backing up the configuration file;

In response to starting the BMC backup, the configuration file is saved to the switch and transferred to the BMC at the same time;

BMC checks whether the configuration file saved in the switch has changed every threshold time;

In response to the change, the BMC copies the changed configuration file to the BMC;

In response to the switch being powered on for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system, the switch obtains the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, saving the configuration file to the switch and simultaneously transmitting it to the BMC includes:

Determine whether the space used to store the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored this time;

In response to the space being unable to store the configuration file to be stored this time, the configuration file to be stored this time is stored after the earliest stored configuration file is deleted.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the threshold time is the same as the period of switch backup.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the configuration file is transferred to the BMC via one or more of the LPC bus, the PCI bus and the SPI bus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

After the BMC receives the configuration file, it verifies the configuration file;

In response to the verification failure, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to retransmit the configuration file.

Another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention further provides a switch restoration device, characterized in that the device includes:

at least one processor; and

a memory, the memory stores program code executable by the processor, and the program code executes the following steps when executed by the processor:

The switch judges whether to start BMC backup when backing up the configuration file;

In response to starting the BMC backup, the configuration file is saved to the switch and transferred to the BMC at the same time;

BMC checks whether the configuration file saved in the switch has changed every threshold time;

In response to the change, the BMC copies the changed configuration file to the BMC;

In response to the switch being powered on for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system, the switch obtains the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, saving the configuration file to the switch and simultaneously transmitting it to the BMC includes:

Determine whether the space used to store the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored this time;

In response to the space being unable to store the configuration file to be stored this time, the configuration file to be stored this time is stored after the earliest stored configuration file is deleted.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the threshold time is the same as the period of switch backup.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the configuration file is transferred to the BMC via one or more of the LPC bus, the PCI bus and the SPI bus.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the program code further performs the following steps when executed by the processor:

After the BMC receives the configuration file, it verifies the configuration file;

In response to the verification failure, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to retransmit the configuration file.

The present invention has the following beneficial technical effects: the method for restoring a switch provided by the embodiment of the present invention determines whether to start the BMC backup when the switch backs up the configuration file; in response to starting the BMC backup, the configuration file is saved to the switch and transmitted to the BMC at the same time Medium; BMC checks whether the configuration file saved in the switch has changed every threshold time; In response to the change, the BMC copies the changed configuration file to the BMC; In response to the switch restarting for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system , the switch obtains the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch, which can reduce the time and manpower required to restore services after a fault, and improve the convenience, flexibility and overall operation of the data center white-box switch backup. reliability.

Description of drawings

In order to explain the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other embodiments can also be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for restoring a switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Based on the above objective, in the first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, an embodiment of a method for restoring a switch is provided. Figure 1 shows a schematic flow chart of the method.

As shown in Figure 1, the method may include the following steps:

The S1 switch determines whether to enable BMC backup when backing up the configuration file, and you can set whether to enable the BMC backup function in the switch;

In response to starting the BMC backup, S2 saves the configuration file to the switch and transmits it to the BMC at the same time. The switch database configuration file is saved to the NVRAM (non-volatile memory, such as hard disk) of the switch and simultaneously transmitted through the data bus. For BMC, the role of backup switch in BMC can be realized;

S3BMC checks whether the configuration file saved in the switch has changed every threshold time. Due to special reasons, the configuration file transferred to the BMC may not be successful. In this case, the BMC needs to periodically check whether the backup file in the switch has changed. The latest configuration file is copied to the BMC for storage;

In response to the change, S4 copies the changed configuration file to the BMC;

S5 responds to the switch to start for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system, the switch obtains the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch, and the network operating system is updated or reinstalled, and the configuration file will be restored. As a result, the switch cannot be restored to the state before the update, which causes inconvenience in use and may cause the service interruption of the switch. In this case, the files backed up in the BMC need to be transferred to the switch for the restoration of the switch.

The invention can be applied to the backup of the NOS (Network Operating System) configuration file of the white box switch used in the data center and the recovery after reinstallation or failure. The BMC independent from the NOS is used to save the configuration file of the NOS, which reduces the time required to restore the business after the failure. It takes time and manpower and improves the backup convenience, flexibility and overall reliability of the data center white box switch.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, saving the configuration file to the switch and transmitting it to the BMC at the same time includes:

Determine whether the space used to store the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored this time;

In response to the space being unable to store the configuration file to be stored this time, the configuration file to be stored this time is stored after the earliest stored configuration file is deleted. Multiple configuration files can be saved in the FLASH (flash memory) space of BMC to prevent the backup file from being damaged. When the size of the configuration file exceeds the BMC FLASH limit (3 backup files by default), the newly saved configuration file will automatically overwrite the oldest configuration file. an update document.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the threshold time is the same as the switch backup period, and can also be set to be shorter than the switch backup period, and can be detected before the switch next backs up.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the configuration file is transmitted to the BMC via one or more of the LPC bus, the PCI bus and the SPI bus.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

After the BMC receives the configuration file, it verifies the configuration file;

In response to the verification failure, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to retransmit the configuration file. The verification generally compares the configuration file transmitted to the BMC with the configuration file stored in the switch at the same time. The comparison includes file size, file type, and storage time.

Example

The following is an example of the SONiC operating system of a commonly used data center white box switch. The SONiC operating system and BMC can be set to allow the NOS configuration file saving function to be enabled. When the function is enabled, every time SONiC saves the existing configuration into the configuration file config_db, SONiC will copy the config_db file at the same time and transfer the file to the BMC through the data transfer bus. BMC will also compare whether the config_db file has changed from time to time, and the configuration file will be automatically backed up through BMC if there is a change.

If the BMC allows NOS configuration file backup, it will receive the configuration file transmitted by SONiC and verify it; otherwise, SONiC will report an error message. After the verification is completed, the BMC will determine the storage space of its own FLASH. If there is enough space, the backup file will be written to the FLASH, otherwise the oldest configuration file in the FLASH will be replaced. By default, up to three NOS copies can be written. configuration file.

After the SONiC operating system of the data center white box switch is updated or restarted, it will first send a request to the BMC to transfer the backup configuration file config_db when it is started for the first time. The original configuration file config_db. If there is a configuration file saved on the BMC, the BMC will first verify that the configuration file is intact, and then transmit the latest configuration file to SONiC if it is intact, and the SONiC will load the configuration file after verification to restore the data center switch configuration. If there is no complete file in the BMC, or the SONiC verification fails, the SONiC uses the built-in configuration file to load the configuration.

The technical solution of the present invention can reduce the time and manpower required for business recovery after failure, and improve the backup convenience, flexibility and overall operation reliability of the white box switch in the data center.

It should be noted that those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the process in the method of the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The above-mentioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it may include the flow of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), or a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) or the like. The above computer program embodiments can achieve the same or similar effects as any of the foregoing method embodiments corresponding thereto.

In addition, the methods disclosed according to the embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented as a computer program executed by the CPU, and the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by the CPU, the above-mentioned functions defined in the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are executed.

Based on the above purpose, in a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a device for restoring a switch is provided, characterized in that the device includes:

at least one processor; and

a memory, the memory stores program code executable by the processor, and the program code executes the following steps when executed by the processor:

The switch judges whether to start BMC backup when backing up the configuration file;

In response to starting the BMC backup, the configuration file is saved to the switch and transferred to the BMC at the same time;

BMC checks whether the configuration file saved in the switch has changed every threshold time;

In response to the change, the BMC copies the changed configuration file to the BMC;

In response to the switch being powered on for the first time after reinstalling or updating the network operating system, the switch obtains the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, saving the configuration file to the switch and transmitting it to the BMC at the same time includes:

Determine whether the space used to store the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored this time;

In response to the space being unable to store the configuration file to be stored this time, the configuration file to be stored this time is stored after the earliest stored configuration file is deleted.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the threshold time is the same as the period of switch backup.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the configuration file is transmitted to the BMC via one or more of the LPC bus, the PCI bus and the SPI bus.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the program code also performs the following steps when being run by the processor:

After the BMC receives the configuration file, it verifies the configuration file;

In response to the verification failure, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to retransmit the configuration file.

It should be particularly pointed out that the embodiments of the above system use the embodiments of the above method to specifically describe the working process of each module, and those skilled in the art can easily think of applying these modules to other embodiments of the above method.

In addition, the above-mentioned method steps and system units or modules can also be implemented by using a controller and a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program that enables the controller to implement the functions of the above-mentioned steps or units or modules.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as software or hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.

The above-described embodiments, particularly any "preferred" embodiments, are possible examples of implementations, and are presented merely for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Numerous changes and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles of the technology described herein. All modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A method for switch restoration, comprising the steps of:

the switch judges whether to start BMC backup when backing up the configuration file;

in response to initiating the BMC backup, transmitting the configuration file to the BMC while saving to the switch;

the BMC checks whether the configuration file stored in the switch changes every threshold time;

in response to a change, the BMC copying the changed configuration file into the BMC;

and responding to the first starting after the network operating system is reinstalled or updated by the switch, and the switch acquires the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein saving the configuration file to the switch while transmitting to the BMC comprises:

judging whether the space for storing the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored at this time;

and in response to the space being incapable of storing the configuration file stored this time, deleting the configuration file stored earliest and then storing the configuration file stored this time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold time is the same as a period of the switch backup.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration file is transmitted to the BMC via one or more of an LPC bus, a PCI bus, and an SPI bus.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after receiving the configuration file, the BMC checks the configuration file;

in response to a failure to verify, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to re-transmit the configuration file.

6. An apparatus for switch restoration, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory storing program code executable by the processor, the program code, when executed by the processor, performing the steps of:

the switch judges whether to start BMC backup when backing up the configuration file;

in response to initiating the BMC backup, transmitting the configuration file to the BMC while saving to the switch;

the BMC checks whether the configuration file stored in the switch changes every threshold time;

in response to a change, the BMC copying the changed configuration file into the BMC;

and responding to the first starting after the network operating system is reinstalled or updated by the switch, and the switch acquires the latest saved configuration file from the BMC to complete the restoration of the switch.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the saving the configuration file to the switch while transmitting to the BMC comprises:

judging whether the space for storing the configuration file of the switch in the BMC flash memory can store the configuration file to be stored at this time;

and in response to the space being incapable of storing the configuration file stored this time, deleting the configuration file stored earliest and then storing the configuration file stored this time.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the threshold time is the same as a period of the switch backup.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein the configuration file is transmitted to the BMC via one or more of an LPC bus, a PCI bus, and an SPI bus.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the program code, when executed by the processor, further performs the steps of:

after receiving the configuration file, the BMC checks the configuration file;

in response to a failure to verify, the BMC sends an instruction to the switch to re-transmit the configuration file.

Images