Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100246388 | REDUNDANT HOST CONNECTION IN A ROUTED NETWORK - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a management mechanism and a configuration mechanism. During operation, the management mechanism is configured to operate the switch in conjunction with the partner switch as a single logical switch. The configuration mechanism is configured to assign a virtual switch identifier to the logical switch. | 09-30-2010 |
20110280572 | CONVERGED NETWORK EXTENSION - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a first port configured to receive Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) traffic; a second port configured to receive Fibre Channel (FC) traffic; and a third port configured to transmit received TRILL or FC traffic based on a Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) protocol. | 11-17-2011 |
20110286357 | FABRIC FORMATION FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port to couple to a second switch and a control mechanism configured. During operation, the control mechanism receives from the second switch a set of configuration information. Based on the received configuration information, the control mechanism invites the second switch to join a virtual cluster switch. | 11-24-2011 |
20110292947 | DISTRIBUTED CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a port to couple to a second switch. The switch also includes a control mechanism configured to maintain a set of configuration information for a virtual cluster switch which includes a number of member switches. The set of configuration information includes global configuration information for the virtual cluster switch and switch-specific configuration information for one or more member switches. In addition, the set of configuration information is replicated and stored at each member switch. | 12-01-2011 |
20110299391 | TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes one or more ports on the switch configured to transmit packets encapsulated based on a first protocol. The switch further includes a traffic management mechanism and a control mechanism. During operation, the control mechanism forms a logical switch based on a second protocol, receives an automatically assigned identifier for the logical switch without requiring manual configuration of the identifier, and joins a virtual cluster switch. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299402 | ADVANCED LINK TRACKING FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port that couples to a server hosting a number of virtual machines. The switch also includes a link tracking module. During operation, the link tracking module determines that reachability to at least one end host coupled to a virtual cluster switch of which the switch is a member is disrupted. The link tracking module then determines that at least one virtual machine coupled to the port is affected by the disrupted reachability, and communicates to the server hosting the affected virtual machine about the disrupted reachability. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299406 | PATH DETECTION IN TRILL NETWORKS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for detecting a path between two nodes. During operation, the system transmits a network-testing request frame, which includes a time-to-live (TTL) field within a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) header, from a source node to a destination node. In response to receiving a network-testing response frame sent from an intermediate node, the system increments the TTL value by 1 and re-transmits the network-testing frame to the destination node. In response to receiving a network-testing response frame sent from the destination node, the system determines a path between the source node and the destination node. The network-testing request or response frames is not processed on an Internet Protocol (IP) layer. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299409 | REACHABILITY DETECTION IN TRILL NETWORKS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for testing reachability between two nodes within a network. During operation, the system transmits a network-testing request frame from a source node to a destination node, and in response to receiving a network-testing response frame corresponding to the request frame, the system determines reachability of the destination node. The network-testing request or response frame is not processed on an Internet Protocol (IP) layer. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299413 | PORT PROFILE MANAGEMENT FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port profile which specifies a set of port configuration information. During operation, a control mechanism within the switch detects a source MAC address of an incoming frame and determines that the MAC address is associated with the port profile. The control mechanism then applies the port profile to a switch port on which the frame is received. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299414 | PRESERVING QUALITY OF SERVICE ACROSS TRILL NETWORKS - Systems and techniques for processing and/or forwarding packets are described. An ingress switch can use a QoS mapping mechanism to map a first set of Quality of Service (QoS) bits in a packet received from a customer to a second set of QoS bits for use in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) packet which encapsulates the packet. The first set of QoS bits can be different from the second set of QoS bits. The TRILL packet can be processed and/or forwarded in the network based on the second set of QoS bits. At the egress switch, the TRILL packet can be decapsulated and the original packet with the original QoS bits (or QoS bits that are different from the original QoS bits) can be forwarded to the customer's network. In this manner, some embodiments of the present invention can preserve the QoS bits across a TRILL network. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299527 | SUPPORTING MULTIPLE MULTICAST TREES IN TRILL NETWORKS - Systems and techniques for supporting multiple multicast trees are described. Some embodiments provide a system that determines an internal multicast group identifier based on a source address, a multicast address, and a multicast tree identifier field associated with a multicast packet. The system can then forward the multicast packet based on the internal multicast group identifier. Specifically, the system can determine a first set of bits based on the source address and the multicast address of the multicast packet. The system can determine a second set of bits based on the multicast tree identifier field of the multicast packet. Next, the system can combine the first set of bits and the second set of bits to obtain the internal multicast group identifier. In some embodiments, the scope of an internal virtual network identifier does not extend beyond a switch or a forwarding module within a switch. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299528 | NETWORK LAYER MULTICASTING IN TRILL NETWORKS - Systems and techniques for performing network layer multicasting in a TRILL network are described. Some embodiments provide a system that receives multicast packet that includes a network-layer multicast-address. The multicast packet can be received on a first multicast tree associated with a first virtual network. Next, the system can determine, based on the network-layer multicast-address, a second multicast tree associated with a second virtual network over which the multicast packet is to be forwarded. The system can then forward the multicast packet on the first multicast tree associated with the first virtual network, and forward a copy of the multicast packet on the second multicast tree associated with the second virtual network. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299531 | FLOODING PACKETS ON A PER-VIRTUAL-NETWORK BASIS - Methods and techniques for flooding packets on a per-virtual-network basis are described. Some embodiments provide a method (e.g., a switch) which determines an internal virtual network identifier based on one or more fields in a packet's header. Next, the method performs a forwarding lookup operation based on the internal virtual network identifier. If the forwarding lookup operation succeeds, the method can process and forward the packet accordingly. However, if the forwarding lookup operation fails, the method can determine a set of egress ports based on the internal virtual network identifier. Next, for each egress port in the set of egress ports, the method can flood the packet if a virtual network identifier in the packet's header is associated with the egress port. Flooding packets on a per-virtual-network basis can substantially reduce the amount of resources required to flood the packet when a forwarding lookup operation fails. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299532 | REMOTE PORT MIRRORING - A switch that facilitates remote port mirroring is described. The switch can include an encapsulation mechanism and a forwarding mechanism. The encapsulation mechanism can be configured to encapsulate a copy of a first packet in a second packet, thereby preserving header information (e.g., a VLAN identifier and/or a TRILL header) of the first packet. The forwarding mechanism can be configured to forward the first packet using header information of the first packet, and forward the second packet using header information of the second packet. The second packet can be received at a destination switch which extracts the first packet from the second packet, and sends the first packet on a port which is coupled to a network analyzer. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299533 | INTERNAL VIRTUAL NETWORK IDENTIFIER AND INTERNAL POLICY IDENTIFIER - Systems and techniques for processing and forwarding packets are described. Some embodiments provide a system (e.g., a switch) which determines an internal virtual network identifier and/or an internal policy identifier for a packet based on a port on which the packet was received and/or one or more fields in the packet. The system can then process and forward the packet based on the internal virtual network identifier and/or internal policy identifier. In some embodiments, the system encapsulates the packet in a TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) packet by adding a TRILL header to the packet. In some embodiments, the scope of an internal virtual network identifier and/or an internal policy identifier may not extend beyond a switch or a module within a switch. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299534 | VIRTUAL PORT GROUPING FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a port that couples to a server hosting a number of virtual machines. The switch also includes a set of virtual port grouping information and a virtual port grouping mechanism. During operation, the virtual port grouping mechanism determines whether a frame is traveling from a virtual port group to the same virtual port group. If the frame is not traveling to the same virtual port group, the virtual port grouping mechanism prevents the frame from being forwarded. | 12-08-2011 |
20110299535 | NAME SERVICES FOR VIRTUAL CLUSTER SWITCHING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch that facilitates name services in a virtual cluster switch. The switch includes a name service database indicating at least one media access control (MAC) address learned at a second switch. The switch also includes a control mechanism. During operation, the control mechanism distributes information on a locally learned MAC address to the second switch. In addition, the control mechanism receives information on a MAC address learned at the second switch. | 12-08-2011 |
20120106957 | Single Virtual Domain Fibre Channel over Ethernet Fabric - The entire FCoE fabric is a single virtual domain, even though there may be multiple FCFs and FDFs. The virtual domain is a different Domain_ID than any of the FCFs. In certain embodiments there are multiple FCFs, of which one is selected as the master or designated FCF. The master FCF performs normal fabric configuration in conjunction with the Fibre Channel fabric. The master FCF assigns the virtual domain FC node IDs and controls development of subdomain IDs. Virtual links are instantiated between the master FCF and other FCFs, between top level FDFs and the FCFs and between the FDFs at each of various levels. FDFs connected to ENodes proxy the master FCF for most FIP operations. FIP FLOGI and FDISC operations are handled by the master FDF, but the FDFs convert the FIP FLOGI requests to VD_FLOGI requests, which include information about the FDF handling the transaction. | 05-03-2012 |
20120163164 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REMOTE LOAD BALANCING IN HIGH-AVAILABILITY NETWORKS - A system is provided for facilitating remote load balancing in a high-availability network. During operation, the system receives a plurality of data frames destined for a destination device, wherein the destination device is coupled to a network via a trunk link, the trunk link coupling the destination device to at least two separate egress switching devices. The system then forwards the data frames via at least two data paths, each of which leads to a respective egress switching device. | 06-28-2012 |
20120281700 | LAYER-3 SUPPORT IN TRILL NETWORKS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes an IP header processor and a forwarding mechanism. The IP header processor identifies a destination IP address in a packet encapsulated with an inner Ethernet header, a TRILL header, and an outer Ethernet header. The forwarding mechanism determines an output port and constructs a new header for the packet based on the destination IP address. The switch also includes a packet processor which determines whether (1) an inner destination media access control (MAC) address corresponds to a local MAC address assigned to the switch; (2) a destination RBridge identifier corresponds to a local RBridge identifier assigned to the switch; and (3) an outer destination MAC address corresponds to the local MAC address. | 11-08-2012 |
20130003733 | MULTICAST IN A TRILL NETWORK - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. A switch includes a storage and a multicast management mechanism. The storage is configured to store an entry indicating a multicast group membership learned at a remote switch. The multicast management mechanism is coupled to the storage and is configured to suppress flooding of packets destined for the multicast group. | 01-03-2013 |
20130003738 | TRILL BASED ROUTER REDUNDANCY - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switching system. The switching system includes a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) header processor and an Internet Protocol (IP) header processor. The TRILL header processor is configured to identify a virtual routing bridge (RBridge) identifier in a packet, and the IP header processor is configured to identify a virtual IP address in the packet. The virtual IP address is assigned to a virtual IP router associated with the virtual RBridge identifier. | 01-03-2013 |
20130003747 | EFFICIENT TRILL FORWARDING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a storage and a lookup mechanism. The storage stores a first table that contains an entry corresponding to a media access control (MAC) address of a device and an identifier of a remote switch associated with the device. The storage also stores a second table that contains an entry indicating a local outgoing interface corresponding to the remote switch. The lookup mechanism identifies the local outgoing interface corresponding to the device based on the first table and the second table. | 01-03-2013 |
20130223449 | DYNAMIC SERVICE INSERTION IN A FABRIC SWITCH - One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a service management module and a packet processor. During operation, the service management module identifies a service provided by an appliance coupled to the switch via a local port. The packet processor constructs a notification message for a remote switch. The notification message includes information about the service and the appliance. In this way, the switch allows the remote switch to request the service. | 08-29-2013 |