Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090150527 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECONFIGURING A VIRTUAL NETWORK PATH - In general in one aspect, the invention relates to a method for reconfiguring a virtual network path. The method includes populating a virtual switching table associated with virtual network interface cards (VNICs), implementing the virtual network path using the virtual switching table, where the virtual network path includes a first virtual wire between a first VNIC located in a first computer and a second VNIC located in a second computer, placing a first network packet and a second network packet in a receive buffer associated with the second VNIC, transmitting the first network packet to the second VNIC using the virtual switching table, migrating the second VNIC from the second computer to a third computer, updating the virtual switching table based on migrating the second VNIC, and transmitting the second network packet to the second VNIC in the third computer using the virtual switching table. | 06-11-2009 |
20090150538 | Method and system for monitoring virtual wires - In general, the invention relates to a method for monitoring virtual wires. The method includes selecting a first virtual wire to monitor, wherein the first virtual wire connects a first virtual network interface card (VNIC) located on a first computer to a second VNIC located on a second computer, where the first computer and the second computer are connected to a chassis, and where the first virtual wire is implemented by the chassis. The method further includes collecting usage statistics associated with the first virtual wire, and performing a first action using the collected usage statistics associated with the first virtual wire. | 06-11-2009 |
20090219935 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSFERRING PACKETS TO A GUEST OPERATING SYSTEM - In general, the invention relates to a method for transferring a packet. The method includes receiving the packet by a physical network interface, determining a virtual network interface card (VNIC) using a virtual switching table, where the VNIC is located on a computer operatively connected to the network express manager (NEM) via a chassis interconnect, and the VNIC is executing on a host operating system (OS) in the computer. The method further includes transferring the packet to a receive ring (RR) associated with the VNIC, wherein the RR is located on the NEM, providing the network express manager with a receive descriptor, transferring the packet to the guest OS memory using the receive descriptor, and notifying the guest OS that the packet is in the guest OS memory. | 09-03-2009 |
20090219936 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OFFLOADING NETWORK PROCESSING - The invention relates to a method for processing a packet. The method includes receiving the packet by a physical network interface, determining a target virtual network interface card (VNIC) using the destination address and a virtual switching table (VST), transferring the packet to a receive ring (RR) associated with the target VNIC, wherein the RR is located on the NEM, determining, by the target VNIC, that the packet is in the RR, determining, by the target VNIC, that the packet is to be processed using an offload engine, transferring the packet to offload memory located on an offload computer, wherein the offload computer is operatively connected to the NEM via the chassis interconnect and wherein the offload engine is executing on the offload computer, processing the packet by the offload engine to obtain a processed packet, and transferring the processed packet to a target computer memory using the chassis interconnect. | 09-03-2009 |
20090222567 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEDIA-BASED DATA TRANSFER - A method for media-based data transfer involves obtaining data, by a first virtual network interface card (VNIC) selected from multiple VNICs, where the multiple VNICs are associated with multiple virtual machines, where each of the multiple virtual machines is located in one of multiple computers communicatively coupled with each other via a chassis interconnect, and where the multiple computers share a physical network interface. The method further involves determining a media type connecting the first VNIC with a second VNIC selected from the multiple VNICs, where the first VNIC and the second VNIC are nodes of a virtual network path, where the first VNIC is located in a first computer selected from the multiple computers, and where the second VNIC is located in a second computer selected from the multiple computers. The method further involves choosing a transfer protocol based on the media type, and transferring the data from the first VNIC to the second VNIC using the transfer protocol. | 09-03-2009 |
20090238072 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LOAD BALANCING USING QUEUED PACKET INFORMATION - A computer readable medium including instructions executable by a processor to perform a method, the method including obtaining a packet by a load balancer, obtaining queued packet information for a plurality of target hosts operatively connected to the load balancer, selecting the one of the plurality of target hosts using the queued packet information, and sending the packet to the selected target host using a first communication channel between the load balancer and the selected target host. | 09-24-2009 |
20090238189 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CLASSIFYING NETWORK TRAFFIC - A system includes a physical NIC associated with the computer and including receive rings for storing network traffic addressed to the VNIC, where the receive rings include a local receive ring for storing local traffic and a forwarding receive ring for storing forwarding traffic. The physical NIC further includes a hardware classifier configured to register a local Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the VNIC in a lookup table, receive a packet including a destination IP address, classify the packet as local traffic or forwarding traffic using the lookup table, and store the packet in the local receive ring or the forwarding receive ring based on the type. The VNIC is configured to retrieve the packet from the receive ring, and process the packet in a type-specific manner based on the receive ring where the packet was stored, where the type-specific manner is different for local traffic and forwarding traffic. | 09-24-2009 |
20090327392 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CREATING A VIRTUAL ROUTER IN A BLADE CHASSIS TO MAINTAIN CONNECTIVITY - A method for migrating a first virtual machine (VM), that includes transmitting, prior to migration, a first packet between the first VM on a first blade chassis and a second VM on a second blade chassis using a first virtual network interface card (VNIC) and a second VNIC. The method includes migrating the first VM and the first VNIC to the second blade, identifying a subnet of the first VM, identifying a subnet of the second VM, and creating a virtual router to execute on the second blade. The virtual router is associated with a third VNIC and a fourth VNIC. A first network address in the first VNIC's subnet is assigned to the third VNIC. A second network address in the second VNIC's subnet is assigned to the fourth VNIC. The method includes routing a second packet between the first VM and the second VM using the virtual router. | 12-31-2009 |
20100284279 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING NETWORK COMMUNICATION - A method for monitoring communication on a network. The method includes configuring a classifier using a monitoring rule, receiving a plurality of packets from the network; analyzing each of the plurality of packets by the classifier to determine to which of the plurality of packets satisfies the monitoring rule; forwarding any of the plurality of packets that satisfy the monitoring rule to a first hardware receive ring (HRR) located on a first physical network interface (NI), forwarding any of the plurality of packets that do not satisfy the monitoring rule to a second HRR, and transmitting a first number of packets from the first HRR directly to user level memory, wherein the user level memory resides on a host operatively connected to the first physical NI. | 11-11-2010 |
20100303075 | MANAGING TRAFFIC ON VIRTUALIZED LANES BETWEEN A NETWORK SWITCH AND A VIRTUAL MACHINE - A computer readable medium comprising software instructions for managing resources on a host, wherein the software instructions comprise functionality to: configure a classifier located on a NIC, to forward packets addressed to a first destination address to a first HRR mapped to a first VNIC, wherein packets addressed to the first destination address are associated with a first PFC lane; configure the classifier to forward packets addressed to a second destination address to a second HRR, wherein packets addressed to the second destination address are associated with a second PFC lane; and transmit, by the first VNIC, a pause frame associated with the first PFC lane to a switch operatively connected to the physical NIC, wherein the switch, in response to receiving the pause frame, stores packets associated with the first PFC lane in a buffer without transmitting the packets. | 12-02-2010 |
20100306358 | HANDLING OF MULTIPLE MAC UNICAST ADDRESSES WITH VIRTUAL MACHINES - A method for managing a guest OS executing on a host. The method includes receiving, from the guest OS associated with a first MAC address, a second MAC address, wherein the first MAC address is associated with a first guest VNIC, wherein the second MAC address is associated with a second guest VNIC; configuring an intermediate VNIC executing on the host OS to forward packets associated with the second MAC address to the guest OS, wherein packets associated with the first MAC address and received by the intermediate VNIC are forwarded to the guest OS; and forwarding the second MAC address from the intermediate VNIC to a device driver associated with a physical NIC, wherein the device driver configures a classifier on the physical NIC to forward packets associated with the second MAC address to a first HRR located on the physical NIC associated with the intermediate VNIC. | 12-02-2010 |
20120026885 | NOTIFYING NETWORK APPLICATIONS OF RECEIVE OVERFLOW CONDITIONS - A method for notifying a packet destination that includes receiving a packet by a network interface card (NIC), where the packet destination is a destination of the packet, classifying the packet, forwarding the packet to one of a plurality of receive rings on the NIC, determining whether the one of the plurality of receive rings comprises space to store the packet, dropping the packet if the receive ring does not comprise the space to store the packet, and sending a notification message to the packet destination, where the notification message indicates that the packet was dropped by the receive ring. | 02-02-2012 |
20120072621 | DYNAMIC BALANCING OF IO RESOURCES ON NUMA PLATFORMS - A method for binding input/output (I/O) objects to nodes. The method includes receiving, by an I/O Subsystem, a request to use an I/O device from a process, determining a first resource to service the request, and generating a first I/O object corresponding to the first resource. The method includes sending the first I/O object to a NUMA I/O Framework, obtaining a first I/O object effective load from the first I/O object, and obtaining a first I/O load capacity of a first NUMA node of a plurality of NUMA nodes. The method includes comparing the first I/O load capacity and the first I/O object effective load, selecting the first NUMA node based on a determination that the first I/O load capacity is greater than the first I/O object effective load, binding the first I/O object to the first NUMA node, and processing the first resource corresponding to the first I/O object. | 03-22-2012 |
20120072622 | USING PROCESS LOCATION TO BIND IO RESOURCES ON NUMA ARCHITECTURES - In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a method for binding input/output (I/O) objects to nodes. The method includes receiving a request to use an I/O device from a process, determining a resource to service the request, generating a first I/O object corresponding to the resource, wherein the first I/O object is unbound, and generating a proc object, wherein the proc object comprises a reference to the process requesting to use the I/O device. The method also includes sending the first I/O object and the proc object to a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) I/O Framework, determining that the process is executing on a first NUMA node, selecting the first NUMA, binding the first I/O object to the first NUMA node, and servicing the request by processing, on the first NUMA node, the resource corresponding to the first I/O object. | 03-22-2012 |
20120072624 | NUMA I/O FRAMEWORK - A method for binding input/output (I/O) objects to nodes includes an subsystem receiving a request to use an I/O device from a process, determining a first resource to service the request, generating a first I/O object corresponding to the first resource, wherein the first I/O object is unbound, and sending the first I/O object to a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) I/O Framework. The method further includes the NUMA I/O Framework selecting a first NUMA node of a plurality of NUMA nodes, to which to bind the first I/O object and binding the first I/O object to the first NUMA node. The method further includes servicing the request by processing, on the first NUMA node, the first resource corresponding to the first I/O object. | 03-22-2012 |
20120072627 | DYNAMIC CREATION AND DESTRUCTION OF IO RESOURCES BASED ON ACTUAL LOAD AND RESOURCE AVAILABILITY - A method for binding input/output (I/O) objects to nodes. The method includes binding an I/O object group to a NUMA node of a plurality of NUMA nodes on a system, obtaining an I/O object group size of the I/O object group, and determining an I/O object group target size based on an I/O object group aggregate load of the I/O object group. The method further includes comparing, by the NUMA I/O Framework, the I/O object group target size and the I/O object group aggregate load, determining, by the NUMA I/O Framework, that a difference between the I/O object group target size and the I/O object group aggregate load exceeds a threshold, and instructing, by the NUMA I/O Framework, an I/O Subsystem associated with the I/O object group to change the I/O object group size, wherein the I/O Subsystem changes, in response to the instruction, the I/O object group size. | 03-22-2012 |
20130033981 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING NETWORK TRAFFIC AMONG MULTIPLE DIRECT HARDWARE ACCESS DATAPATHS - A system for distributing network traffic among direct hardware access datapaths, comprising: a processor; one or more activated PNICs; a host operating system; and a virtual machine (VM). Each activated PNIC sends and receives data packets over a network. Each activated PNIC is configured with a virtual function. The VM includes a VNIC and a virtual link aggregator configured to maintain a list identifying each activated PNIC. Virtual function mappings for the VM associate the VM with virtual functions for the activated PNICs. The virtual link aggregator selects the first activated PNIC for servicing a network connection and determines a virtual function for the first activated PNIC. The VNIC for the first activated PNIC uses the virtual function to directly transfer network traffic for the network connection between the VM and the first activated PNIC. | 02-07-2013 |
20140233370 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VIRTUAL NETWORK INTERFACE CARDS (VNICS) OVER AGGREGATION SPANNING MULTIPLE SWITCHES - A method for remapping VNICs associated with an aggregation layer. The method includes making a first determination that a first network interface card (NIC) has failed, where the first NIC and a second NIC are part of the aggregation group, the aggregation layer manages the aggregation group, where a first virtual NIC (VNIC) is mapped to the first NIC and a second VNIC is mapped to the second NIC, and the first NIC is connected to a first switch and the second NIC is connected to a second switch. The method further includes, based on the first determination, remapping the first VNIC to the second NIC, and after the remapping, receiving packets by the first VNIC from the second NIC. | 08-21-2014 |
20150063372 | DYNAMIC ASSIGNMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF APPLICATION-DRIVEN PER-CONNECTION SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS - A method for handling connection requests. The method includes receiving, by an operating system (OS), a request from an application to create a connection, wherein the request comprises a connection identifier and a service-level agreement (SLA), determining that the application is authorized to create the connection, creating the connection targeting the application in response to the determination that the application is authorized to create the connection, and applying the SLA to the connection in response to the determination that the application is authorized to create the connection. The method further includes receiving incoming data targeting the connection identifier from a network, processing, by a network protocol stack on the OS, the incoming data according to the SLA to obtain processed incoming data, and providing the processed incoming data to the application. Similar processing may be done on outgoing data from the application to the network. | 03-05-2015 |
20150067182 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR END-TO-END CLASSIFICATION OF LEVEL 7 APPLICATION FLOWS IN NETWORKING ENDPOINTS AND DEVICES - In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a method for handling connections. The method includes receiving, by an OS, a request from an application to create a connection, wherein the request comprises a connection identifier and a SLA, creating, by the OS, the connection targeting the application in response to the request, and mapping the connection identifier to the SLA. The method further includes receiving data from the application for the connection, generating, by a network protocol stack on the OS, a packet from the data by storing the connection identifier into a plurality of headers of the packet, processing, by the network protocol stack, the packet according to the SLA to obtain a processed packet, and transmitting, by the network protocol stack, the processed packet to the network. | 03-05-2015 |