Network traffic control by association of network packets and processes

• US 10,007,544 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Domsch, Matthew L., Hernandez, Hendrich M., Winter, Robert L., Dube, Shawn J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barry, Lance Leonard
• Application Number:
  US14/502,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20150020073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5005 to service a request
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455

Abstract

An information handling system includes a plurality of processors that each includes a cache memory, and a receive side scaling (RSS) indirection table with a plurality of pointers that each points to one of the processors. One or more network interface cards interface with the plurality of processors to receive information from a network. A hypervisor executes on one or more of the processors to support execution of virtual machines and coordinates information received at the network interface cards based upon an association between the information and virtual processors of the virtual machines, the virtual processors having identifiers.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

plural processors, each processor operable to execute one or more processes;

memory interfaced with the processors and operable to store information in support of execution of the one or more processes;

one or more network interface cards interfaced with the processors and operable to receive information from a network for communication to the processors; and

a hypervisor operable to execute on the one or more processors to support execution of plural virtual machines and to coordinate information received at the one or more network interface cards for communication to the plural virtual machines based upon an association between the information and virtual processors of the plural virtual machines, the association including at least identifiers of the virtual processors.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein:

the hypervisor defines plural virtual processors and at least one virtual network interface card; and

the hypervisor coordinates information with;

a virtual process scheduler executing over the hypervisor and operable to assign virtual machine processes to the virtual processors for execution; and

a virtual network flow assignment manager executing over the hypervisor, the virtual network flow assignment manager operable to direct the at least one virtual network interface card to communicate the information of one or more network packets to a predetermined of the plural virtual processors based upon a physical processor that received the network packet.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein:

the hypervisor defines plural virtual processors and a virtual network interface card; and

the hypervisor coordinates information with the virtual network interface card executing over the hypervisor to receive a network packet from the hypervisor, the hypervisor including a virtual processor identifier with the network packet, the virtual network interface card applying the virtual processor identifier to raise an interrupt with the virtual processor to process the network packet.

4. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the hypervisor coordinates information received at the one or more network interface cards by:

generating a hash from predetermined information of the one or more network packets;

comparing the generated hash with a predetermined hash value associated with a process executing on the information handling system; and

in response to comparing, raising an interrupt to a physical processor running the process.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the predetermined information comprises a virtual local area network identifier (VLAN ID).

6. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the hypervisor coordinates information received at the one or more network interface cards by:

determining that a process has a network flow of at least a predetermined amount;

in response to determining, moving the process to a predetermined of plural physical processors;

associating a hash of information of the process with the predetermined of plural physical processors;

determining that a hash of the network packet is the hash of the information of the process; and

in response to determining that a hash of the network packet is the hash of the information of the process, raising an interrupt to the predetermined physical processor.

7. The information handling system of claim 6 wherein the process comprises a virtual machine.

8. The information handling system of claim 1, the hypervisor having a virtual network interface card, wherein the hypervisor coordinates information received at the one or more network interface cards by:

marking the network packet by the hypervisor with a virtual processor identifier that identifies a virtual processor associated with processing of the network packet;

placing the network packet by the hypervisor in a buffer of the virtual network interface card; and

raising an interrupt by the virtual network interface card to the virtual processor associated with the virtual processor identifier.

9. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the hypervisor further maps the virtual processor to a one of the plural processors to process the network packet, the one of the plural processors associated with the virtual processor.

10. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the hypervisor selects a processor from plural processors to process a network packet by:

receiving a network packet in a virtual network interface card;

associating the network packet with a process;

issuing an interrupt from the virtual network interface card to a virtual processor associated with the network packet process;

receiving the interrupt at the hypervisor supporting the virtual network interface card; and

issuing an interrupt by the hypervisor to a physical processor supporting the virtual processor.