Ruled-based network traffic interception and distribution scheme

• US 10,069,764 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Xiaochu, Hsu, Ivy Pei-Shan, Chinthalapati, Eswara, Chhabria, Sanjeev
• Primary Examiner(s): Yuen, Kan
• Application Number:
  US15/425,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20170187649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/467 Arrangements for supporting untagged frames, e.g. port-based VLANs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/602 Multilayer or multiprotocol switching, e.g. IP switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/325 in the network layer [OSI layer 3], e.g. X.25 H04L69/16 takes precedence

Abstract

Using a hash function, an L2/L3 switch can produce an FID for a data packet. The L2/L3 switch can select, from among potentially several stored VLAN flooding tables, a particular VLAN flooding table that is associated with a particular VLAN on which the data packet is to be carried. The rows of the particular VLAN flooding table can specify different combinations of the particular VLAN'"'"'s egress ports. The L2/L3 switch can locate, in the particular VLAN flooding table, a particular row that specifies the FID. The L2/L3 switch can read, from the particular row, a specified subset of the egress ports that are associated with the particular VLAN. The L2/L3 switch can transmit copies of the data packet out each of the egress ports specified in the subset, toward analytic servers connected to those egress ports.

Claims

1. A network device, comprising:

a plurality of ports;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled with and readable by the one or more processors;

wherein a plurality of virtual local area networks (VLANs) have been defined for the network device, wherein each VLAN from the plurality of VLANs is associated with one or more ports from the plurality of ports; and

wherein the memory includes instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause at least one processor from the one or more processors to perform operations including;

determining a class for a packet, wherein the class is determined using a first attribute of the packet;

selecting a VLAN from the plurality of VLANs, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with the class;

determining, using a hash function and a second attribute of the packet, an identifier for the packet;

selecting, using the identifier, a set of ports from the one or more ports associated with the selected VLAN, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, wherein the identifier is used to select a row from the table, and wherein the selected row includes at least one port associated with a trunk and at least one port that is not associated with a trunk; and

sending a copy of the packet through each port from the set of ports.

2. The network device of claim 1, wherein the selected VLAN includes a trunk, wherein the trunk is associated with at least one port from the one or more ports associated with the VLAN, and wherein the set of ports includes a port from the at least one port that is associated with trunk.

3. The network device of claim 1, wherein the selected VLAN includes a trunk, wherein the trunk is associated with at least one port from the one or more ports associated with the VLAN, and wherein the set of ports includes a first port from the at least one port that is associated with trunk and a second port that is not associated with any trunk.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the selected VLAN includes a plurality of trunks, wherein the plurality of trunks is each associated with a set of trunk ports, and wherein the set of ports includes a port from each of the set of trunk ports.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, and wherein the set of ports are selected from the table using the identifier.

6. The network device of claim 1, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, wherein the identifier is used to select a row from the table, and where the row includes the set of ports.

7. A method, comprising:

determining, by a network device, a class for a packet, wherein the class is determined using a first attribute of the packet, wherein a plurality of virtual local area network (VLANs) have been defined for the network device, wherein the network device includes a plurality of ports, and wherein each VLAN from the plurality of VLANs is associated with one or more ports from the plurality of ports;

selecting a VLAN from the plurality of VLANs, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with the class;

determining, using a hash function and a second attribute of the packet, an

identifier for the packet;

selecting, using the identifier, a set of ports from the one or more ports associated with the selected VLAN, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, wherein the identifier is used to select a row from the table, and wherein the selected row includes at least one port associated with a trunk and at least one port that is not associated with a trunk; and

sending a copy of the packet through each port from the set of ports.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected VLAN includes a trunk, wherein the trunk is associated with at least one port from the one or more ports associated with the VLAN, and wherein the set of ports includes a port from the at least one port that is associated with trunk.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected VLAN includes a trunk, wherein the trunk is associated with at least one port from the one or more ports associated with the VLAN, and wherein the set of ports includes a first port from the at least one port that is associated with trunk and a second port that is not associated with any trunk.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected VLAN includes a plurality of trunks, wherein each trunk from the plurality of trunk is associated with a set of trunk ports, and wherein the set of ports includes a port from each of the set of trunk ports.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, and wherein the set of ports are selected from the table using the identifier.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected VLAN is associated with a table, wherein the identifier is used to select a row from the table, and where the row includes the set of ports.

13. A network device comprising:

a plurality of ports;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled with and readable by the one or more processors, the memory including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause at least one processor from the one or more processors to perform operations including;

generating a first identifier for a first data packet using a hash function and one or more attributes of the data packet;

determining a first class the first data packet based on a specified first set of attributes of the first data packet;

determining a first set of ports from the plurality of ports, wherein the first set of ports is determined using the first identifier and a first table from a plurality of tables, wherein the first table is associated with a first VLAN from a plurality of VLANS, wherein the first VLAN is associated with the first class;

sending a copy of the first data packet through each port from the first set of ports;

generating a second identifier for a second data packet using the hash function and one or more attributes of the second data packet; and

determining the second set of ports from the plurality of ports, wherein determining the second set of ports includes reading the second set of ports from a second row from a second table from the plurality of tables, wherein the second row is associated with the second identifier.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein determining the first set of ports includes reading the first set of ports from a first row from the first table, wherein the first row is associated with the first identifier.

15. The network device of claim 13, wherein the memory further includes instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

determining, for a second data packet, a second set of ports from the plurality of ports, wherein the second set of ports is determined using a second table from the plurality of tables; and

sending a copy of the second data packet through each port from the second set of ports.

16. The network device of claim 13, wherein the first set of ports are determined from a first row from the first table, wherein the second table is the same as the first table, and wherein the second row is different from the first row.

17. The network device of claim 13, wherein the memory further includes instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

determining a second class for a second data packet based on a specified second set of attributes of the second data packet, wherein a second VLAN is associated with the second class.

18. The network device of claim 17, wherein the first VLAN is not associated with the second class, and wherein the second VLAN is not associated with the first class.