Recovering from virtual port channel peer failure

• US 10,116,493 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2014
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pani, Ayaskant, Agarwal, Saurabh, Tatikonda, Srinivas, Kamisetty, Sarat
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Siming
• Application Number:
  US14/550,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20160149751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/12 Shortest path evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/586 of virtual routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/254 Centralised controller, i.e. arbitration or scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for recovering from a partial failure of a virtual port chain (vPC) domain. The first and second vPC peers may be paired to create a vPC having a virtual address. An endpoint host may communicate with a network via the virtual port channel. The system may detect that the first virtual port channel peer is down. During or after the first vPC reboots, the reachability cost for the first vPC with regards to the virtual address can be set to an inflated value. The first vPC peer may also delay its bring up time while it synchronizes its vPC state information with the second vPC peer. The second vPC can continue to advertise the association between the endpoint host and the virtual address. Upon completion of the synchronization, the first vPC peer may bring up the link and restore the reachability cost.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting that a first virtual port channel peer is down, the first virtual port channel peer being paired with a second virtual port channel peer to create a virtual port channel having a virtual address, wherein an endpoint host is configured to communicate with a network via the virtual port channel;

increasing a first value to a second value, the first value based on a reachability cost for the first virtual port channel peer with regards to the virtual address;

performing, at the first virtual port channel peer, a synchronization of virtual port channel state information with the second virtual port channel peer; and

upon completion of the synchronization, lowering the second value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first virtual port channel peer or the second virtual port channel peer is a switch.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting that the first virtual port channel peer is down comprises detecting that one of a route, a link, a multi-chassis trunking (MCT) channel, or a virtual address loopback interface, associated with the first virtual port channel peer, is down.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the endpoint host is connected to the first virtual port channel peer via a first physical link and the second virtual port channel peer via a second physical link, and wherein the virtual port channel is configured to extend link aggregation from the endpoint host to the first virtual port channel peer and the second virtual port channel peer via the first physical link and the second physical link.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the endpoint host is configured to send traffic to the second virtual port channel peer via the second physical link after it is detected that the first virtual port channel peer is down.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual port channel peer and the second virtual port channel peer are leaf nodes and the network comprises one or more spine nodes.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after it is detected that the first virtual port channel peer is down, advertising, from the second virtual port channel peer to the network, an association between the endpoint host and the virtual address;

receiving, at the second virtual port channel peer from the network, traffic addressed to the virtual address; and

forwarding the traffic from the second virtual port channel peer to the endpoint host.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second virtual port channel peer does not advertise to the network that the endpoint host is behind a tunnel endpoint (TEP) Internet protocol (IP) address of the second virtual port channel peer after it is detected that the first virtual port channel peer is down.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual port channel state information comprises at least one of virtual port channel endpoint information or virtual local area network (VLAN) state information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual address is a virtual Internet protocol (VIP) address.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is configured to prefer to route a packet, addressed to the virtual address, to the second virtual port channel peer instead of the first virtual port channel peer when the first value is set to the second value.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second value is equal to a result yielded from:

C+(M/2), wherein C is a measured reachability cost and M is a maximum reachability cost.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first value is set to the second value after the first virtual port channel peer is rebooted.

14. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

detecting that a first virtual port channel peer is down, the first virtual port channel peer being paired with a second virtual port channel peer to create a virtual port channel having a virtual address, wherein an endpoint host is configured to communicate with a network via the virtual port channel,

increasing a first value to a second value, the first value based on a reachability cost for the first virtual port channel peer with regards to the virtual address,

performing, at the first virtual port channel peer, a synchronization of virtual port channel state information with the second virtual port channel peer, and

upon completion of the synchronization, lowering the second value.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein detecting that the first virtual port channel peer is down comprises detecting that one of a route, a link, a multi-chassis trunking (MCT) channel, or a virtual address loopback interface, associated with the first virtual port channel peer, is down.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the endpoint host is connected to the first virtual port channel peer via a first physical link and the second virtual port channel peer via a second physical link, and wherein the virtual port channel is configured to extend link aggregation from the endpoint host to the first virtual port channel peer and the second virtual port channel peer via the first physical link and the second physical link.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the virtual port channel state information comprises at least one of virtual port channel endpoint information or virtual local area network (VLAN) state information.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

detecting that a first virtual port channel peer is down, the first virtual port channel peer being paired with a second virtual port channel peer to create a virtual port channel having a virtual address, wherein an endpoint host is configured to communicate with a network via the virtual port channel;

increasing a first value to a second value, the first value based on a reachability cost for the first virtual port channel peer with regards to the virtual address;

performing, at the first virtual port channel peer, a synchronization of virtual port channel state information with the second virtual port channel peer; and

upon completion of the synchronization, lowering the second value.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the endpoint host is connected to the first virtual port channel peer via a first physical link and the second virtual port channel peer via a second physical link, and wherein the virtual port channel is configured to extend link aggregation from the endpoint host to the first virtual port channel peer and the second virtual port channel peer via the first physical link and the second physical link.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 18, storing additional instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the operations further comprising:

after it is detected that the first virtual port channel peer is down, advertising, from the second virtual port channel peer to the network, an association between the endpoint host and the virtual address;

receiving, at the second virtual port channel peer from the network, traffic addressed to the virtual address; and

forwarding the traffic from the second virtual port channel peer to the endpoint host.