System and method for managing multiple stack environments

• US 20040019689A1
• Filed: 01/06/2003
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fan, Kan Frankie
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,414 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Systems and methods that manage multiple stack environments are provided. In one example, a system may include, for example, a first protocol processing stack, a second protocol processing stack and a mapper. The mapper may be coupled to the first protocol processing stack and to the second protocol processing stack. A first port number may be associated with the first protocol processing stack and a second port number may be associated with the second protocol processing stack. The mapper may store a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number.

Claims

1. A system for managing a multiple stack environment, comprising:

a first protocol processing stack;

a second protocol processing stack; and

a mapper coupled to the first protocol processing stack and to the second protocol processing stack,

wherein a first port number is associated with the first protocol processing stack,

wherein a second port number is associated with the second protocol processing stack, and

wherein the mapper stores a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number.

2. The system according to claim 1,

wherein an application requests to listen on the first port number,

wherein the first protocol processing stack listens for the application on the first port number, and

wherein the second protocol processing stack listens for the application on the second port number.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first protocol processing stack is unaware of the second protocol processing stack.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the application is unaware of a multi-stack environment.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second port number is generated by the first protocol processing stack.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mapper asks the first protocol processing stack for an available port number.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the mapper sets the second port number equal to the available port number.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first protocol processing stack comprises a host stack.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first protocol processing stack comprises a Microsoft protocol processing stack.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second protocol processing stack comprises an offload stack.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second protocol processing stack comprises a system area network (SAN) provider stack.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second protocol processing stack comprises remote direct memory access (RDMA) stack.

13. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a network adapter coupled to the first protocol processing stack and to the second protocol processing stack.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the network adapter is adapted to store at least one of the second port number and information relating to the second port number being associated with the second protocol processing stack.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the network adapter comprises a data structure, the data structure being adapted to store at least one of the second port number and the association between the second port number and the second protocol processing stack.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the data structure comprises a lookup table.

17. A system for managing a multiple stack environment, comprising:

a first processing stack;

a second processing stack; and

a network adapter coupled to the first processing stack and the second processing stack,

wherein the network adapter is adapted to determine which of the first processing stack and the second processing stack to send an incoming packet based upon at least port information carried by the incoming packet.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the incoming packet comprises a TCP synchronization (SYN) message.

19. The system according to claim 17,

wherein the first processing stack comprises a default processing stack,

wherein the second processing stack comprises an offload processing stack,

wherein the network adapter is adapted to determine if the incoming packet is to be sent to the offload processing stack via at least a port number carried by the incoming packet.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the incoming packet comprises a TCP SYN message and a particular port number associated with the offload processing stack.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the TCP SYN message is processed by the offload processing stack.

22. The system according to claim 19, wherein the network adapter is adapted to determine if the incoming packet is to be sent to the offload processing stack even before a connection is established.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the connection comprises a TCP connection.

24. A communication system, comprising:

a first computer comprising a first processing stack and a second processing stack, the first computer assigning a first port number to the first processing stack and a second port number to the second processing stack and storing a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number; and

a second computer coupled to the first computer via a network, the second computer requesting information about the second port number via at least one of the first port number and the stored correspondence between the first port number and the second port number.

25. The communication system according to claim 24,

wherein the first processing stack comprises a host stack of the first computer, and

wherein the second processing stack comprises an offload stack of the first computer.

26. The communication system according to claim 24, wherein a connection is established between the second computer and the first computer occurs using the second port number.

27. The communication system according to claim 24, wherein a connection between the second computer and the first computer occurs via the offload stack of the first computer.

28. The communication system according to claim 24, wherein communication between the second computer and the first computer occurs via the offload stack of the first computer before a connection is established.

29. The communication system according to claim 28, wherein the connection comprises a TCP connection.

30. The communication system according to claim 24,

wherein the first computer comprises a first port mapper, the first port mapper being coupled to the first processing stack and to the second processing stack, and

wherein the first port mapper assigns the second port number to the second processing stack and stores a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number.

31. The communication system according to claim 30, wherein the first port mapper comprises at least one of a first local port mapping database and a first remote port mapping cache.

32. The communication system according to claim 30, wherein the second computer comprises a second port mapper.

33. The communication system according to claim 32, wherein the second port mapper comprises at least one of a second local port mapping database and a second remote port mapping cache.

34. The communication system according to claim 32, wherein the second port mapper looks up information in the first port mapper.

35. The communication system according to claim 34, wherein the second port mapper looks up information in the first port mapper via an IP address of the first computer and the first port number of the first computer.

36. The communication system according to claim 34, wherein the second port mapper attempts to look up information in a second remote port mapping cache of the second port mapper and, if the information does not reside in the second remote port mapping cache, then the second port mapper looks up the information in the first port mapper.

37. The communication system according to claim 32, wherein the second port mapper looks up the information in the second port mapper via an IP address of the first computer and the first port number of the first computer.

38. The communication system according to claim 32,

wherein the second port mapper comprises a second remote port mapping cache, and

wherein one or more entries in the second remote port mapping cache are updated by requesting information from the first port mapper.

39. The communication system according to claim 38, wherein the one or more entries in the second remote port mapping cache are updated periodically.

40. The communication system according to claim 32,

wherein the second port mapper comprises a second remote port mapping cache, and

wherein one or more entries in the second remote port mapping cache are invalidated.

41. The communication system according to claim 38, wherein the one or more entries in the second remote port mapping cache are invalidated when no connections are using the one or more entries.

42. A method for managing a multiple stack environment, comprising:

listening on a first port number by an application running on a computer;

associating the first port number to a first processing stack of the computer;

associating a second port number to the second processing stack of the computer; and

sending a packet received by the computer to the application via the second processing stack, the received packet comprising the second port number.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the sending occurs before a connection has been established.

44. The method according to claim 42, wherein the received packet comprises a TCP SYN message.

45. A method according to claim 42, further comprising:

inquiring of the first processing stack by a port mapper of the computer as to an available port number;

setting the second port number equal to the available port number; and

storing at least one of the second port number and a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number in the port mapper.

46. A method for communicating between a first computer and a second computer, comprising:

associating a first port number with a default processing stack of the first computer;

associating a second port number with a second processing stack of the first computer;

storing a correspondence between the first port number and the second port number in the first computer;

sending a datagram from the second computer to the first computer inquiring as to a port number corresponding to the first port number;

sending a return datagram from the first computer to the second computer comprising the second port number; and

communicating over the second processing stack of the first computer using the second port number.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein the datagram sent from the second computer to the first computer is processed by the default processing stack.

48. The method according to claim 46, wherein the datagram sent from the second computer to the first computer comprises the first port number.

49. The method according to claim 46, wherein the communicating over the second processing stack of the first computer can occur before a connection is established.

50. The method according to claim 46, wherein the communicating over the second processing stack of the first computer can occur before a TCP connection is established.