Virtualization of control software for communication devices

• US 20060031852A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nexthop Technologies
• Original Assignee: Nexthop Technologies
• Inventors: Li, James, Hares, Susan, Manghimalani, Ravi, Tao, Bisong, Chu, Wenjing
• Application Number:
  US11/121,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031852A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/547 Messaging middleware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/50 using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/56 Routing software
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/586 of virtual routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/60 Router architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and system for virtualization of control software for a communication device is disclosed. A virtual communication environment is provided to support the virtualization of communication devices. Such a virtual communication environment creates, links and manages virtual communication processes that are associated with the virtual communication devices.

Claims

1. A virtual communications network, the virtual communications network including a plurality of processors coupled via a communications channel, the virtual communications network comprising:

a plurality of virtualization engines, each of the plurality of virtualization engines comprising computer network software, wherein the plurality of virtualization engines are in communication via a inter process communication protocol, each of the plurality of virtualization engines including

one or more application modules, each of the one or more application modules implementing a network application, wherein the network application may be one of a routing protocol, a firewall, a VPN, a network management protocol,

an inter-process communications module for communication with the plurality of virtualization engines via the inter-process communication protocol,

an application programming interface for the inter-process communications modules, wherein the one or more applications modules communicate with the plurality of virtualization engines by accessing the inter-process communications module via the application programming interface;

a management software module for creating and managing the plurality of virtualization engines, wherein the management software module is operative to select, for each of the plurality of virtualization engines, a processor from the plurality of processors on which the virtualization engine operates, wherein the management software module is in communication with the plurality of virtualization engines via the inter-process communication protocol.

2. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the routing protocol may include Border Gateway Protocol.

3. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the routing protocol may include Open Shortest Path First.

4. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the routing protocol may include Intermediate System—

Intermediate System.

5. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the routing protocol may include Routing Information Protocol.

6. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the network application may include a storage area networking protocol.

7. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the storage area networking protocol may include Fibre Channel.

8. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the network management protocol may be SNMP.

9. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the network management protocol may be AgentX.

10. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the routing protocol includes a label-switched protocol.

11. The virtual communications network of claim 10, wherein the label-switched protocol includes a Multi Protocol Label Switching protocol.

12. The virtual communications network of claim 11, wherein the Multi Protocol Label Switching Protocol includes LDP.

13. The virtual communications network of claim 11, wherein the Multi Protocol Label Switching Protocol includes RSVP.

14. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the management software module is operative to shutdown any of the plurality of virtualization engines.

15. The virtual communications network of claim 14, wherein the management software module is operative to de-allocate space previously reserved on the plurality of processors for any of the plurality of virtualization engines which have been shut down.

16. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the management software module is operative to initiate additional virtualization engines.

17. The virtual communications network of claim 15, wherein the management software module is operative to allocate space on the plurality of processors for the additional virtualization engines.

18. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the communications channel includes a local area network.

20. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the communications channel communicates at least partially via TCP/IP.

21. The virtual communications network of claim 1, wherein the management software module is operative to re-locate one or more of the plurality of virtualization engines between the plurality of processors.

19. The virtual communications network, wherein the communications channel includes a wide area network.