METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZING A NETWORK BY INDEPENDENTLY SCALING CONTROL SEGMENTS AND DATA FLOW
First Claim
1. An apparatus for directing communications over a network, comprising:
- (a) a control component that receives a data flow requesting a resource and determines when the data flow is unassociated with a connection to a requested resource, wherein the control component associates a selected connection to the requested resource when the control component determines the data flow is unassociated with the connection to the requested resource; and
(b) a switch component that employs the connection associated with the data flow to direct the data flow to the requested resource, wherein a capacity of the switch component and a capacity of the control component are independently scalable to support the number of data flows that are directed to requested resources over the network.
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Abstract
A server array controller that includes a Data Flow Segment (DFS) and at least one Control Segment (CS). The DFS includes the hardware-optimized portion of the controller, while the CS includes the software-optimized portions. The DFS performs most of the repetitive chores including statistics gathering and per-packet policy enforcement (e.g. packet switching). The DFS also performs tasks such as that of a router, a switch, or a routing switch. The CS determines the translation to be performed on each flow of packets, and thus performs high-level control functions and per-flow policy enforcement. Network address translation (NAT) is performed by the combined operation of the CS and DFS. The CS and DFS may be incorporated into one or more separate blocks. The CS and DFS are independently scalable. Additionally, the functionality of either the DFS or the CS may be separately implemented in software and/or hardware.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. An apparatus for directing communications over a network, comprising:
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(a) a control component that receives a data flow requesting a resource and determines when the data flow is unassociated with a connection to a requested resource, wherein the control component associates a selected connection to the requested resource when the control component determines the data flow is unassociated with the connection to the requested resource; and (b) a switch component that employs the connection associated with the data flow to direct the data flow to the requested resource, wherein a capacity of the switch component and a capacity of the control component are independently scalable to support the number of data flows that are directed to requested resources over the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for directing communications over a network, comprising:
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(a) a flow component that receives packets associated with a flow and switches each received packet associated with the flow to a connection; and (b) a control component that determines the connection based on information collected by the flow component, wherein the flow segment and the control segment are independently scalable to handle the number of data flows that are directed to requested resources over the network. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for directing communications over a network, comprising:
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(a) employing a control component to receive a data flow requesting a resource and determining when the data flow is unassociated with a connection to a requested resource, wherein a selected connection is associated with the requested resource when the data flow is unassociated with the connection to the requested resource; and (b) employing the connection associated with the data flow to switch the data flow to the requested resource, wherein the switching capacity and the control capacity are independently scalable to support the number of data flows that are directed to requested resources over the network. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An apparatus for directing communications over a network, comprising:
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(a) means for a control component that receives a data flow requesting a resource and determines when the data flow is unassociated with a connection to a requested resource, wherein the control component associates a selected connection to the requested resource when the control component determines the data flow is unassociated with the connection to the requested resource; and (b) means for a switch component that employs the connection associated with the data flow to direct the data flow to the requested resource, wherein a capacity of the switch component and a capacity of the control component are independently scalable to support the number of data flows that are directed to requested resources over the network.
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Specification