Network traffic monitoring in a server network environment

• US 20080304423A1
• Filed: 06/05/2008
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valtrus Innovations Limited (f/k/a Dolya Holdco 9 Limited) (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Chuang, Mike, McGee, Michael Sean
• Granted Patent: US 8,358,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4666 Operational details on the addition or the stripping of a tag in a frame, e.g. at a provider edge node
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes

Abstract

Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with monitoring a server port in a server network environment are described. In one embodiment, a graphical user interface (GUI) allows server port(s) to be selected for monitoring. The GUI also allows for an uplink port to be selected, where the uplink port is a port that may be connected to a network analyzer. In response to the selections, a virtual local area network (VLAN) is created to establish communication between the selected server port(s) and the selected uplink port. Network traffic that passes through the selected server port(s) can then be duplicated and transmitted through the VLAN to the selected uplink port to be monitored and analyzed by a network analyzer connected to the uplink port.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring network traffic of a server port in a group of network modules with a plurality of server ports, the system comprising:

an user interface configured to;

obtain and display a list of the plurality of server ports;

allow a user to select one or more server ports from the list of the plurality of server ports to monitor network traffic through the selected server port(s);

obtain and display a list of uplink ports; and

allow a user to select an uplink port, where the uplink port allows communication with a network analyzer;

a network logic configured to establish a dedicated virtual local area network (VLAN) within the network that connects the selected server port and the selected uplink port; and

a monitoring logic configured to duplicate the network traffic from the selected server port and to add a VLAN tag to the duplicated network traffic, where the VLAN tag identifies the duplicated network traffic as belonging to the dedicated VLAN, and the monitoring logic further configured to transfer the duplicated network traffic via the dedicated VLAN to the selected uplink port to cause the network traffic to be analyzed by a network analyzer connected to the selected uplink port.

2. The system of claim 1, where the group of network modules includes blade network modules.

3. The system of claim 1, where a server port discovery logic identifies and determines which server ports are available within the group of network modules.

4. The system of claim 1, where a server port is a connection point to a connector that allows for data within a network module to flow through the connecter to a blade server.

5. The system of claim 4, where a connection between the network ports of the network modules is a stacking link.

6. The system of claim 1, further including a network module having one or more stacking links configured to not discard duplicated network traffic due to Layer 2 network protocols, where duplicated network traffic is sent via one or more network modules.

7. The system of claim 1, where the user interface is further configured to allow a user to select directions of the network traffic through the selected server port to be monitored including bidirectional network traffic being both ingress traffic and egress traffic.

8. The system of claim 1, further including a root bridge being a network module containing the selected uplink port, the root bridge being configured to remove the VLAN tag from the duplicated network traffic after arriving at the root bridge and before being transmitted out of the selected uplink port.

9. The system of claim 1, where the network logic is configured to dynamically configure a dedicated VLAN and a network module and its associated selected uplink port in the dedicated VLAN to allow the network module to be moved from a first location within the dedicated VLAN to a second location within the dedicated VLAN and automatically reroute a destination of the duplicate network traffic within the dedicated VLAN from the first location of the selected uplink port to the second location of the selected uplink port.

10. A method of monitoring a server port in a blade server environment (BSE) having a plurality of server ports and a plurality of uplink ports, the method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows for;

selecting a server port to be monitored from the plurality of server ports; and

selecting an uplink port that allows connection to a network analyzer;

dynamically creating a virtual local area network (VLAN) to establish communication between the selected server port and the selected uplink port;

collecting and duplicating network traffic that passes through the selected server port; and

transmitting the duplicated network traffic through the VLAN to the selected uplink port to be monitored and analyzed by a network analyzer connected thereto.

11. The method of claim 10, where duplicating network traffic includes duplicating bidirectional data traffic that is data coming into and going out of the selected server port.

12. The method of claim 10, further including:

selecting multiple server ports to be monitored from the plurality of server ports;

duplicating network traffic of the selected multiple server ports; and

transmitting the duplicated network traffic via the VLAN to the selected uplink port.

13. The method of claim 10, further including adding a VLAN tag to the duplicated network traffic to identify the network traffic as belonging to the VLAN and removing the VLAN tag before the duplicated network traffic exits the selected uplink port.

14. The method of claim 13, where the adding of the VLAN tag includes adding an 802.1Q VLAN tag.

15. The method of claim 10, further including dynamically configuring the VLAN to allow for movement of a network module located within the VLAN from a first location to a second location within the VLAN and automatically rerouting all network traffic associated with a server module connected to the network module from the first location to the second location.

16. A computer-readable medium storing processor executable instructions that when executed cause a computing device to perform a method for monitoring a server port within a blade server environment (BSE), where the BSE includes a group of interconnected network modules that include a plurality of server ports for connection to server modules and uplink ports, the method comprising:

displaying a list of the plurality of server ports and a list of the uplink ports;

allowing for selection of a server port from the list of the plurality of server ports to monitor network traffic through the selected server port;

allowing for selection of an uplink port to be used as a monitoring location;

creating, in response to a selected server port and uplink port, a dedicated virtual local area network (VLAN) in the BSE comprising;

establishing and configuring connections between the network modules in the BSE to allow for passing of network traffic, where the dedicated VLAN connections allow network traffic to be passed between the selected server port and the uplink port; and

blocking connections within the dedicated VLAN to prevent loop states;

duplicating network traffic that passes through the selected server port; and

transmitting the duplicated network traffic via the dedicated VLAN to the selected uplink port for analysis.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further including monitoring and analyzing the copied network traffic of the selected server port by a network analyzer connected to the selected uplink port.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further including dynamically reconfiguring the dedicated VLAN and a network module and its associated selected uplink port within the dedicated VLAN to allow moving of the network module from a first location within the dedicated VLAN to a second location within the dedicated VLAN while automatically rerouting a destination of the duplicate network traffic within the dedicated VLAN from the first location of the selected uplink port to the second location of the selected uplink port.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, where selecting a server port further includes selecting directions of the network traffic through the selected server port to be duplicated and sent to the selected uplink port, where selecting direction of the network traffic includes selecting, ingress traffic, egress traffic or both ingress and egress traffic, where ingress and egress traffic together are bi-directional traffic.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, where creating a dedicated VLAN further includes:

configuring a network module to not discard duplicate bi-directional network traffic.