SENDER DEVICE BASED PAUSE SYSTEM

• US 20140198646A1
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Hernandez, Hendrich M., Winter, Robert Lee
• Granted Patent: US 9,055,467 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/266 Stopping or restarting the source, e.g. X-on or X-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0257 the individual bearer or channel having a maximum bit rate or a bit rate guarantee
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints

Abstract

A network communication pause system includes a network interface device and a management controller. The management controller is operable to monitor first data traffic that is received by the network interface device over a network and that is associated with a sender Media Access Control (MAC) address and a receiver MAC address. If the management controller determines that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold, a pause frame that includes the sender MAC address is sent over the network through the network interface device to a sender device associated with the sender MAC address. The pause frame may include an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the management controller and the sender device to forward the pause frame to the sender device, and a pause time for which the sender device will pause the sending of data traffic to the receiver MAC address.

Claims

1. A network communication pause system, comprising:

a network interface device that is operable to couple to a network; and

a management controller coupled to the network interface device, wherein the management controller is operable to;

monitor first data traffic that is received by the network interface device and that is associated with a sender Media Access Control (MAC) address and a receiver MAC address;

determine that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold; and

send a pause frame that includes the sender MAC address over the network through the network interface device to a sender device associated with the sender MAC address.

2. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the management controller is operable to:

determine that the sender device associated with the sender MAC address and the first data traffic is one of a plurality of top traffic senders devices of datat traffic received by the network interface device.

3. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the management controller is operable to:

allocated a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

4. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the pause frame includes an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the management controller and the sender device to forward the pause frame to the sender device.

5. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the sender device will pause the sending of data traffic to the receiver MAC address.

6. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the receiver MAC address is one of a plurality of receiver MAC addresses that share the network interface device, and wherein a first transmission rate between the receiver MAC address and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between a second receiver MAC address of the plurality of receiver MAC addresses and the network interface device.

7. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein a transmission rate between the management controller and the network interface device is less than a transmission rate between the network interface device and the network.

8. An information handling system (IHS), comprising:

a chassis;

a processor that is located in the chassis;

a memory that is located in the chassis and coupled to the processor;

a network interface device that is located in the chassis and coupled the processor, wherein the network interface device is operable to couple to a network; and

a management controller that is located in the chassis and coupled to the network interface device, wherein the management controller is operable to;

monitor a plurality of data traffic that is received by the network interface device from a plurality of sender Media Access Control (MAC) addresses and addressed to a plurality of receiver MAC addresses;

determine that a first data traffic of the plurality of data traffic that is received from a first sender MAC address of the plurality of sender MAC addresses and addressed to a first receiver MAC address of the plurality of receiver MAC addresses has exceeded a threshold; and

send a pause frame that includes the first sender MAC address over the network through the network interface device to a first sender device associated with the first sender MAC address.

9. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the management controller is operable to:

determine that the first sender device associated with the first sender MAC address and the first data traffic is one of a plurality of top traffic senders devices of datat traffic received by the network interface device.

10. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the management controller is operable to:

allocated a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

11. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the pause frame includes an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the management controller and the first sender device to forward the pause frame to the first sender device.

12. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the first sender device will pause the sending of data traffic to the first receiver MAC address.

13. The IHS of claim 8, wherein a first transmission rate between the first receiver MAC address and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between a second receiver MAC address of the plurality of receiver MAC addresses and the network interface device.

14. The IHS of claim 8, wherein a transmission rate between the management controller and the network interface device is less than a transmission rate between the network interface device and the network.

15. A method for pausing network communications, comprising:

monitoring first data traffic that is received by a network interface device over a network and that is associated with a sender Media Access Control (MAC) address and a receiver MAC address;

determining that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold; and

sending a pause frame that includes the sender MAC address over the network through the network interface device to a sender device associated with the sender MAC address.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining that the sender device associated with the sender MAC address and the first data traffic is one of a plurality of top traffic senders devices of data traffic received by the network interface device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

allocating a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the pause frame includes an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the network interface device and the sender device to forward the pause frame to the sender device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the sender device will pause the sending of data traffic to the receiver MAC address.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiver MAC address is one of a plurality of receiver MAC addresses that share the network interface device, and wherein a first transmission rate between the receiver MAC address and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between a second receiver MAC address of the plurality of receiver MAC addresses and the network interface device.