DETECTING AND HANDLING ELEPHANT FLOWS
First Claim
1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program that when executed by at least one processing unit implements a forwarding element, the program comprising sets of instructions for:
- monitoring data flows associated with a network host to detect an elephant flow; and
when an elephant flow is detected, generating different header values for packets in the detected elephant flow,wherein the different header values are used to break the elephant flow into several different mouse flows and send each of several of the packets along different paths.
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Abstract
Some embodiments provide a forwarding element that detects and handles elephant flows. In detecting, the forwarding element of some embodiments monitors statistics or measurements relating to a data flow. In handling, the forwarding element marks each packet associated with a detected elephant flow in some manner to differentiate it from a packet associated with a mouse flow. Alternatively, the forwarding element of break elephant flows into a number mouse flow by facilitating in sending packets associated with the detected elephant flow along different paths.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program that when executed by at least one processing unit implements a forwarding element, the program comprising sets of instructions for:
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monitoring data flows associated with a network host to detect an elephant flow; and when an elephant flow is detected, generating different header values for packets in the detected elephant flow, wherein the different header values are used to break the elephant flow into several different mouse flows and send each of several of the packets along different paths. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A host machine comprising:
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at least one virtual machine (VM); and an edge forwarding element for monitoring data flows associated with the VM to detect elephant flows, wherein the monitoring comprises; tracking a data flow by maintaining a statistic relating to the data flow, determining whether the statics is over a threshold value, and categorizing the data flow as an elephant flow if the statistics is over the threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of handling an elephant flow, the method comprising:
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detecting that a data flow associated with a network host is an elephant flow; identifying a set of packets in the elephant data flow; marking each packet with a marking to differentiate the packet from each other packet in another different data flow; and forwarding the packet to a forwarding element, wherein the forwarding element process each marked packet different from each other packet that is not marked with the marking in order to reduce any delays caused by the elephant data flow in processing each other packet in the other data flow. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification