NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CONTROL SERVICE FOR VXLAN ON AN MLAG DOMAIN

• US 20170257309A1
• Filed: 03/02/2016
• Published: 09/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arista Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Arista Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Appanna, Chandrashekhar
• Granted Patent: US 10,200,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/4629 using multilayer switching, e.g. layer 3 switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Various embodiments are described herein that provide a network system comprising a first network element coupled to a network and a second network element directly coupled to the first network element. The first network element and the second network element are to connect to form a link aggregation group. The system additionally includes a network management device including a control agent, where the control agent is configured to configure the link aggregation group as a logical virtual tunnel end point (VTEP) of a virtual local area network (VLAN).

Claims

1. A network system comprising:

a first network element coupled to a network;

a second network element directly coupled to the first network element, wherein the first network element and the second network element are to connect to form a link aggregation group; and

a network management device including a control agent, the control agent to configure the link aggregation group as a logical virtual tunnel end point (VTEP) of a virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN).

2. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the logical VTEP includes a first VTEP associated with the first network element and a second VTEP associated with the second network element.

3. The network system as in claim 2, wherein the first VTEP and the second VTEP share a layer 3 address.

4. The network system as in claim 3, wherein the control agent is to provide configuration information to a primary network element selected from the first network element and the second network element of the link aggregation group.

5. The network system as in claim 4, wherein the control agent is to select one of the first network element or the second network element as the primary network element of the link aggregation group.

6. The network system as in claim 4, wherein the link aggregation group is to elect one of the first network element or the second network element as the primary network element.

7. The network system as in claim 4, wherein the primary network element is to receive configuration information from the control agent and provide the configuration information to a secondary network element via a peer link between the primary network element and the secondary network element.

8. The network system as in claim 7, wherein the configuration information includes a set of media access control (MAC) address information for a first set of network devices coupled to the first network element and a second set of network devices coupled to the second network element.

9. The network system as in claim 7, wherein the control agent is to disregard a communication request received from the secondary network element after a primary network element is designated for the link aggregation group.

10. The network system as in claim 9, wherein the control agent is further to receive status information for the logical VTEP from the primary network element designated for the link aggregation group, the status information including a physical and virtual topology of a network coupled to the logical VTEP.

11. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a network device, cause the network device to perform operations comprising:

establishing a communication link with multiple network elements within a link aggregation domain, each network element within the link aggregation domain having a virtual tunnel endpoint (VTEP) with an identical identifier;

configuring a logical VTEP including each VTEP within the link aggregation domain having the identical identifier;

identifying a network element within the link aggregation domain that has been designated as a primary network element; and

providing configuration information for the multiple network elements to the primary network element after the primary network element is identified.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the network element within the link aggregation domain is designated as the primary network element via an election among the multiple network elements within the link aggregation domain.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium as in claim 11, the operations further comprising:

providing configuration information for the logical VTEP to multiple network elements within the link aggregation domain for a period of time; and

selecting one of the multiple network elements within the link aggregation domain for designation as the primary network element.

providing additional configuration for all network elements associated with the logical VTEP to the primary network element.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium as in claim 11, wherein providing the configuration information for the logical VTEP includes providing media access control (MAC) address information for network devices coupled to a virtual network interface that is coupled to the logical VTEP.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium as in claim 11, the operations further comprising:

monitoring operational status of each VTEP of the logical VTEP;

detecting a failure of the VTEP associated with the network element designated as the primary network element; and

designating a new primary network element.

16. A network element comprising:

a control plane including one or more processors and memory, wherein the control plane is to configure the network element as a member of a multi-chassis link aggregation group (MLAG) domain under management of an VLAN control agent external to the network element; and

a data plane coupled to the control plane, the data plane including a network interface having a peer port and non-peer port, the peer port to couple to an additional member of the MLAG domain and the non-peer port coupled to an external device, wherein the data plane is to receive network data from the VLAN control agent, the network data including configuration information for a logical virtual tunnel endpoint (VTEP) associated with a virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN) and transmit at least a portion of the configuration information to the additional member of the MLAG domain via the peer port.

17. The network element as in claim 16, wherein the network element has been designated a primary network element for the logical VTEP, the primary network element to receive configuration information for the logical VTEP from the VLAN control agent and distribute at least a portion of the configuration information to each other member of the logical VTEP.

18. The network element as in claim 17, wherein the network element is designated as the primary network element for the logical VTEP by the VLAN control agent.

19. The network element as in claim 17, wherein the portion of the configuration information transmitted to the additional member of the MLAG includes a set of media access control (MAC) addresses for network devices coupled to the logical VTEP.

20. The network element as in claim 17, wherein the control plane is to store at least a portion of the configuration information for the logical VTEP into the memory and at least a portion of the memory is shared with the data plane.