Apparatus and method for synthesizing management packets for transmission between a network switch and a host controller

• US 6,151,316 A
• Filed: 12/18/1997
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
• Inventors: Crayford, Ian, Kerstein, Denise
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VINCENT, DAVID ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US08/992,425
• Time in Patent Office: 1,069 Days
• Field of Search: 370/410, 370/229, 370/241-8, 370/401-2, 370/422, 370/428, 370/356, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/128 adapted to multidimensional cache systems, e.g. set-associative, multicache, multiset or multilevel
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 5/06 for changing the speed of data flow, i.e. speed regularising or timing, e.g. delay lines, FIFO buffers; over- or underrun control therefor G06F7/78 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/412 using field-effect transistors only
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/1015 Read-write modes for single port memories, i.e. having either a random port or a serial port
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1877 Measures taken prior to transmission
• 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 12/4645 Details on frame tagging routing of packets H04L45/00; support for virtual LAN H04L49/354
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/467 Arrangements for supporting untagged frames, e.g. port-based VLANs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/201 Multicast operation; Broadcast operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/25 Routing or path finding in a switch fabric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3027 Output queuing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/45 Arrangements for providing or supporting expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/901 using storage descriptor, e.g. read or write pointers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9073 Early interruption upon arrival of a fraction of a packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9078 using an external memory or storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1316 : Service observation, testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13162 : Fault indication and localisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/54591 : Supervision, e.g. fault localisation, traffic measurements, avoiding errors, failure recovery, monitoring, statistical analysis

Abstract

Management data is supplied to a management agent by a network switch by generating management packets having at least a portion of a received data packet, and management information specifying receive status and network switch response characteristics to the corresponding received data packet. The network switch includes a plurality of network ports, including network traffic ports and one management port for synthesizing the management frame. A network traffic port receiving a data packet generates receive status data specifying the reception status of the received data packet, including the presence of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) errors, frame alignment errors, and receive buffer overflow conditions. The received data packet and received status data are stored in a buffer memory, while switching logic generates port vectors specifying destination output ports and switching logic data specifying the switching logic response to the received data packet. The management port selectively compiles the received status data, the switching logic data, and at least a portion of the received data frame into a management frame, and outputs the synthesized management frame to a management agent according to a media access control (MAC) layer protocol. The generation of management frame provides detailed management information corresponding to characteristics of the received data packet and the corresponding network switch response, independent of the timing at which the data packet was received by the network switch.

Claims

1. A method in a network comprising the steps of:

receiving a data packet from a network station;

generating new information in response to reception of the received data packet; and

outputting for use by a management agent a new data packet including the new information and at least a portion of the received data packet, the new information specifying characteristics corresponding to the reception of the received data packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises determining as at least one of said characteristics a characteristic of the network switch in response to the reception of the received data packet, the generating step generating the new information based on the determined network switch characteristic.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the network switch includes switching logic for routing data packets to destination network stations, and the data packet has a source address corresponding to the network station;

the determining step comprises determining an ability by the switching logic to recognize the source address; and

the generating step further comprises generating switching logic data specifying the determined ability by the switching logic to recognize the source address.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the switching logic specifies one of a known source address, an unknown source address learned by the switching logic, and an unknown source address not learned by the switching logic.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second generating step comprises generating an index pointer specifying a memory location of address information corresponding to the unknown source address learned by the switching logic.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining step comprises generating as one of said characteristics an overflow flag that specifies an overflow condition in a receive buffer receiving the received data packet and corresponding to the network station.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining step comprises generating as one of said characteristics an error flag specifying an error in the received data packet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises generating a new destination address field corresponding to a network switch port configured for sending and receiving data packets to and from the management agent.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an error check code for the new data packet, wherein the outputting step outputs the new data packet including the new information, the at least a portion of the received data packet, and the error check code.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises determining as at least one of said characteristics a condition of the received data packet, the new information including the determined condition of the received data packet.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of determining a condition comprises determining a presence of an error in the received data packet.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining as at least one of said characteristics a frame type of the received data packet, the new information including the determined frame type.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of determining a frame type includes identifying the received data packet as one of a management frame, a directed frame having a destination address corresponding to one of the management agent and a port of the network switch, and a monitored frame.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the received data packet includes a source address and a destination address;

the network station includes switching logic; and

the step of determining a frame type further includes identifying by the switching logic the received data packet as said monitored frame based on switching logic data corresponding to at least one of said source address and said destination address.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the data packet includes a source address and a destination address;

the network station includes switching logic, a source port receiving the data packet from the network station, and a destination port, the switching logic configured to select one of the network ports as a destination port based on the destination address; and

the step of determining a frame type further includes identifying the data packet as said monitored frame based on at least one of said source port and said destination port.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the management frame is one of a Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) and a bridge multicast frame.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises generating data within the new information specifying that the new data packet includes only a portion of the received data packet.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the network switch has a plurality of network ports sending and receiving data packets from respective network stations, the method further comprising receiving from the management agent a management data packet including a network data packet and port vector, the port vector specifying a group of said network ports to transmit the network data packet.

19. A network switch comprising:

a plurality of network ports configured for sending and receiving data frames to and from respective network stations;

a management port configured for sending a management data frame to a management agent, the management data frame including at least a portion of a selected received data frame and new information specifying characteristics corresponding to the reception of the selected data frame; and

a switching subsystem configured for generating at least a portion of the new information for the corresponding received data frame.

20. The switch of claim 19, wherein the switching subsystem comprises switching logic for selecting one of the received data frames as the selected received data frame and generating switching logic data as at least a part of the new information.

21. The switch of claim 20, wherein each of said network ports and said management port each generate a receive status field in response to reception of a corresponding data frame, the switching logic supplying the receive status field for the corresponding selected received data frame for transmission in said management data frame.

22. The switch of claim 21, wherein the receive status specifies at least one of an error in the selected received data frame and a receive buffer overflow in the corresponding network port.

23. The switch of claim 20, wherein the switching logic selects the selected received data frame in response to detecting an unrecognized source address in the selected received data frame, the switching logic generating the switching logic data indicating the detection of the unrecognized source address.

24. The switch of claim 23, wherein the switching logic data generated by the switching logic further specifies if the unrecognized source address is learned as a new recognized source address.

25. The switch of claim 20, wherein the switching logic selects the selected received data frame based on reception on a predetermined one of said network ports, the switching logic data specifying the selected received data frame as received on the predetermined one port.

26. The switch of claim 20, wherein the switching logic selects the selected received data frame based on identifying a predetermined one of said network ports as a destination port for the selected received data port, the switching logic data specifying the predetermined one network port as the destination port for the selected received data frame.

27. The switch of claim 20, wherein the switching logic selects the selected received data frame based on detection of a predetermined one of a source address and destination address in the selected received data frame, the switching logic data specifying the selected received data frame as having the predetermined one address.

28. The switch of claim 20, wherein the switching logic selects the selected received data frame based on identification thereof as a non-network station frame, the switching logic data specifying the selected received data frame as the non-network station frame.

29. The switch of claim 20, wherein the management port receives a second management frame from the management agent, the second management frame including a network data packet and a port vector specifying the network ports to transmit the network data packet.

30. The switch of claim 19, wherein the management port outputs the new information as part of a header for the management data frame.

31. The switch of claim 30, wherein the new information specifies that the management data frame includes the selected received data frame in its entirety.