Distributed chassis agent for network management

• US 6,415,314 B1
• Filed: 08/06/1998
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Enterasys Networks Incorporated (Extreme Networks, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enterasys Networks Incorporated (Extreme Networks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fee, Brendan, Dobbins, Kurt, Arneson, Dave, Mullaney, Pat
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet B.
• Application Number:
  US09/130,234
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202, 709/203, 709/238, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/24 using dedicated network management hardware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An apparatus and method for allocating the performance of applications in a networking chassis among one or more modules in the chassis. In particular, the system acts as a chassis agent for performing network management functions. The agent performs a discovery function whereby each module discovers the location and current utilization of resources and applications for itself and transmits that information to other modules, and wherein each module maintains a slot table of such information for all modules. Based on the information in the slot table, each module performs an election function for allocating applications among the various modules in the chassis. The agent uses MIBs to gather information about the chassis and to effect control on the chassis, wherein each managed object is registered both locally and remotely in a MIB tree maintained on each module, and the data is maintained locally on the module on which the managed object resides. The system enables the chassis to be managed “as a whole” while the management functions are distributed across the system, and the system is both fault tolerant and enables ready expansion and modification of the management applications.

Claims

1. A distributed system comprising:

a first device for communicating through a communications network, the first device having a first network address and being capable of executing a distributed process; and

a second device for communicating tough a communications network, the second device having a second network address and being capable of executing the distributed process, wherein both the first and second devices are capable of transmitting and receiving information related to the distributed process using a third network address, wherein the third network address includes an IP address and a MAC address.

2. A distributed system comprising:

a first device for communicating through a communications network, the first device having a first network address and being capable of executing a distributed process; and

a second device for communicating through a communications network, the second device having a second network address and being capable of executing the distributed process, wherein both the first and second devices are capable of transmitting and receiving information related to the distributed process using a third network address, wherein the first and second devices are configured to elect which one of the first and second devices executes the distributed process.

3. A distributed system comprising:

a first device for communicating through a communications network, the first device having a first network address and being capable of executing a distributed process; and

a second device for communicating through a communications network, the second device having a second network address and being capable of executing the distributed process, wherein both the first and second devices are capable of transmitting and receiving information related to the distributed process using a third network address, wherein the first device includes a MIB tree of object identifiers for accessing corresponding objects and wherein the MIB tree contains data for objects which are stored locally on the first device and a pointer for a data object stored on the second device.

4. A method comprising steps of:

providing a plurality of network modules executing a distributed application; and

providing a single agent address for accessing the distributed application wherein each of the plurality of network modules are capable of transmitting and receiving information using the single agent address as a source address, wherein the modules are disposed in slots of a chassis and the application is a network management application which enables the chassis to be managed as a whole.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

each network module executing the distributed application listens for packets having the agent address.

6. A method comprising steps of:

providing a plurality of network modules executing a distributed application; and

providing a single agent address for accessing the distributed application wherein each of the plurality of network modules are capable of transmitting and receiving information using the single agent address as a source address, wherein each module exchanges information which includes one or more of;

resources of the respective module,

applications of the respective module, and

availability of resources; and

each module elects, based on the information, which of the modules will execute the distributed application.

7. A method comprising steps of:

providing a plurality of network modules executing a distributed application; and

providing a single agent address for accessing the distributed application wherein each of the plurality of network modules are capable of transmitting and receiving information using the single agent address as a source address, wherein the agent address is a combination of a chassis IP network address and a chassis MAC address.