Technique for efficient data transfer within a virtual network

• US 8,150,997 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Haggar, Jeffrey Douglas, Stevens, Jerry Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): BILGRAMI, ASGHAR H
• Application Number:
  US09/841,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20020156915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,997 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/232, 709/238, 709/243, 370/230, 370/229, 370/232, 370/238, 370/355, 370/356, 370/351, 370/396, 711/202
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for improving the efficiency of data transfer within interconnected components of a virtual network, and in particular components of a single physical computing device, where the components exchange data as if they were communicating over an actual communications network using networking protocols. Data packets to be sent from one component to another are buffered by next-hop address (and optionally by final destination address as well) to improve efficiency of packet delivery.

Claims

1. A method of transferring data in a virtual network, comprising:

allocating one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of particular network addresses;

packing outbound data packets into appropriate ones of the outbound packing buffers, according to a network address within a header of each outbound data packet; and

transmitting each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation;

wherein each of the particular network addresses is a next-hop address on the virtual network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network address within the header is a next-hop address inserted into the header by a sending host.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.

20. A method according to claim 1 wherein the virtual network is provided by a web hosting service or Internet Service Provider to end users.

4. A method of transferring data in a virtual network, comprising:

allocating one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of first network addresses, wherein each outbound packing buffer is logically divided into a plurality of frames, the frames being associated with second network addresses;

packing outbound data packets into selected frames of selected ones of the outbound packing buffers, when a header of the outbound data packet to be packed specifies the first network address and the second network address which correspond to the selected outbound packing buffer and the selected frame; and

transmitting each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first network address comprises a next-hop address on the virtual network and the second network address comprises a final destination address.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

receiving a set of frames from the transmitting each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation; and

determining whether to forward the outbound data packets which are packed in each frame by inspecting a first packet of the frame.

17. The method according to claim 4, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.

21. A method according to claim 4 wherein the virtual network is provided by a web hosting service or Internet Service Provider to end users.

7. A system for transferring data in a virtual network, comprising:

processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform;

allocating one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of particular network addresses;

packing outbound data packets into appropriate ones of the outbound packing buffers, according to a network address within a header of each outbound data packet; and

transmitting each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation;

wherein each of the particular network addresses is a next-hop address on the virtual network and the network address within the header is a next-hop address inserted into the header by a sending host.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.

9. A system for transferring data in a virtual network, comprising:

processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform;

allocating one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of first network addresses, wherein each outbound packing buffer is logically divided into a plurality of frames, the frames being associated with second network addresses;

packing outbound data packets into selected frames of selected ones of the outbound packing buffers, when a header of the outbound data packet to be packed specifies the first network address and the second network address which correspond to the selected outbound packing buffer and the selected frame; and

transmitting each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first network address comprises a next-hop address on the virtual network and the second network address comprises a final destination address.

11. The system according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a set of frames from the transmission; and

determining whether to forward the outbound data packets which are packed in each frame by inspecting a first packet of the frame.

18. The system according to claim 9, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.

12. A computer program product for transferring data in a virtual network, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer readable storage device and comprising:

computer readable program code that is configured to allocate one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of particular network addresses;

computer readable program code that is configured to pack outbound data packets into appropriate ones of the outbound packing buffers, according to a network address within a header of each outbound data packet; and

computer readable program code that is configured to transmit each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation, wherein each of the particular network addresses is a next-hop address on the virtual network and the network address within the header is a next-hop address inserted into the header by a sending host.

13. The computer program product according to claim 12, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.

14. A computer program product for transfer transferring data in a virtual network, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer readable storage device and comprising:

computer readable program code that is configured to allocate one or more outbound packing buffers for each of a plurality of first network addresses, wherein each outbound packing buffer is logically divided into a plurality of frames, the frames being associated with second network addresses;

computer readable program code that is configured to pack outbound data packets into selected frames of selected ones of the outbound packing buffers, when a header of the outbound data packet to be packed specifies the first network address and the second network address which correspond to the selected outbound packing buffer and the selected frame; and

computer readable program code transmitting that is configured to transmit each outbound packing buffer onto the virtual network in a single transmission operation.

15. The computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the first network address comprises a next-hop address on the virtual network and the second network address comprises a final destination address.

16. The computer program product according to claim 14, further comprising:

computer readable program code that is configured to receive a set of frames from the transmission; and

computer readable program code that is configured to determine whether to forward the outbound data packets which are packed in each frame by inspecting a first packet of the frame.

19. The computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the virtual network is defined by a plurality of logical partitions within a single computing device.