Methods and apparatus for configuring a virtual network switch

• US 8,937,862 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2013
• Issued: 01/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Aybay, Gunes, Sindhu, Pradeep, Venkatramani, Anjan
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza, Faruk
• Assistant Examiner(s): DECKER, CASSANDRA L
• Application Number:
  US13/892,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20130315060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/35 Switches specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/65 Re-configuration of fast packet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/70 Virtual switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes sending a configuration signal to a virtual network switch module within a control plane of a communications network. The configuration signal is configured to define a first network rule at the virtual network switch module. The method also includes configuring a packet forwarding module such that the packet forwarding module implements a second network rule, and receiving status information from the virtual network switch module and status information from the packet forwarding module. The status information is received via the control plane.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending a configuration signal to a virtual network switch module within a control plane of a communications network, the configuration signal configured to define a network rule at the virtual network switch module;

receiving a data packet from the virtual network switch module when a processing duration for the data packet determined by the virtual network switch module exceeds a threshold, the network rule being applied to the data packet by the virtual network switch module when the processing duration does not exceed the threshold; and

applying the network rule in response to receiving the data packet and when the processing duration exceeds the threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal includes an instruction to change a data value stored at a memory associated with the virtual network switch module.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is a first configuration signal, the method further comprising:

receiving, before the sending, a second configuration signal including a description of the network rule.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications network is a multi-stage switch fabric.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal includes at least one of a filter, an access control list (ACL), or a flow table.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data packet is a first data packet, the method further comprising:

receiving a second data packet from the virtual network switch module in response to the virtual network switch module identifying an exception in the second data packet.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to be in communication with a virtual network switch module hosted at a computing device,

the processor configured to send a signal to the virtual network switch module to configure the virtual network switch module to apply a network rule;

(1) to a data packet received at the virtual network switch module,

(2) when a processing duration, associated with the network rule and for the data packet, determined by the virtual network switch module does not exceed a threshold,

the processor configured to receive the data packet from the virtual network switch module when the processing duration exceeds the threshold,

the processor configured to process the data packet based on the network rule when the processing duration exceeds the threshold, resulting in a processed data packet,

the processor configured to send the processed data packet to a destination device.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a packet forwarding module configured to forward data packets based on a plurality of network rules defined at the packet forwarding module, the network rule being from the plurality of network rules.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to receive a protocol packet from the virtual network switch module.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the virtual network switch module is a first virtual network switch module and the computing device is a first computing device, the processor is configured to be in communication with a second virtual network switch module hosted at a second computing device.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the virtual network switch module is a first virtual network switch module, the computing device is a first computing device, and the network rule is a first network rule,

the processor is configured to be in communication with a second virtual network switch module hosted at a second computing device, the processor configured to send a signal to the second virtual network switch module to configure the second virtual network switch module to apply a second network rule.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the signal includes at least one of a filter, an access control list (ACL), or a flow table.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the data packet is a first data packet, the processor is configured to receive a second data packet from the virtual network switch module in response to the virtual network switch module identifying an exception in the second data packet.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, from an access switch within a control plane of a communications network, a configuration signal to define a network rule at a virtual network switch module;

determining a processing duration associated with the network rule and for a data packet;

processing the data packet based on the network rule when the processing duration does not exceed a threshold, resulting in a processed data packet;

sending the processed data packet to a destination device when the processing duration does not exceed the threshold; and

sending the data packet to the access switch when the processing duration exceeds the threshold.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the communications network is a multi-stage switch fabric.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuration signal includes an instruction to change a data value stored at a memory associated with the virtual network switch module.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the data packet is a first data packet, the method further comprising:

receiving a second data packet at the virtual network switch module;

determining a processing duration associated with the network rule and for the second data packet; and

sending the second data packet to the access switch within a data plane of the communications network based on the processing duration for the second data packet.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the data packet is a first data packet, the method further comprising:

identifying an exception in a second data packet; and

sending the second data packet to the access switch in response to the identifying.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the threshold is based at least in part on a computational capability of a server hosting the virtual network switch module.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving the data packet at the virtual network switch module prior to the determining.