Sender device based pause system

• US 9,055,467 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Hernandez, Hendrich M., Winter, Robert Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): ROSE, KERRI M
• Application Number:
  US13/740,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20140198646A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 370229-232, 370/235, 370/236
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/266 Stopping or restarting the source, e.g. X-on or X-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0257 the individual bearer or channel having a maximum bit rate or a bit rate guarantee
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints

Abstract

A network communication pause system includes a network interface device and a management controller. The management controller is operable to monitor first data traffic that is received by the network interface device over a network and that is associated with a sender Media Access Control (MAC) address and a receiver MAC address. If the management controller determines that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold, a pause frame that includes the sender MAC address is sent over the network through the network interface device to a sender device associated with the sender MAC address. The pause frame may include an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the management controller and the sender device to forward the pause frame to the sender device, and a pause time for which the sender device will pause the sending of data traffic to the receiver MAC address.

Claims

1. A network communication pause system, comprising:

a chassis;

a network interface device that is housed in the chassis and configured to couple to a network;

a plurality of receiver devices that are housed in the chassis and coupled to the network interface device; and

a management controller that is coupled to the network interface device, wherein the management controller is configured to;

monitor a plurality of data traffic that is received by the network interface device and that includes first data traffic that is received from a first sender device that is coupled to the network and that is directed to a first receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices;

determine that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold associated with the first receiver device; and

send a pause frame over the network through the network interface device to the first sender device, wherein the pause frame includes an address of the first sender device and an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the management controller and the first sender device to forward the pause frame to the address of the first sender device, and wherein the pause frame is configured to cause the first sender device to pause sending the first data traffic to the first receiver device while second data traffic included in the plurality of data traffic continues to be received by the network interface device from at least one second sender device that is coupled to the network and provided to at least one second receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices.

2. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the management controller is configured to:

determine that the first sender device is at least one top traffic sender device of the plurality of data traffic received by the network interface device.

3. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the management controller is configured to:

allocate a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

4. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the address of the first sender device is a Media Access Control (MAC) address and the operations code is a MAC control operations code.

5. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the first sender device will pause the sending of the first data traffic to the first receiver device.

6. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein a first transmission rate between the first receiver device and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between the at least one second receiver device and the network interface device.

7. The network communication pause system of claim 1, wherein a transmission rate between the management controller and the network interface device is less than a transmission rate between the network interface device and the network.

8. An information handling system (IHS), comprising:

a chassis;

a processor that is located in the chassis;

a memory that is located in the chassis and coupled to the processor;

a network interface device that is located in the chassis and coupled the processor, wherein the network interface device is configured to couple to a network;

a plurality of receiver devices that are located in the chassis and that are coupled to the network interface device; and

a management controller that is coupled to the network interface device, wherein the management controller is configured to;

monitor a plurality of data traffic that is received by the network interface device from a plurality of sender Media Access Control (MAC) addresses and addressed to a plurality of receiver MAC addresses of the plurality of receiver devices;

determine that first data traffic of the plurality of data traffic that is received from a first sender MAC address of the plurality of sender MAC addresses and addressed to a first receiver MAC address of the plurality of receiver MAC addresses has exceeded a threshold that is associated with a first receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices that includes the first receiver MAC address; and

send a pause frame that includes the first sender MAC address and a MAC control operations code over the network through the network interface device, wherein the MAC control operations code in the pause frame is configured to cause intermediate devices coupled to the management controller to forward the pause frame to the first sender MAC address, and wherein the pause frame is configured to cause the sending the first data traffic from the first sender MAC address to the first receiver MAC address to be paused while second data traffic included in the plurality of data traffic continues to be received by the network interface device over the network from at least one second sender MAC address and provided to at least one second receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices.

9. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the management controller is configured to:

determine that the first sender MAC address sending the first data traffic is at least one top traffic sending MAC address of data traffic received by the network interface device.

10. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the management controller is configured to:

allocated a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

11. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the intermediate devices are coupled between the management controller and a first sender device that includes the first sender MAC address.

12. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the sending of data traffic from the first sender MAC address to the first receiver MAC address will be paused.

13. The IHS of claim 8, wherein a first transmission rate between the first receiver device and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between the at least one second receiver device and the network interface device.

14. The IHS of claim 8, wherein a transmission rate between the management controller and the network interface device is less than a transmission rate between the network interface device and the network.

15. A method for pausing network communications, comprising:

monitoring a plurality of data traffic that is received by a network interface device over a network and that includes first data traffic from a first sender device that is directed to a first receiver device of a plurality of receiver devices, wherein the network interface device and the plurality of receiver devices are included in a chassis;

determining that the first data traffic has exceeded a threshold associated with the first receiver device;

sending a pause frame to the first sender device over the network through the network interface device, wherein the pause frame includes an operations code that causes intermediate devices coupled between the network interface device and the first sender device to forward the pause frame to the first sender device, and causes the first sender device to pause sending the first data traffic to the first receiver device; and

receiving second data traffic of the plurality of data traffic by the network interface device from at least one second sender device over the network and providing the second data traffic to at least one second receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices while the sending of the first data traffic is paused.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining that the first sender device is at least one top traffic sender device of the plurality of data traffic received by the network interface device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

allocating a receive queue to the first data traffic, wherein the threshold is associated with the receive queue.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the operations code is a MAC control operations code.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the pause frame includes a pause time for which the first sender device will pause the sending of first data traffic to the first receiver device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein a first transmission rate between the first receiver device and the network interface device is less than a second transmission rate between a second receiver device and the network interface device.