Network feedback in software-defined networks

• US 9,374,301 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2013
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kancherla, Mani Prasad
• Primary Examiner(s): DONAGHUE, LARRY D
• Application Number:
  US13/890,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311675A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/342 between virtual entities, e.g. orchestrators, SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2483 involving identification of individual flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a computing system capable of providing feedback to a controller in a software-defined network. The computing system includes a policy management module and a communication module coupled to the policy management module. During operation, the policy management module recognizes a local policy indicating how a data flow is to be processed and identifies a data flow associated with the policy. The communication module constructs a request for a flow definition from a controller in a software-defined network. A flow definition indicates how the data flow is processed in the software-defined network.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a policy management apparatus configured to;

recognize a local policy indicating how a data flow is to be processed in a network condition; and

identify a data flow associated with the policy; and

a communication apparatus configured to, in response to detecting the network condition, construct a request for a flow definition for the data flow based on the local policy from a controller in a software-defined network, wherein the flow definition indicates how the data flow is processed in the software-defined network.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the communication apparatus is further configured to identify a packet as belonging to the data flow;

and

wherein the policy management apparatus is further configured to;

determine whether the packet matches the policy; and

instruct the communication apparatus to construct the request in response to the packet matching the policy.

3. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the software-defined network is an OpenFlow-enabled network.

4. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is an appliance providing a service to the software-defined network;

and

wherein the policy is associated with the service.

5. The computing system of claim 1, further comprising a policy enforcement apparatus configured to mark the request as enforced, indicating a compulsory enforcement of the request.

6. The computing system of claim 5, further comprising a scripting engine configured to identify a policy, wherein the identified policy is in a format recognizable by the scripting engine.

7. The computing system of claim 5, further comprising a control apparatus configured to operate the computing system as a controller of the software-defined network.

8. A computer-executable method, comprising:

recognizing, by a computer, a local policy indicating how a data flow is to be processed in a network condition;

identifying a data flow associated with the policy; and

in response to detecting the network condition, constructing a request for a flow definition for the data flow based on the local policy from a controller in a software-defined network, wherein the flow definition indicates how the data flow is processed in the software-defined network.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying a packet as belonging to the data flow;

determining whether the packet matches the policy; and

constructing the request in response to the packet matching the policy.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the software-defined network is an OpenFlow-enabled network.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer is an appliance providing a service to the software-defined network;

and

wherein the policy is associated with the service.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising marking the request as enforced, indicating a compulsory enforcement of the request.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising identifying a policy expressed in a locally recognizable script.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising operating the computer as a controller of the software-defined network.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

recognizing a local policy indicating how a data flow is to be processed in a network condition;

identifying a data flow associated with the policy; and

in response to detecting the network condition, constructing a request for a flow definition for the data flow based on the local policy from a controller in a software-defined network, wherein the flow definition indicates how the data flow is processed in the software-defined network.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying a packet as belonging to the data flow;

determining whether the packet matches the policy; and

constructing the request in response to the packet matching the policy.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the software-defined network is an OpenFlow-enabled network.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computer is an appliance providing a service to the software-defined network;

and

wherein the policy is associated with the service.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises marking the request as enforced, indicating a compulsory enforcement of the request.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises identifying a policy expressed in a locally recognizable script.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises operating the computer as a controller of the software-defined network.