Initiating peer-to-peer tunnels

• US 9,444,888 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2014
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Aruba Networks Incorporated (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Iyer, Pradeep J
• Primary Examiner(s): Zong, Ruolei
• Application Number:
  US14/293,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20140280733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 709/235, 709/219, 709/236, 709/239, 709/227, 710 52- 57, 370/389, 370412-418, 711118-146
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1042 using topology management mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06

Abstract

Initiating peer-to-peer tunnels between clients in a mobility domain. Client traffic in a mobility domain normally passes from the initiating client to an access node, and from the access node through a tunnel to a controller, and then through another tunnel from the controller to the destination access node, and the destination client. When initiated by the controller, the access nodes establish a peer-to-peer tunnel for suitable client traffic, bypassing the “slow” tunnels through the controller with a “fast” peer-to-peer tunnel. Traffic through this “fast” tunnel may be initiated once the tunnel is established, or traffic for the “fast” tunnel may be queued up until traffic has completed passing through the “slow” tunnel.

Claims

1. A non-transitory Computer Readable Medium (CRM) comprising instruction which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, causes the one or more hardware processors to:

forward, at a network device on a first communication path between a first network node and a second network node, a data traffic from (i) a first client communicatively coupled with the first network node toward (ii) a second client communicatively coupled with the second network node;

determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding between the first network node and the second network node;

in response to a determination that the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish a second communication path that does not include the network device, for transmitting the data traffic between the first network node and the second network node; and

in response to a determination that the data traffic is not eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, continue to forward the network traffic through the first communication path.

2. The CRM of claim 1, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the one or more hardware processors to determine whether the first network node and the second network node are associated with the network device.

3. The CRM of claim 2, wherein the network device is a controller of both the first network node and the second network node.

4. The CRM of claim 1, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the one or more hardware processors to determine whether the first network node is associated with a first controller in a particular set of controllers and that the second network node is associated with a second controller of the same particular set of controllers.

5. The CRM of claim 1, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the one or more hardware processor to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding based on one or more characteristics associated with the data traffic.

6. The CRM of claim 1, wherein said network device is a controller associated with the first network node, wherein a second network device is a controller associated with the second network node, and wherein to instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path, the instructions are further to cause the one or more hardware processors to instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path, wherein the second communication path also does not include the second network device.

7. A network device comprising:

a hardware processor;

a memory on which is store instructions to cause the hardware processor to;

forward, at the network device on a first communication path between a first network node and a second network node that includes the network device, a data traffic from (i) a first client communicatively coupled with the first network node toward (ii) a second client communicatively coupled with the second network node;

determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding between the first network node and the second network node;

in response to a determination that the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish a second communication path that does not include the network device, for transmitting the data traffic between the first network node and the second network node; and

in response to a determination that the data traffic is not eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, continuing to forward the network traffic through the first communication path.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the hardware processor to determine whether the first network node and the second network node are associated with the same network device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the network device is a controller of both the first network node and the second network node.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the hardware processor to determine whether the first network node is associated with a first controller in a particular set of controllers and that the second network node is associated with a second controller of the same particular set of controllers.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, the instructions are further to cause the hardware processor to determine whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding based on one or more characteristics associated with the data traffic.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein said network device is a controller associated with the first network node, wherein a second network device is a controller associated with the second network node, and wherein to instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path, the instructions are further to cause the one or more hardware processors to instruct only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path, wherein the second communication path also does not include the second network device.

13. A method comprising:

forwarding, at the network device on a first communication path between a first network node and a second network node that includes the network device, a data traffic from (i) a first client communicatively coupled with the first network node toward (ii) a second client communicatively coupled with the second network node, wherein the first network device comprises a hardware processor;

determining, by the hardware processor, whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding between the first network node and the second network node;

in response to a determination that the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, instructing, by the hardware processor, only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish a second communication path that does not include the network device, for transmitting the data traffic between the first network node and the second network node; and

in response to a determination that the data traffic is not eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding, continue forwarding the network traffic through the first communication path.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding further comprises determining whether the first network node and the second network node are associated with the network device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the network device is a controller of both the first network node and the second network node.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein determining whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding further comprises determining whether the first network node is associated with a first controller in a particular set of controllers and that the second network node is associated with a second controller of the same particular set of controllers.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein determining whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding further comprises determining whether the data traffic is eligible for peer-to-peer forwarding based on one or more characteristics associated with the data traffic.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein said network device is a controller associated with the first network node, wherein a second network device is a controller associated with the second network node, and wherein instruction only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path further comprises instruction only one of the first network node and the second network node to establish the second communication path, wherein the second communication path also does not include the second network device.