System and method for supporting subnet manager (SM) master negotiation in a network environment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for supporting master negotiation in a network environment, comprising:
- providing a plurality of subnet managers (SMs), each of the plurality of subnet managers operating on a corresponding network switch;
storing in each of the plurality of SMs, a corresponding set of one or more secret keys wherein the corresponding set includes all secret keys known to each respective SM;
performing, by a negotiating SM of the plurality of SMs, subnet discovery on a subnet in the network environment via each other SM in the plurality of SMs in the subnet;
discovering, by the negotiating SM, the set of known secret keys of each other SM in the plurality of SMs;
checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM includes each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs;
checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is a subset of the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM; and
selecting as a master SM one of the plurality of SMs, wherein the selected SM has the largest set of secret keys, and wherein the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is one of a same set, or a subset, of the set of secret keys known to the selected SM.
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Abstract
A system and method can support master negotiation in a network environment. A subnet manager (SM) can perform subnet discovery on a subnet in the network environment via a subnet manager (SM) in the subnet, wherein the subnet includes a plurality of SMs. Furthermore, the SM can communicate with the other SMs in the subnet to check for a number of known secret keys, and select a SM from the plurality of SMs as a master SM, wherein the master SM has the highest number of known keys.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for supporting master negotiation in a network environment, comprising:
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providing a plurality of subnet managers (SMs), each of the plurality of subnet managers operating on a corresponding network switch; storing in each of the plurality of SMs, a corresponding set of one or more secret keys wherein the corresponding set includes all secret keys known to each respective SM; performing, by a negotiating SM of the plurality of SMs, subnet discovery on a subnet in the network environment via each other SM in the plurality of SMs in the subnet; discovering, by the negotiating SM, the set of known secret keys of each other SM in the plurality of SMs; checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM includes each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs; checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is a subset of the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM; and selecting as a master SM one of the plurality of SMs, wherein the selected SM has the largest set of secret keys, and wherein the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is one of a same set, or a subset, of the set of secret keys known to the selected SM. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for supporting master negotiation in a network environment, comprising:
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one or more microprocessors; a plurality of network switches running on the one or more microprocessors; a plurality of subnet managers (SMs), each of the plurality of subnet managers operating on a corresponding one of the plurality of network switches; for each of the plurality of SMs, a corresponding set of one or more secret keys wherein the corresponding set is the set of all secret keys known to each respective SM; wherein one of the plurality of subnet managers is a negotiating subnet manager, and wherein the negotiating subnet manager operates to; perform subnet discovery on a subnet in the network environment via each other SM of the plurality of SMs in the subnet; discover the set of known secret keys of each other SM; check the set of secret keys known to each SM in the plurality of SMs to determine if the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM includes each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs; check the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if each set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is a subset of the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM; and select as a master SM one of the plurality of SMs, wherein the selected SM has the largest set of secret keys, and wherein the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is one of a same set, or a subset, of the set of secret keys known to the selected SM. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause a system to perform the steps comprising:
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performing, by a negotiating subnet manager (SM) within a plurality of SMs, subnet discovery on a subnet in a network environment via the other SMs of the plurality of SMs in the subnet, wherein one SM of the plurality of SMs and one corresponding set of one or more secret keys is provided at each of a plurality of network switches in the network environment, and wherein the one corresponding set is the set of all secret keys known to the one SM; discovering, by the negotiating SM, the set of known secret keys of each other SM in the plurality of SMs; checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM includes the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs; checking, by the negotiating SM, the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM to determine if the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is a subset of the set of secret keys known to the negotiating SM; and selecting as a master SM one of the SMs in the plurality of SMs, wherein the selected SM has the largest set of secret keys, and wherein the set of secret keys known to each other SM in the plurality of SMs is one of a same set, or a subset, of the set of secret keys known to the selected SM.
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Specification