Deriving control plane connectivity during provisioning of a distributed control plane of a switch

• US 9,571,337 B1
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Seshachellam, Prabhu, Xu, Xiangwen, Vohra, Quaizar
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chau, Peter
• Application Number:
  US12/976,075
• Time in Patent Office: 2,246 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• 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 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

System and methods for deriving configuration information of network resources within a dynamically configured, distributed control plane are described. In one embodiment, the present invention can include a network management device that manages virtual network entities, such as virtual switch fabrics, where the network management device hosts a network management module. The network management module is configured to maintain identifiers for the virtual network entities and the control plane connectivity data of the network devices hosting the virtual network entities.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a compute device configured to send a configuration signal through a network control plane to a first network device such that the first network device is associated with a first portion of a virtual network entity hosted at the first network device and a second portion of the virtual network entity hosted at a second network device, the virtual network entity having a virtual network entity identifier, a plurality of ports of the first network device being provisioned to the first portion of the virtual network entity, a plurality of ports of the second network device being provisioned to the second portion of the virtual network entity, the first network device associated with network control plane connectivity data that defines a relationship between the virtual network entity identifier and the first network device,

the compute device configured to determine the network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device based on the virtual network entity identifier,

the compute device configured to send a control plane signal to the first network device using a path determined based on the network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein

the network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device has an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address associated with the first network device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein

the MAC address associated with the first network device is a MAC address associated with at least one port from the plurality of ports of the first network device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual network entity is a first virtual network entity, the first virtual network entity is different from a second virtual network entity hosted at the first network device and associated with a second virtual network entity identifier.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein

the compute device maintains, at the compute device, the network control plane connectivity data of the first network device and the virtual network entity identifier.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein

the compute device is configured to send a network control plane request signal to the first network device to request the network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device and the virtual network entity identifier associated with the virtual network entity;

the compute device is configured to receive the network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device and the virtual network entity identifier associated with the virtual network entity in response to the network control plane request signal.

7. A system, comprising:

a compute device;

a first network device to host a first portion of a virtual network entity, the first network device being associated with a first network control plane connectivity data that defines a relationship between the first network device and a virtual network entity identifier of the virtual network entity, a plurality of ports of the first network device being provisioned to the first portion of the virtual network entity, the compute device to determine the first network control plane connectivity data based on the virtual network entity identifier;

a second network device to host a second portion of the virtual network entity a plurality of ports of the second network device being provisioned to the second portion of the virtual network entity, the second network device being associated with a second network control plane connectivity data defining a relationship between the second network device and the virtual network entity identifier; and

the first network device being operatively coupled to the compute device through a network control plane, the second network device being operatively coupled to the compute device through the network control plane, the compute device configured to send a control plane signal to the first network device through the network control plane based on a path determined from the first network control plane connectivity data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the compute device is configured to maintain, at the first network device, the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device and the virtual network entity identifier,

the compute device is configured to determine the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device from the virtual network entity identifier.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein

the control plane signal is a second control plane signal;

the first network device is configured to maintain the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device, the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device, and the virtual network entity identifier;

the first network device is configured to determine the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device from the virtual network entity identifier based on the maintained first network control plane connectivity data;

the first network device is configured to send a first control plane signal to the compute device, the first control plane signal includes the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein

the control plane signal is a second control plane signal;

the first network device is configured to maintain the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device, a portion of the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device, and the virtual network entity identifier;

the first network device is configured to determine the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device from the virtual network entity identifier based on the maintained second network control plane connectivity data;

the first network device is configured to send a first control plane signal to the compute device, the first control plane signal includes the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein

the control plane signal is a second control plane signal;

the first network device is configured to maintain the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device and the virtual network entity identifier,

the second network device is configured to maintain the second network control plane connectivity data associated with the second network device and the virtual network entity identifier,

the first network device is configured to determine the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device from the virtual network entity identifier based on the maintained first network control plane connectivity data,

the first network device is configured to send a first control plane signal to the compute device, the first control plane signal includes the first network control plane connectivity data associated with the first network device.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein

the first network control plane connectivity data of the first network device includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the first network device and the second network control plane connectivity data of the second network device includes an IP address and a MAC address of the second network device.

13. A method, comprising:

sending, from a compute device, a first configuration signal to a first network device such that a plurality of ports of the first network device is associated with a first portion of a virtual network entity hosted at the first network device in response to the first configuration signal;

sending, from the compute device, a second configuration signal to a second network device such that a plurality of ports of the second network device is associated with a second portion of the virtual network entity hosted at the second network device in response to the second configuration signal, the virtual network entity having a virtual network entity identifier;

receiving, from an information storage device, the virtual network entity identifier;

determining, at the compute device, network device control plane connectivity data based on a relationship between the first network device and the virtual network entity identifier, the relationship defined in the network device control plane connectivity data; and

sending a network control plane signal to a port from the plurality of ports of the first network device, a path of the network control plane signal is based on the network device control plane connectivity data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein

the network device control plane connectivity data includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the first network device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein

the first network device includes the information storage device.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the network device control plane connectivity data includes at least one port identifier associated with the port from the plurality of ports of the first network device.