Global VLANs for fabric switches

• US 9,602,430 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2013
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Vobbilisetty, Suresh, Koganti, Phanidhar, Chong, Chi Lung
• Primary Examiner(s): Baig, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US13/971,397
• Publication Number:
  US 20140056298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/10 characterised by the switching fabric construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/111 Switch interfaces, e.g. port details
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/118 Address processing within a device, e.g. using internal ID or tags for routing within a switch
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/65 Re-configuration of fast packet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/70 Virtual switches

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a virtual local area network (VLAN) configuration module. During operation, the VLAN configuration module maps local resources of the switch and/or locally coupled end device information to a global VLAN identifier, wherein the global VLAN is persistent across a fabric switch. The fabric switch is operable to accommodate a plurality of switches and operates as a single logical switch.

Claims

1. A switch configured to be a member of a network of interconnected switches, the switch comprising:

virtual local area network (VLAN) configuration circuitry configured to;

in response to identifying a new locally reachable end device, determine a customer VLAN for the end device based on currently allocated customer VLANs at the switch and local resources of the switch, wherein the determination of the customer VLAN is local to the switch;

determine a layer-2 forwarding domain within the network of interconnected switches for the end device, wherein the layer-2 forwarding domain includes a plurality of customer VLANs; and

map the customer VLAN to a global VLAN identifier identifying the layer 2 forwarding domain in the network of interconnected switches;

wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across the network of interconnected switches; and

wherein the network of interconnected switches is identified based on a fabric identifier.

2. The switch of claim 1, wherein scope of the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN is local within the switch.

3. The switch of claim 1, wherein the global VLAN is further mapped to one or more of:

a local port associated with the end device;

a media access control (MAC) address of the end device; and

a Virtual Private Network (VPN) identifier; and

wherein the customer VLAN is identified based on one or more of;

an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q Service VLAN (S-VLAN) identifier;

an IEEE Customer VLAN (C-VLAN) identifier.

4. The switch of claim 1, further comprising:

internal identifier circuitry configured to determine an internal identifier based on the local resources and/or information associated with the end device, wherein scope of the internal identifier is internal and local within the switch; and

wherein the VLAN configuration circuitry is further configured to map the internal identifier to the global VLAN identifier.

5. The switch of claim 1, wherein the VLAN configuration circuitry is further configured to identify the global VLAN identifier from the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN based on one or more fields in a packet.

6. The switch of claim 1, wherein the VLAN configuration circuitry is further configured to map the global VLAN identifier further to a tenant of the switch.

7. The switch of claim 1, wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) sub-network (subnet) with layer-3 routing support;

and

wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with a logical layer-3 interface.

8. The switch of claim 7,

wherein the logical layer-3 interface is associated with a virtual IP address and a virtual MAC address;

and

wherein the virtual IP address and the virtual MAC address are assigned to a respective switch in the network of interconnected switches.

9. The switch of claim 7, further comprising:

routing circuitry configured to determine a route between a first subnet associated with a first global VLAN identifier and a second subnet associated with a second global VLAN identifier without requiring a routing protocol; and

forwarding circuitry configured to determine an output port for a packet from the first subnet destined to the second subnet based on the route.

10. The switch of claim 7, further comprising separation circuitry configured to maintain a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance comprising a subset of routes maintained by the switch, wherein the VRF instance is persistent across the network of interconnected switches.

11. The switch of claim 1, further comprising a packet processor configured to encapsulate a layer-2 frame with one or more of:

a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) header, wherein the TRILL header includes the global VLAN identifier; and

an IP-based encapsulation header, wherein the encapsulation header includes the global VLAN identifier.

12. The switch of claim 1, wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across a plurality of networks of interconnected switches.

13. A computer-executable method, comprising:

in response to identifying a locally reachable end device from a switch, determining a customer VLAN for the end device based on currently allocated customer VLANs at the switch and local resources of the switch, wherein the determination of the customer VLAN is local to the switch, and wherein the switch is configured to be a member of a network of interconnected switches;

determining a layer-2 forwarding domain for the end device within the network of interconnected switches for the end device, wherein the layer-2 forwarding domain includes a plurality of customer VLANs; and

mapping the customer VLAN to a global VLAN identifier identifying the layer-2 forwarding domain in the network of interconnected switches, wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across the network of interconnected switches; and

wherein the network of interconnected switches is identified based on a fabric identifier.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein scope of the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN is local within the switch.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the global VLAN is further mapped to one or more of:

a local port, which is associated with the end device, of the switch;

a media access control (MAC) address of the end device; and

a Virtual Private Network (VPN) identifier; and

wherein the customer VLAN is identified based on one or more of;

an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q Service VLAN (S-VLAN) identifier;

an IEEE Customer VLAN (C-VLAN) identifier.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining an internal identifier based on the local resources and/or information associated with the end device, wherein scope of the internal identifier is internal and local within the switch; and

mapping the internal identifier to the global VLAN identifier.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising identifying the global VLAN identifier from the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN based on one or more fields in a packet.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising mapping the global VLAN identifier further to a tenant of the switch.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) sub-network (subnet) with layer-3 routing support;

and

wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with a logical layer-3 interface.

20. The method of claim 19,

wherein the logical layer-3 interface is associated with a virtual IP address and a virtual MAC address;

and

wherein the virtual IP address and the virtual MAC address are assigned to a respective switch in the network of interconnected switches.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining a route between a first subnet associated with a first global VLAN identifier and a second subnet associated with a second global VLAN identifier without requiring a routing protocol; and

determining an output port for a packet from the first subnet destined to the second subnet based on the route.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising maintaining a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance comprising a subset of routes maintained by the switch, wherein the VRF instance is persistent across the network of interconnected switches.

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising encapsulating a layer-2 frame with one or more of:

a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) header, wherein the TRILL header includes the global VLAN identifier; and

an IP-based encapsulation header, wherein the encapsulation header includes the global VLAN identifier.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across a plurality of networks of interconnected switches.

25. A computing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the system to perform a method, the method comprising;

in response to identifying a locally reachable end device from a switch, determining a customer VLAN for the end device based on currently allocated customer VLANs at the switch and local resources of the switch, wherein the determination of the customer VLAN is local to the switch, and wherein the switch is configured to be a member of a network of interconnected switches;

determining a layer-2 forwarding domain for the end device within the network of interconnected switches for the end device, wherein the layer-2 forwarding domain includes a plurality of customer VLANs; and

mapping the customer VLAN to a global VLAN identifier identifying the layer-2 forwarding domain in the network of interconnected switches, wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across the network of interconnected switches; and

wherein the network of interconnected switches is identified based on a fabric identifier.

26. The computing system of claim 25, wherein scope of the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN is local within the switch.

27. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the global VLAN is further mapped to one or more of:

a local port, which is associated with the end device, of the switch;

a media access control (MAC) address of the end device; and

a Virtual Private Network (VPN) identifier; and

wherein the customer VLAN is identified based on one or more of;

an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q Service VLAN (S-VLAN) identifier;

an IEEE Customer VLAN (C-VLAN) identifier.

28. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

determining an internal identifier based on the local resources and/or information associated with the end device, wherein scope of the internal identifier is internal and local within the switch; and

mapping the internal identifier to the global VLAN identifier.

29. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises identifying the global VLAN identifier from the mapping between the global VLAN and the customer VLAN based on one or more fields in a packet.

30. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises mapping the global VLAN identifier further to a tenant of the switch.

31. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) sub-network (subnet) with layer-3 routing support;

and

wherein the global VLAN identifier is associated with a logical layer-3 interface.

32. The computing system of claim 31,

wherein the logical layer-3 interface is associated with a virtual IP address and a virtual MAC address;

and

wherein the virtual IP address and the virtual MAC address are associated with a respective switch in the network of interconnected switches.

33. The computing system of claim 31, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a route between a first subnet associated with a first global VLAN identifier and a second subnet associated with a second global VLAN identifier without requiring a routing protocol; and

determining an output port for a packet from the first subnet destined to the second subnet based on the route.

34. The computing system of claim 31, wherein the method further comprises maintaining a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance comprising a subset of routes maintained by the switch, wherein the VRF instance is persistent across the network of interconnected switches.

35. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises encapsulating a layer-2 frame with one or more of:

a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) header, wherein the TRILL header includes the global VLAN identifier; and

an IP-based encapsulation header, wherein the encapsulation header includes the global VLAN identifier.

36. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the global VLAN identifier is persistent across a plurality of networks of interconnected switches.