Constructing a network enabling layer-2 interconnection of data centers

• US 9,716,620 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Zhu, Guoping, Zhou, Wan
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAW, PELING ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US14/966,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20160112258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/70 Virtual switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC

Abstract

A method for constructing a network enabling layer-2 interconnection of data centers includes: a current data center registers at a neighbor server when the current data center gets online, obtains information of all registered data centers, generates a virtual bridge port for each registered data center; after the current data center comes online, the current data center obtains information of all newly registered data centers according to a pre-set rule, generates a virtual bridge port for each newly registered data center; establishes a tunnel to each registered data center by using the virtual bridge port corresponding to the registered data center, and transmit data via the tunnel.

Claims

1. An edge device to connect a first data center to at least one other data center, the edge device comprising:

an interface; and

a processor to;

send, via the interface, information of the first data center to a neighbor server to register the first data center;

obtain, via the interface, information of a registered data center from the neighbor server, wherein the information of the registered data center comprises a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the registered data center;

determine whether the MAC address of the registered data center is identical to the MAC address of the first data center;

if the MAC address of the registered data center is different from the MAC address of the first data center, generate a virtual bridge port for the registered data center to communicate with the first data center.

2. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the processor is to skip the generation of the virtual bridge port for the registered data center if the MAC address of the registered data center is identical to the MAC address of the first data center.

3. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the information of the first data center includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a MAC address of the first data center.

4. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the processor is to establish a layer-2 interconnection with a second edge device of the registered data center via the virtual bridge port.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing machine readable instructions executable by a processor to:

register information of a first data center with a neighbor server;

obtain information of a second data center from the neighbor server, wherein the second data center is registered with the neighbor server;

generate a virtual bridge port for the second data center to communicate with the first data center via a layer-2 interconnection;

send a resolution request to the second data center;

set a state of the virtual bridge port to be UP if a resolution response is received from the second data center; and

set the state of the virtual bridge port to be DOWN if the resolution request is not received after a predetermined number of resolution requests are sent to the second data center.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the machine readable instructions are executable by the processor to:

delete the virtual bridge port if the resolution request is not received within a predetermined time interval.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the neighbor server is to purge the registration of the second data center if the second data center is determined to be offline.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the machine readable instructions are executable by the processor to:

establish a tunnel with the second data center via the virtual bridge port.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the tunnel comprises a layer-2 interconnection.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the information of the first data center includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a MAC address of the first data center.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing machine readable instructions executable by a processor to:

register information of a first data center with a neighbor server;

obtain information of a second data center from the neighbor server, wherein the second data center is registered with the neighbor server;

generate, on an edge device of the first data center, a virtual bridge port for the second data center to communicate with the first data center via a layer-2 interconnection in a core network; and

in response to receiving a broadcast Ethernet packet on an internal Ethernet port of the edge device, cause the edge device to flood the broadcast Ethernet packet to all ports of the edge device including the virtual bridge port, and perform tunnel encapsulation on the Ethernet packet flooded to the virtual bridge port before transmitting the encapsulated packet into the core network by unicasting.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the machine readable instructions are executable by the processor to:

configure a tunnel encapsulation entry corresponding to the virtual bridge port in a tunnel encapsulation mapping table at the edge device, wherein the tunnel encapsulation entry includes the virtual bridge port, an IP address of an edge device of the second data center, and an IP address of the edge device of the first data center.

13. An edge device to connect a first data center to at least one other data center via a core network, the edge device comprising:

an interface; and

a processor to determine an address of a second edge device of a second data center and establish a layer-2 interconnection with the second edge device via the interface without relying on multicasting in the core network.

14. The edge device of claim 13, wherein the processor is to:

register the first data center with a neighbor server;

obtain information of other registered data centers, including the second data center, from the neighbor server, wherein the obtained information includes the address of the second edge device.

15. The edge device of claim 13, wherein the layer-2 interconnection comprises a layer-2 tunnel, and, to establish the layer-2 tunnel, the processor is to generate a virtual bridge port for the layer-2 tunnel, and establish the layer-2 tunnel via the virtual bridge port.