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End-to-end monitoring of overlay networks providing virtualized network services

  • US 9,787,559 B1
  • Filed: 03/28/2014
  • Issued: 10/10/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:

  • injecting, by a network device external to a services complex of a data center having a plurality of service nodes, a first plurality of probe packets along service chains provided by the services complex,wherein each of the service chains comprises a different ordered combination of network services applied to packets received by the service nodes, and wherein each of the first plurality of probe packets includes a first timestamp indicating a time at which the network device sent the respective probe packet, and overlay encapsulation with header information relating to a transport tunnel and tenant identification associated with a tenant enterprise network or a tenant public network configured for forwarding packets of a particular customer of the data center;

    by one or more of the plurality of service nodes in the services complex, modifying each of the first plurality of probe packets by inserting a respective second timestamp indicating a respective time at which the respective service node processed the respective one of the first plurality of probe packets and applying the network services to the modified probe packets according to the respective service chains;

    aggregating, by an analytics device, separate from the plurality of service nodes, probe report information received from each of the plurality of service nodes to determine one or more path monitoring metrics associated with service level agreements of customers of the data center;

    identifying, by the analytics device and based on the probe report information, a component in a service node of the plurality of service nodes that is not receiving probe packets along one of the service chains;

    in response to identifying the component, configuring a probe packet injector at a virtual router component of the service node having the component; and

    injecting, by the probe packet injector of the virtual router component, a second plurality of probe packets for forwarding, by the service node having the component, along a remaining portion of the service chain that includes the component.

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