Method for scalable computer network partitioning
First Claim
1. A method of transmitting packets in a computer network having a hierarchy of domains individually having one or more network nodes interconnected with one or more end points, the method comprising:
- at a first network node in a first domain of the hierarchy, receiving a plurality of packets with corresponding end point identifiers individually having a stack with a first section containing a value corresponding to a higher-level domain that is above the first domain in the hierarchy and a second section containing another value corresponding to a second domain, the higher-level domain being different from the second domain;
determining a first network route from the first network node to the higher level domain by performing a comparison of the value of the first section of the end point identifiers with entries in a forwarding table in the first network node, one of the entries of the forwarding table specifying a network path from the first network node to the higher-level domain as a destination corresponding to all end points in the second domain; and
forwarding the packets to a second network node in the higher-level domain based on the determined first network route; and
at the second network node in the higher-level domain,removing the first section from the stack;
determining a second network route from the second network node to the end points in the second domain based on the another value in the second section of the end point identifiers; and
forwarding the packets from the second network node to the end points in the second domain based on the determined second network route.
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Abstract
Various techniques for partitioning a computer network is disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, control plane functions (e.g., computation of network routes) and/or forwarding plane functions (e.g., routing, forwarding, switching) may be partitioned and performed individually on per domain basis based on (1) a network configuration of a particular domain (e.g., end points and/or lower-level domains in the particular domain); and (2) one or more higher-level domains connected to the particular domain in the hierarchy. Thus, a particular domain can manage various network operations of the domain without concerns regarding end points or network nodes in other domains of the hierarchy. Thus, network configuration and operation may be partitioned to reduce hardware costs and operational complexity even as the size of the overall computer networks increases.
48 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of transmitting packets in a computer network having a hierarchy of domains individually having one or more network nodes interconnected with one or more end points, the method comprising:
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at a first network node in a first domain of the hierarchy, receiving a plurality of packets with corresponding end point identifiers individually having a stack with a first section containing a value corresponding to a higher-level domain that is above the first domain in the hierarchy and a second section containing another value corresponding to a second domain, the higher-level domain being different from the second domain; determining a first network route from the first network node to the higher level domain by performing a comparison of the value of the first section of the end point identifiers with entries in a forwarding table in the first network node, one of the entries of the forwarding table specifying a network path from the first network node to the higher-level domain as a destination corresponding to all end points in the second domain; and forwarding the packets to a second network node in the higher-level domain based on the determined first network route; and at the second network node in the higher-level domain, removing the first section from the stack; determining a second network route from the second network node to the end points in the second domain based on the another value in the second section of the end point identifiers; and forwarding the packets from the second network node to the end points in the second domain based on the determined second network route. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of transmitting packets in a computer network having a hierarchy of domains individually having one or more network nodes interconnected with one or more end points, the method comprising:
at each domain in the hierarchy, independently performing; receiving a request to transmit a packet from a first end point in a domain to a second end point in the computer network, the packet having an end point identifier having a stack with a first section containing a value corresponding to a higher-level domain that is above the first domain in the hierarchy and a second section containing another value corresponding to a second domain; determining whether the second end point is in the same domain as the first end point; in response to determining that the second end point is not in the same domain as the first end point, determining a first network route to the higher-level domain as a destination for the packet based on the value in the first section of the stack, the higher-level domain being immediately above the domain in the hierarchy of domain and being the destination corresponding to all end points that are not in the domain; forwarding the packets to a network node in the higher-level domain based on the determined first network route; and
at the network node in the higher-level domain,removing the first section from the stack; determining a second network route from the network node to the second domain based on the another value in the second section of the end point identifiers; and transmitting the packet from the first end point in the domain to second end point via the higher-level domain by forwarding the packet from the network node to the second domain based on the determined second network route. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of transmitting packets in a computer network having a hierarchy of domains individually having one or more network nodes interconnected with one or more end points, the method comprising:
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at a first network node in a first domain of the hierarchy, receiving a packet with an end point identifier having a stack with a first section containing a first value and a second section containing a second value; determining a first network route from the first network node to a higher level domain by performing a comparison of the first value of the first section with entries in a forwarding table in the first network node, one of the entries of the forwarding table specifying a network path from the first network node to the higher-level domain as a destination corresponding to all end points in the second domain; forwarding the packet to a second network node in the higher-level domain based on the determined first network route; and at the second network node in the higher-level domain, removing the first section from the stack; determining a second network route from the second network node to the second domain based on the second value in the second section of the stack; and forwarding the packet from the second network node to the second domain based on the determined second network route. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification