Distributing service sessions

• US 10,862,955 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2018
• Issued: 12/08/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: A10 Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: A10 Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Sankar, Swaminathan, Karampurwala, Hasnain, Gupta, Rahul, Kamat, Gurudeep, Jalan, Rajkumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Taylor, Nicholas R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roy, Sanjoy
• Application Number:
  US16/004,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20180295182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1004 Server selection for load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1012 based on compliance of requirements or conditions with available server resources

Abstract

Provided are methods and systems for dynamically distributing a service session from a client device. The method may commence with receiving a packet associated with the service session from the client device by a gateway node. The method may include determining that the packet matches a service address in a forwarding policy. The method may continue with selecting one of a plurality of forwarding nodes for sending the packet to the one of the plurality of forwarding nodes. The method may include receiving the packet of the service session by the one of the plurality of forwarding nodes. The method may continue with determining that the packet matches the service address serviced by a servicing node of a plurality of servicing nodes. The method may further include sending the packet to the servicing node for forwarding the packet to a server by the servicing node.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically distributing a service session from a client device, the system comprising:

a plurality of forwarding nodes; and

a gateway node configured to;

receive, from the client device, a packet of the service session, the packet being associated with a source network address;

determine that the packet matches a service address in a forwarding policy;

make a first selection by selecting, from the plurality of forwarding nodes, at least two forwarding nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two forwarding nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two forwarding nodes, determine that the forwarding policy includes a first criterion instructing to select between the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, making a second selection by selecting a first forwarding node of the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy for sending the packet to the first forwarding node, the first forwarding node serving the source network address;

determine that the forwarding policy includes a second criterion with instructions to forward both the packet and further packets associated with the service session through an identical forwarding path, the identical forwarding path including a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes being configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path, wherein both the packet and the further packets comprise the source network address and a session identifier associated with the service session, and wherein the source network address does not include a cookie;

update the forwarding policy by setting the first forwarding node as selectable for forwarding the further packets associated with the service session and comprising the source network address and the session identifier;

wherein the first forwarding node is configured to;

receive the packet of the service session from the gateway node;

determine that the packet matches the service address in the forwarding policy;

make a first selection by selecting, from a plurality of servicing nodes, at least two servicing nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two servicing nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two servicing nodes, determine that the forwarding policy includes a third criterion instructing to select between the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, select a first servicing node of the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy, the first servicing node serving the source network address;

determine that the forwarding policy includes the second criterion with the instructions to forward both the packet and the further packets comprising the session identifier through the identical forwarding path;

update the forwarding policy by setting the first servicing node as selectable for forwarding the further packets, wherein the first forwarding node and the first servicing node constitute the plurality of nodes of the identical forwarding path for the packet and the further packets comprising the source network address and the session identifier and are configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path; and

send the packet to the first servicing node for forwarding the packet, by the first servicing node, directly to a server of a plurality of servers, wherein the first servicing node selects the server based on a service policy.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the forwarding policy comprises a further source network address.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first forwarding node is further configured to:

retrieve the source network address associated with the packet; and

compare the source network address to the further source network address in the forwarding policy.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the source network address comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the client device.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising the plurality of servicing nodes, wherein the first servicing node of the plurality of servicing nodes is configured to:

receive the packet from the first forwarding node;

determine whether the packet is a service request packet; and

select the server to serve the service session.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the gateway node is further configured to receive, from a network controller, the forwarding policy, the forwarding policy comprising the service address serviced by one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes;

wherein each of the plurality of forwarding nodes is configured to receive, from the network controller, the forwarding policy, the forwarding policy further comprising the service address serviced by the plurality of servicing nodes; and

wherein each of the plurality of servicing nodes is further configured to receive, from the network controller, the service policy for selecting the server from the plurality of servers.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the service address serviced by the one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes and the service address serviced by the plurality of servicing nodes represents a network address for servicing the service session between the client device and the server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the packet comprises at least a destination network address, wherein the gateway node determines that the packet matches the service address by determining that the destination network address of the packet matches the service address included in the forwarding policy.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the gateway node communicates with one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes over a routing protocol session.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of forwarding nodes includes at least the first forwarding node and a second forwarding node, the forwarding policy further including predetermined criteria for selecting one of the first forwarding node and the second forwarding node.

11. A method for dynamically distributing a service session from a client device, the method comprising:

receiving, by a gateway node, from the client device, a packet of the service session, the packet being associated with a source network address;

determining, by the gateway node, that the packet matches a service address in a forwarding policy;

making, by the gateway node, a first selection by selecting, from a plurality of forwarding nodes, at least two forwarding nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two forwarding nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two forwarding nodes, determining, by the gateway node, that the forwarding policy includes a first criterion instructing to select between the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, making, by the gateway node, a second selection by selecting, a first forwarding node of the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy for sending, by the gateway node, the packet to the first forwarding node, the first forwarding node serving the source network address;

determining, by the gateway node, that the forwarding policy includes a second criterion with instructions to forward both the packet and further packets associated with the service session through an identical forwarding path, the identical forwarding path including a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes being configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path, wherein both the packet and the further packets comprise the source network address and a session identifier associated with the service session, and wherein the source network address does not include a cookie;

updating, by the gateway node, the forwarding policy by setting the first forwarding node as selectable for forwarding the further packets associated with the service session and comprising the source network address and the session identifier;

receiving, by the first forwarding node, the packet of the service session from the gateway node;

determining, by the first forwarding node, that the packet matches the service address in the forwarding policy;

making, by the first forwarding node, a first selection by selecting, from a plurality of servicing nodes, at least two servicing nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two servicing nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two servicing nodes, determining, by the first forwarding node, that the forwarding policy includes a third criterion instructing to select between the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, selecting, by the first forwarding node, a first servicing node of the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy, the first servicing node serving the source network address;

determining, by the first forwarding node, that the forwarding policy includes the second criterion with the instructions to forward both the packet and the further packets comprising the session identifier through the identical forwarding path;

updating, by the first forwarding node, the forwarding policy by setting the first servicing node as selectable for forwarding the further packets comprising the source network address and the session identifier, wherein the first forwarding node and the first servicing node constitute the plurality of nodes of the identical forwarding path for the packet and the further packets comprising the session identifier and are configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path; and

sending, by the first forwarding node, the packet to the first servicing node for forwarding the packet, by the first servicing node, directly to a server of a plurality of servers, wherein the first servicing node selects the server based on a service policy.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the forwarding policy comprises a further source network address.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the selecting the first servicing node from the plurality of servicing nodes based on the forwarding policy comprises:

retrieving the source network address associated with the packet; and

comparing the source network address to the further source network address in the forwarding policy.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving the packet by the first servicing node;

determining, by the first servicing node, whether the packet is a service request packet; and

selecting, by the first servicing node, the server to serve the service session.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by the gateway node, from a network controller, the forwarding policy, the forwarding policy comprising the service address serviced by one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes;

receiving, by each of the plurality of forwarding nodes, from the network controller, the forwarding policy, the forwarding policy further comprising the service address serviced by the plurality of servicing nodes; and

receiving, by each of the plurality of servicing nodes, from the network controller, the service policy for selecting the server from the plurality of servers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the service address serviced by the one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes and the service address serviced by the plurality of servicing nodes represents a network address for servicing the service session between the client device and the server.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the packet comprises at least a destination network address, wherein the determining, by the gateway node, that the packet matches the service address includes determining that the destination network address of the packet matches the service address included in the forwarding policy.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of forwarding nodes includes at least the first forwarding node and a second forwarding node, the forwarding policy further including predetermined criteria for selecting one of the first forwarding node and the second forwarding node.

19. A system for dynamically distributing a service session from a client device, the system comprising:

a plurality of forwarding nodes;

a plurality of servicing nodes; and

a gateway node configured to;

receive, from a network controller, a forwarding policy, the forwarding policy comprising a service address serviced by one or more of the plurality of forwarding nodes;

receive, from the client device, a packet of the service session, the packet being associated with a source network address;

determine that the packet matches the service address in the forwarding policy;

make a first selection by selecting, from the plurality of forwarding nodes, at least two forwarding nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two forwarding nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two forwarding nodes, determine that the forwarding policy includes a first criterion instructing to select between the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, make a second selection by selecting a first forwarding node of the at least two forwarding nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy for sending the packet to the first forwarding node, the first forwarding node serving the source network address;

determine that the forwarding policy includes a second criterion with instructions to forward both the packet and further packets associated with the service session through an identical forwarding path, the identical forwarding path including a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes being configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path, wherein both the packet and the further packets comprise the source network address and a session identifier associated with the service session, and wherein the source network address does not include a cookie;

update the forwarding policy by setting the first forwarding node as selectable for forwarding the further packets associated with the service session and comprising the source network address and the session identifier;

wherein the first forwarding node is configured to;

receive, from the network controller, the forwarding policy, the forwarding policy further comprising the service address serviced by the plurality of servicing nodes;

receive the packet of the service session from the gateway node;

determine that the packet matches the service address in the forwarding policy;

make a first selection by selecting, from the plurality of servicing nodes, at least two servicing nodes based on the service address and the forwarding policy, the at least two servicing nodes serving the service address;

upon selecting the at least two servicing nodes, determine that the forwarding policy includes a third criterion instructing to select between the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address of the packet;

based on the determining, select a first servicing node of the at least two servicing nodes based on the source network address and the forwarding policy, the first servicing node serving the source network address;

determine that the forwarding policy includes the second criterion with the instructions to forward both the packet and the further packets comprising the session identifier through the identical forwarding path;

update the forwarding policy by setting the first servicing node as selectable for forwarding the further packets comprising the source network address and the session identifier, wherein the first forwarding node and the first servicing node constitute the plurality of nodes of the identical forwarding path for the packet and the further packets comprising the session identifier and are configured to send the packet and the further packets forward along the identical forwarding path; and

send the packet to the first servicing node; and

wherein the first servicing node of the plurality of servicing nodes is configured to;

receive, from the network controller, a service policy for selecting a server from a plurality of servers;

receive the packet from the first forwarding node;

determine whether the packet is a service request packet;

select, based on the service policy, the server to serve the service session; and

forward the packet directly to the server of the plurality of servers.