Global server load balancing
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9015323
A global server load-balancing (GSLB) switch serves as a proxy to an authoritative DNS and communicates with numerous site switches that are coupled to host servers serving specific applications. The GSLB switch receives from site switches operational information regarding host servers within the site switches neighborhood. When a client program requests a resolution of a host name, the GSLB switch, acting as a proxy of an authoritative DNS, returns one or more ordered IP addresses for…
External loop detection for an ethernet fabric switch
Granted: April 14, 2015
Patent Number:
9007958
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a local identifier associated with the switch, a receiving interface, a loop detection mechanism, and an interface control mechanism. The receiving interface identifies a loop-detection frame which includes an identifier associated with originating switch of the frame. The loop detection mechanism detects a loop based on a match of the identifier associated with the originating switch and the local identifier.…
Techniques for efficiently updating routing information
Granted: April 14, 2015
Patent Number:
9007918
Techniques for efficiently updating routing information in a network device such as a router. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the routing information is updated upon creation or deletion of an overlay tunnel without the network device having to regenerate a Shortest Path Tree (SPT) by performing full Shortest Path First (SPF) processing.
Fabric formation for virtual cluster switching
Granted: April 7, 2015
Patent Number:
9001824
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port to couple to a second switch and a control mechanism configured. During operation, the control mechanism receives from the second switch a set of configuration information. Based on the received configuration information, the control mechanism invites the second switch to join a virtual cluster switch.
Method and apparatus for mirroring frames to a remote diagnostic system
Granted: March 31, 2015
Patent Number:
8996720
Apparatuses and methods to mirror frames received at an input port or provided by an output port to a port not connected to the device performing the mirroring operation. A frame being sent to a diagnostic system has a mirror header added to allow the frame to be routed through any intervening switches in the same fabric. The final switch or the diagnostic system removes the mirror header. If the diagnostic system is attached in a different fabric, encapsulation and inter-fabric routing…
Method and system for extending routing domain to non-routing end stations
Granted: March 31, 2015
Patent Number:
8995444
A system is provided for facilitating assignment of a virtual routing node identifier to a non-routing node. During operation, the system assigns to a non-routing node coupled to a switch a virtual routing node identifier unique to the non-routing node. In addition, the system communicates reachability information corresponding to the virtual routing node identifier to other switches in the network.
Port profile analytics
Granted: March 31, 2015
Patent Number:
8995435
One embodiment of the present invention provides a computer system. The computer system includes a display mechanism, a storage, and a migration management mechanism. The storage stores a data structure indicating one or more port profiles. The migration management mechanism identifies one or more port profiles associated with a target switch for a migrating virtual machine, wherein the target switch is coupled to a target host machine of the virtual machine and recommends whether the…
AMPP active profile presentation
Granted: March 31, 2015
Patent Number:
8995287
One embodiment of the present invention provides a port profile management mechanism. The port profile management mechanism detects an active profile associated with a physical port on a switch and displays configuration of the port based on the identified port profile using the display mechanism. In addition, a port group management mechanism obtains information of a port group associated with a virtual machine, wherein the port group defines network configurations for the virtual…
Link aggregation in software-defined networks
Granted: March 31, 2015
Patent Number:
8995272
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch capable of processing software-defined data flows. The switch includes an identifier management module and a flow definition management module. During operation, the identifier management module allocates a logical identifier to a link aggregation port group which includes a plurality of ports associated with different links. The flow definition management module processes a flow definition corresponding to the logical identifier,…
Mapping logical ports of a network switch to physical ports
Granted: March 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8989201
A Layer 2 network switch is partitionable into a plurality of switch fabrics. The single-chassis switch is partitionable into a plurality of logical switches, each associated with one of the virtual fabrics. The logical switches behave as complete and self-contained switches. A logical switch fabric can span multiple single-chassis switch chassis. Logical switches are connected by inter-switch links that can be either dedicated single-chassis links or logical links. An extended…
Virtual port grouping for virtual cluster switching
Granted: March 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8989186
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a port that couples to a server hosting a number of virtual machines. The switch also includes a set of virtual port grouping information and a virtual port grouping mechanism. During operation, the virtual port grouping mechanism determines whether a frame is traveling from a virtual port group to the same virtual port group. If the frame is not traveling to the same virtual port group, the virtual port…
Methods, devices and systems with improved zone merge operation by initiator selection
Granted: March 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8989045
Methods, devices and systems for improved zone merge operations are disclosed. Two connected switches are arbitrated as an initiator and a receiver. The merge operation is initiated only by the initiator on an initiator/receiver inter-switch link. The initiator may initiate a merge request and the receiver may perform the computation of the difference between the old and the new zone. Either the whole configuration or only the differences are communicated between the switches. The merges…
Techniques for stopping rolling reboots
Granted: March 17, 2015
Patent Number:
8984266
Techniques for detecting rolling reboots and for taking responsive actions to stop rolling reboots.
Creation and deletion of logical ports in a logical switch
Granted: March 17, 2015
Patent Number:
8982898
A Layer 2 network switch is partitionable into a plurality of switch fabrics. The single-chassis switch is partitionable into a plurality of logical switches, each associated with one of the virtual fabrics. The logical switches behave as complete and self-contained switches. A logical switch fabric can span multiple single-chassis switch chassis. Logical switches are connected by inter-switch links that can be either dedicated single-chassis links or logical links. An extended…
System and method for router keep-alive control
Granted: March 10, 2015
Patent Number:
8977753
The real-time aspects of keep-alive generation are removed from the dynamic routing protocol (DRP) application and are embedded within a Unix-based operating system, which is programmed by DRP. A keep-alive control provides the ability to create a keep-alive message and a timeout interval on a TCP socket. Each socket can have an independent keep-alive message and timeout interval. A keep-alive message is sent whenever the TCP socket sends no normal user output for a duration exceeding…
Intelligent layer-2 forwarding
Granted: March 10, 2015
Patent Number:
8976659
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a port management module and a notification module. During operation, the port management module identifies a local port selected to be in a blocking state associated with a spanning tree. The notification module constructs a notification message associated with the blocking state.
Statistical tracking for global server load balancing
Granted: February 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8949850
Server load-balancing operation-related data, such as data associated with a system configured for global server load balancing (GSLB) that orders IP addresses into a list based on a set of performance metrics, is tracked. Such operation-related data includes inbound source IP addresses (e.g., the address of the originator of a DNS request), the requested host and zone, identification of the selected “best” IP addresses resulting from application of a GSLB algorithm and the selection…
Workload management with network dynamics
Granted: February 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8949392
A workload management system identifies a first source device and first destination device which can be used to perform a job function. The system further communicates information about the first source device and destination device to one or more switches, and receives a set of network parameters along a data path from the first source device to the first destination device. The system then determines resources available on the first source device and/or first destination device. In…
Spanning-tree based loop detection for an ethernet fabric switch
Granted: February 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8948056
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a local database, a packet processor, a data management module, and a tree construction module. The packet processor extracts spanning tree information associated with a remote switch. The data management module stores the extracted spanning tree information in the local database. The tree construction module assigns an interface state associated with a spanning tree to a local interface based on the extracted…
Proxying multiple targets as a virtual target using identifier ranges
Granted: January 6, 2015
Patent Number:
8930558
A gateway includes a Fibre Channel (“FC”) port configured to couple to multiple FC targets, and an iSCSI port configured to couple to an iSCSI initiator. The iSCSI port is configured to facilitate communication between the FC targets and the iSCSI initiator, and proxy the multiple FC targets as a virtual iSCSI target. The iSCSI port is also configured to divide the Logical Unit Number (“LUN”) range into a plurality of subdivided LUN ranges, and associate the FC targets with the…
