Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Alireza Dabagh

Omar Cardona

Murari Sridharan

Khoa Anh To

Albert Gordon Greenberg

Deepak Bansal

Srikanth Kandula

Changhoon Kim

Dmitry Malloy

Gabriel Silva

Donald Stanwyck

Taroon Mandhana

Sanjay N Kaniyar

Yousef A Khalidi

Alok Manchanda

Sambhrama Madhusudhan Mundkur

Aditya Dube

Thomas W Kuehnel

Jiandong Ruan

Pankaj Garg

Arvind M Murching

Narasimha Rao S S Nagampalli

Saurabh Mahajan

Ganesh Srinivasan

Joseph Nievelt

Muhammad Junaid Shahid

Daniel Max Firestone

Nk Srinivas

Jameel Hyder

Robert C Combs

Narasimhan Agrahara Venkataramaiah

Alexander Malysh

Noel Wayne Anderson

Dustin Lyle Green

David G Thaler

Joseph M Joy

David A Maltz

Sandeep Singhal

Andrew J Ritz

Bernard D Aboba

Bhupinder Singh Sethi

Osman Nuri Ertugay

Madhan Sivakumar

Sharad Mittal

Yu-Shun Wang

Fengfen Liu

Olivier M Contant

Luis M Hernandez

Jerry E Peterson

N K Srinivas

Meiying Li

Mahender Hari

Fengen Liu

Embodiments of network processing resource management in computing devices are disclosed therein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request from a network interface controller to perform network processing operations at a first core of a main processor for packets assigned by the network interface controller to a queue of a virtual port of the network interface controller. The method also includes determining whether the first core has a utilization level higher than a threshold when performing the network processing operations to effect processing and transmission of the packets. If the first core has a utilization level higher than the threshold, the method includes issuing a command to the network interface to modify affinitization of the queue from the first core to a second core having a utilization level lower than the threshold.

Management of resource affinities in computing systems having multiple cores

Embodiments of the invention may improve the performance of multi-processor systems in processing information received via a network. For example, some embodiments may enable configuration of a system such that information received via a network may be distributed among multiple processors for efficient processing. A user (e.g., system administrator) may select from among multiple configuration options, each configuration option being associated with a particular mode of processing information received via a network. By selecting a configuration option, the user may specify how information received via the network is processed to capitalize on the system's characteristics, such as by aligning processors on the system with certain NICs. As such, the processor(s) aligned with a NIC may perform networking-related tasks associated with information received by that NIC. If initial alignment causes one or more processors to become over-burdened, processing tasks may be dynamically re-distributed to other processors so as to achieve a more even distribution of the overall processing burden across the system.

Improving performance of multi-processor computer systems

Embodiments of hybrid network processing load distribution in a computing device are disclosed therein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a main processor, an indication from the network interface controller to perform network processing operations for first and second packets in a queue of a virtual port of the network interface controller, and in response to receiving the request, assigning multiple cores for performing the network processing operations for the first and second packets, respectively. The method also includes performing the network processing operations at the multiple cores to effect processing and transmission of the first and second packets to first and second applications, respectively, both the first and second applications executing in a virtual machine hosted on the computing device.

Hybrid network processing load distribution in computing systems

A method of communicating data traffic including data packets through a virtual switch on a host device is provided. The data traffic flowing through the virtual switch is monitored. The data traffic includes at least virtual machine data traffic flowing to and from virtual machine processes on the host device and host data traffic flowing to and from host operating system processes on the host device. Each of the data packets are designated as virtual machine data traffic or host data traffic based on an evaluation of the Media Access Controller (MAC) address of each of the one or more data packets of the monitored data traffic. Virtual machine data traffic is directed through a packet processor as the virtual machine data traffic traverses the virtual switch. Host data traffic is directed to bypass the packet processor as the host data traffic traverses the virtual switch.

Virtual switch bypass

Methods and devices for determining settings for a virtual machine may include partitioning a physical network into a plurality of traffic classes. The methods and devices may include determining at least one virtual enhanced transmission selection (ETS) setting for one or more virtual machines, wherein the virtual ETS setting includes at least one virtual traffic class that corresponds to one of the plurality of traffic classes. The methods and devices may include transmitting a notification to the one or more virtual machines identifying the virtual ETS setting.

Virtualizing datacenter bridging settings for virtual network adapters

Embodiments of network processing resource management in computing devices are disclosed therein. An example method includes receiving a request from a network interface controller to perform network processing operations at a first core of a main processor for packets assigned by the network interface controller to a queue of a virtual port of the network interface controller. The method also includes determining whether the first core has a utilization level higher than a threshold when performing the network processing operations to effect processing and transmission of the packets. If the first core has a utilization level higher than the threshold, the method includes issuing a command to the network interface to modify affinitization of the queue from the first core to a second core having a utilization level lower than the threshold.

Modification of queue affinity to cores based on utilization

Techniques of network traffic management in a computing device are disclosed. One example method includes receiving, at a main processor, a request from a network interface controller to perform network processing operations for packets assigned by the network interface controller to a queue of a virtual port of the network interface controller. The method also includes, in response to receiving the request, causing one of multiple cores of the main processor with which the queue of the virtual port is affinitized to perform the network processing operations to effect processing and transmission of the packets to an application executing in a virtual machine hosted on the computing device.

Network traffic management with queues affinitized to one or more cores

Embodiments of hybrid network processing load distribution in a computing device are disclosed therein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a main processor, an indication from the network interface controller to perform network processing operations for first and second packets in a queue of a virtual port of the network interface controller, and in response to receiving the request, assigning first and second cores for performing the network processing operations for the first and second packets, respectively. The method also includes performing the network processing operations at the first and second cores to effect processing and transmission of the first and second packets to first and second applications, respectively, both the first and second applications executing in a virtual machine hosted on the computing device.

Embodiments of the invention may improve the performance of multi-processor systems in processing information received via a network. For example, some embodiments may enable configuration of a system such that information received can be distributed among multiple processors for efficient processing. A user may select from among multiple configuration options, each configuration option being associated with a particular mode of processing information received. By selecting a configuration option, the user may specify how received information is processed to capitalize on the system's characteristics, such as by aligning processors on the system with certain NICs. As such, the processor(s) aligned with a NIC may perform networking-related tasks associated with information received by that NIC. If initial alignment causes one or more processors to become over-burdened, processing tasks may be dynamically re-distributed to other processors.

Performance of multi-processor computer systems

The ensuring of predictable and quantifiable networking performance includes adaptively throttling the rate of VM-to-VM traffic flow. A receiving hypervisor can detect congestion and communicate messages for throttling traffic flow to reduce congestion at the receiving hypervisor.

Ensuring predictable and quantifiable networking performance

The ensuring of predictable and quantifiable networking performance. Embodiments of the invention combine a congestion free network core with a hypervisor based (i.e., edge-based) throttling design to help insure quantitative and invariable subscription bandwidth rates. A lightweight shim layer in a hypervisor can adaptively throttle the rate of VM-to-VM traffic flow. A receiving hypervisor can detect congestion and communicate back to sending hypervisors that rates are to be regulated. In response, sending hypervisors can reduce transmission rate to mitigate congestion at the receiving hypervisor. In some embodiments, the principles are extended to any message processors communicating over a congestion free network.

A wireless device that utilizes a single network interface to simultaneously connect to an infrastructure network and a mesh network. The device has a driver layer with a media access control module for each network type. A multiplexing module and transceiver module within the driver can direct received information associated with one of the networks to an appropriate media access control and then to an appropriate network adapter. For transmitted data, the multiplexing module can receive data from the application layer through an appropriate network adapter and route it to an appropriate media access control module for processing. The processed data can be interleaved by the transceiver for transmission.

Low cost mesh network capability

A computing device that has a network interface that performs a subset of possible networking functions while the computing device is in a sleep mode. The subset of functions may be simply implemented on the network interface, yet to substantially reduce the frequency with which the computing device has to wake up to perform networking functions. The subset of functions may be selected to maintain a network presence of the computing device while the device is in sleep mode, and may include responding to requests for MAC information, sending keep-alive messages or exchanging security information that, in accordance with network protocols, has a limited lifetime that would otherwise expire while the computing device is in sleep mode.

Network presence offloads to network interface

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Alireza Dabagh