International Business Machines Corporation

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Chandramouli Radhakrishnan

Vasmi Mohammad Abidi

Daljeet Singh

Meenakshi R Kaushik

Samar Sharma

Josep Cors

Venkatesan Selvaraj

Ward Ray Nelson

Daniel E Pradilla

Saurabh Mohan

Brian Eliot Weis

Murali Basavaiah

Anand Girish Parthasarathy

Umesh Mahajan

Sameer Merchant

Gaetano Borgione

Karthikeyan Gurusamy

Shriram Velaga

Immanuel Rahardja

Xiaoyi Liu

Timothy Andre

Gopinath Durairaj

Bala Nagesh

One embodiment includes obtaining virtual machine (VM) information for at least one VM. The VM information includes a VSI type identification (ID) associated with each VM. A policy discriminator (PD) is associated for each VSI type ID, where the PD represents scalable policy assignment. At least one rule and bandwidth filter information associated with a VSI type ID is retrieved from virtual station interface (VSI) database (DB) information and PD for each VSI type ID. The associated at least one rule and filter information is applied based on one of multiple PD types. The multiple PD types comprise a VM type and a virtual local area network (vLAN) type.

Scalable policy assignment in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment

A device includes a memory that is configured to store instructions. The device includes a processor configured to execute the instructions to: validate a message including virtual machine (VM) information using a value of a virtual station interface (VSI) type identification (ID) to perform a lookup of a fetched VSI database. The VM information for the VM includes VSI type ID and virtual local area network (VLAN) ID. The processor further generates a first table for multiple different VM types with at least a portion of information from the VSI database, retrieves an address of the VM from the first table for the multiple different VM types based on using VSI type ID and network ID, retrieves rules associated with the retrieved address of the VM and the VSI type ID from a second table including VM information, and applies the associated rules for the VM.

Scalable policy management in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment

A method includes validating, by a switch, a message including virtual machine (VM) information using a value of a virtual station interface (VSI) type identification (ID) to perform a lookup of a fetched VSI database. The VM information for the VM comprises VSI type ID and virtual local area network (VLAN) ID. The switch retrieves an address of the VM from a first table for multiple different VM types based on using VSI type ID and network ID. The switch retrieves rules associated with the retrieved address of the VM and the VSI type ID from a second table including VM information. The switch applies the associated rules for the VM.

Embodiments of the invention relate to scalable policy management in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment. One embodiment includes a system including a physical end station including a hypervisor, wherein the physical end station creates at least one virtual machine (VM). A virtual station interface (VSI) database is coupled to a VM manager server. The VSI database stores policy information comprising one or more rules for different VM types and access rules. A policy management module is coupled to a switch adjacent to the physical end station. The policy management module generates a first table using at least a portion of the policy information, generates a second table with a portion of VM information received from the hypervisor for the VM, and uses the first table and the second table to retrieve and apply rules for the VM.

Embodiments of the invention relate to scalable policy assignment in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment. One embodiment includes a system including a physical end station includes a hypervisor. The physical end station creates at least one virtual machine (VM). A virtual station interface (VSI) database (DB) is coupled to a VM manager server. The VSI DB stores policy information and bandwidth filter information. A policy assignment module is coupled to a switch adjacent to the physical end station. The policy assignment module generates a VSI DB table with at least a portion of the VSI DB information from the VSI DB and a policy discriminator (PD) value for each VSI type ID.

A method for maintaining a bridging network communication path table is presented and includes determining a failed communication link between a first bridge computer and a second bridge computer in the bridging network; identifying, in the communication path table, a first path that includes the failed communication link; and indicating that the first path is not active.

Computing forwarding tables for link failures

Embodiments of the invention relate to scalable policy assignment in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment. One embodiment includes fetching virtual machine (VM) information for one or more VMs from a virtual station interface (VSI) database (DB). The VM information includes a VSI type identification (ID) associated with each VM. A policy discriminator (PD) value is associated for each VSI type ID. A VSI DB table is generated with at least a portion of the VM information from the VSI DB and the PD for each VSI type ID. A message is received including virtual machine (VM) information for a created VM. One or more rules and bandwidth filter information associated with a VSI type ID are retrieved from the VSI DB table. The associated rules and filter information are applied based on the PD.

Techniques are provided for providing access control lists in a distributed network switch. The distributed network switch made of switch units is divided into logical switch partitions, or logical networks. Physical ports of the switch units are partitioned into logical ports, where each logical port is associated with a logical switch partition. A control point of the distributed network switch manages and assigns a service tag (S-Tag) used to identify which logical port ingress and egress frames are associated with. To generate metrics and other forwarding actions for a given logical switch partition, the control point sets up access control list (ACLs) targeting the logical port associated with the S-Tags associated with the given logical switch partition.

Metrics and forwarding actions on logical switch partitions in a distributed network switch

Embodiments of the invention relate to scalable policy management in an edge virtual bridging (EVB) environment. One embodiment includes fetching information from a virtual station interface (VSI) database. A first table is generated with at least a portion of the information from the VSI database. A message is received including virtual machine (VM) information for a created VM. A second table is generated including at least a portion of the VM information. A VM identification (ID) is retrieved based on VM type from the first table. Rules associated with the retrieved VM ID are retrieved from the second table. The associated rules for the VM are applied.

Techniques and a network edge device are provided herein to extend local area networks (LANs) and storage area networks (SANs) beyond a data center while converging the associated local area network and storage area network host layers. A packet is received at a device in a network. It is determined if the packet is routed to a local or remote storage area network or local area network. In response to determining that the packet routed to a remote storage area network, storage area network extension services are performed with respect to the packet in order to extend the storage area network on behalf of a remote location. In response to determining that the packet is routed to a local local area network traffic, local area network extension services are performed with respect to the packet in order to extend the local area network on behalf of the remote location.

Network appliance with integrated local area network and storage area network extension services

In one embodiment, a method for providing virtual link aggregation (vLAG) in a transparent interconnection of lots of links (TRILL)-enabled network, includes creating a virtual routing bridge logically connected to a first physical routing bridge and a second physical routing bridge to form a vLAG group at an edge of the TRILL-enabled network; determining a first distribution tree linking the first physical routing bridge to every other routing bridge in the TRILL-enabled network in a non-repeating fashion, ending with the second physical routing bridge; determining a second distribution tree linking the second physical routing bridge to every other routing bridge in the TRILL-enabled network in a non-repeating fashion, ending with the first physical routing bridge; receiving a multicast packet at the virtual routing bridge from one of the physical routing bridges; and distributing the multicast packet according to either the first or the second distribution tree thereby preventing looping.

Virtual link aggregation extension (vLAG+) enabled in a trill-based fabric network

In one embodiment, a system includes a TRILL-enabled network that includes a first physical routing bridge (RB) and a second physical RB, logic adapted for creating a virtual RB logically connected to the first and second physical RBs to form a vLAG group at an edge of the network, logic adapted for determining a first distribution tree linking the first physical RB to every other RB in the network in a non-repeating fashion, ending with the second physical RB, and logic adapted for determining a second distribution tree linking the second physical RB to every other RB in the network in a non-repeating fashion, ending with the first physical RB, wherein when a multicast packet is received by the virtual RB from one of the physical RBs, the multicast packet is distributed according to either the first or the second distribution tree thereby preventing looping.

Virtual link aggregation extension (VLAG+) enabled in a TRILL-based fabric network

A method and system for static routing in a TRILL network is disclosed. Routing bridges in the TRILL network use LLDP discovery to identify their next hop routing bridges. A data packet, with an inner header specifying a MAC address of a destination host, is sent by a source host and received by an ingress routing bridge. The ingress routing bridge encapsulates the data packet with a TRILL header and an outer header and sends the data packet to a next hop routing bridge on path to the destination host. The next hop routing bridge determines it is not the egress routing bridge for the data packet and sends the data packet onward to the egress routing bridge. The egress routing bridge decapsulates the data packet and forwards the data packet to the destination host specified in the inner header.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Chandramouli Radhakrishnan