Cisco Technology, Inc.

Claudio DeSanti

Silvano Gai

James P Rivers

Marco Di Benedetto

John F Wakerly

Landon Curt Noll

Chih-Tsung Huang

Wei-Jen Huang

Dinesh Ganapathy Dutt

Joseph E Pelissier

Dante Malagrino

Andrea Baldini

Aaron Fabbri

Jeffrey M Squyres

A Hypervisor hosted on a computer device includes a Fibre Channel (FC) port to communicate with an FC switch in an FC switched fabric. The FC port has a port identifier assigned by the switch device. The Hypervisor solicits from the switch FC priority values available to be allocated as respective local identifiers of virtual machines (VMs). The Hypervisor instantiates a VM with a global VM identifier, and allocates one of the solicited priority values to the instantiated VM such that the allocated priority value and the port identifier together represent a fabric VM identifier. After the allocating, the Hypervisor sends to the FC switch an update frame to indicate the instantiated VM, the global VM identifier, and the fabric VM identifier. During an FC session, the Hypervisor exchanges FC frames with an FC destination port connected to the switched fabric. Each session frame indicates the fabric VM identifier.

Virtual machine aware fibre channel

A Hypervisor hosted on a computer device includes a Fiber Channel (FC) port to communicate with an FC switch in an FC switched fabric. The FC port has a port identifier assigned by the switch device. The Hypervisor solicits from the switch FC priority values available to be allocated as respective local identifiers of virtual machines (VMs). The Hypervisor instantiates a VM with a global VM identifier, and allocates one of the solicited priority values to the instantiated VM such that the allocated priority value and the port identifier together represent a fabric VM identifier. After the allocating, the Hypervisor sends to the FC switch an update frame to indicate the instantiated VM, the global VM identifier, and the fabric VM identifier. During an FC session, the Hypervisor exchanges FC frames with an FC destination port connected to the switched fabric. Each session frame indicates the fabric VM identifier.

Techniques are provided for the creation of a peer zone definition for use in a Fibre Channel (FC) Fabric. The peer zone definition defines a peer zone in which two or more initiator host devices are each permitted to communicate with a target device, but the two or more initiator host devices are prevented from communicating with each other. In accordance with one example, a target device and of two or more initiator host devices connected to the FC Fabric are received. A peer zone definition is created, and the peer zone definition is transmitted to the switches composing the FC Fabric for enforcement.

Fibre channel peer zoning

In one embodiment, a method includes establishing at a Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Data-Plane Forwarder (FDF), a connection with a controller in communication with a plurality of FDFs, processing at the FDF, control information received from the controller, and forwarding FCoE frames based on the control information. The FDF communicates with the other FDFs in an FCoE fabric and communicates with the controller through a control connection. An apparatus is also disclosed herein.

Controller based fibre channel over ethernet (FCoE) fabric

Double-bypass virtualization techniques are provided to enable use of high performance computing (HPC) application in a virtualized environment. In one example, a HPC user space application running on a virtual machine obtains direct access to virtual network interface card (vNIC) on a host-computing device associated to that virtual machine. The HPC user space application is configured to transmit and/or receive one or more data frames via the vNIC while bypassing the operating system of the virtual machine and the virtual machine hypervisor of the host-computing device.

High performance computing in a virtualized environment

Techniques are provided for the creation of a peer zone definition for use in a Fiber Channel (FC) Fabric. The peer zone definition defines a peer zone in which two or more initiator host devices are each permitted to communicate with a target device, but the two or more initiator host devices are prevented from communicating with each other. In accordance with one example, a target device and of two or more initiator host devices connected to the FC Fabric are received. A peer zone definition is created, and the peer zone definition is transmitted to the switches composing the FC Fabric for enforcement.

A distributed Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Forwarder (FCF) and a distributed Fiber Channel Switch are described. The Distributed FCF is realized by instantiating respective connections between at least one Controlling FCF and a plurality of FCoE Data-Plane Forwarder (FDF) devices and between individual FDF devices. The Distributed FC Switch is realized by instantiating respective connections between at least one Controlling Switch and a plurality of FC Data-Plane Forwarder (FCDF) devices and between individual FCDF devices.

Distributed fibre channel forwarder

In one embodiment, a method includes instantiating a virtual Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Forwarder (FCF) at a primary FCF, the virtual FCF associated with a virtual domain identifier and a virtual FCF-MAC (Media Access Control) address, wherein the primary FCF and a secondary FCF form a virtual Port Channel (vPC) for communication with a host, and allocating node port identifiers to virtual node ports on vPC ports at the host from the virtual domain identifier. An apparatus and logic are also disclosed herein.

Fibre channel over ethernet (FCoE) over virtual port channel (vPC)

Non-Internet Protocol (IP) centric resources are accessed based on a value in the form of an IP address. This value (represented as the IP address) is converted to a non-IP address, which is to used access one or more non-IP address space resources. This value (represented as the IP address) typically includes an encoding of the non-IP address and/or an indirect reference (e.g., table index, pointer to a memory location) to the non-IP address.

Using values represented as internet protocol (IP) addresses to access resources in a non-internet protocol address space

An example method for direct data placement over User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in a network environment is provided and includes creating a queue pair (QP) for unreliable datagram transport in Infiniband according to an OpenFabrics Application Programming Interface (API) specification, mapping data generated by an application for transmission over the QP in a network environment to a UDP datagram, and passing the UDP datagram to a network interface for transmission.

Direct data placement over user datagram protocol in a network environment

An example method for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) support in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network environment is provided and includes configuring at least two virtual storage area networks (SANs) in a TRILL network environment, which includes a plurality of leaf switches and spine switches, with each leaf switch being configured as a FCoE forwarder (FCF) enabled to forward frames according to FCoE protocol, and configuring at least an edge broadcast domain and a transport broadcast domain for each virtual SAN at each leaf switch. The edge broadcast domain includes end device links between the leaf switch and one or more end devices, and the transport broadcast domain includes spine links between the leaf switch and the spine switches.

Fibre channel over Ethernet support in a trill network environment

In one embodiment, a Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) proxy point (FPP) that is connected to one or more end-point devices is coupled to one or more other FPPs, and to a FCoE control and management plane (F-CMP) server. The FPP provides data plane functionality. The F-CMP server provides control plane functionality. At least some control and management traffic received at the FPP is proxied between the F-CMP server and the one or more end point devices connected to the FPP. FCoE traffic received at the FPP from the one or more end point devices connected to the FPP is transmitted to the one or more other FPPs without the FCoE traffic traversing the F-CMP server. The transmitting is performed by data plane functionality of the FPP operating under directions from the control plane functionality of the F-CMP server.

End-to end fibre channel over ethernet

This document discusses, among other things, applying network policy at a network device. In an example embodiment fiber channel hard zoning information may be received that indicates whether a fiber channel frame is permitted to be communicated between two fiber channel ports. Some example embodiments include identifying a media access control addresses associated with the fiber channel ports. An example embodiment may include generating one or more access control entries based on the fiber channel identifications of the fiber channel ports and the zoning information. The access control entries may be distributes to an Ethernet port to be inserted into an existing access control list and used to enforce a zoning policy upon fiber channel over Ethernet frames.

Apparatus and method for applying network policy at a network device

Techniques are provided for performing discovery in a Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) network. An FCF discovers other FCoE Forwarders (FCFs) connected to its network segment by transmitting a solicitation message to the multicast MAC address 'All-FCF-MACS'. All FCFs receive packets with this multicast MAC address including the solicitation message that announces the presence of the FCF. Each FCF replies with a unicast advertisement message that provides the new FCF with a MAC address of the responding FCF. The FCF builds a list of the FCFs available on its network segment and may then establish a virtual link with one or more of the FCFs through an exchange link parameter (ELP) exchange.

Discovery for fibre channel over ethernet devices

A distributed Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Forwarder (FCF) and a distributed Fiber Channel Switch are described. The Distributed FCF is realized by instantiating respective connections between at least one Controlling FCF and a plurality of FCoE Data-Plane Forwarder (FDF) devices and between individual FDF devices. The Distributed FC Switch is realized by instantiating respective connections between at least one Controlling Switch and a plurality of FC Data-Plane Forwarder (FCDF) devices and between individual FCDF devices. The components of the distributed FCF or Switch are collectively represented by a single Domain identifier (Domain_ID), and thus the distributed FCF or Switch appears to outside entities as a non-distributed FCF or Switch.

Growing community of inventors

Oakland, CA, United States of America

Claudio DeSanti