Vmware, Inc.

Dongrui Mo

Qiong Wang

Jingchun Jason Jiang

Xi Cheng

Donghai Han

Caixia Jiang

Xiaoyan Jin

Yonggang Wang

Some embodiments provide a method for performing data traffic monitoring. The method processes a packet through a packet processing pipeline that includes multiple stages. At a filtering stage, the method tags the packet with a set of monitoring actions for subsequent stages to perform on the packet based on a determination that the packet matches a particular filter. For each stage of a set of packet processing stages subsequent to the filtering stage, the method (i) executes any monitoring actions specified for the stage to perform on the packet and (ii) sends the packet to a next stage in the packet processing pipeline.

Tagging packets for monitoring and analysis

An example method of beacon probing in a computing system includes: sending, by cross-host beacon probing (CHBP) software executing in a first host of the computing system, a first beacon probe from a first network interface controller (NIC) of the first host to NICs on a same layer 2 domain as the first NIC, the NICs including a second NIC of the first host and cross-host NICs of at least one host other than the first host; receiving, at the CHBP software through the first NIC, acknowledgements (ACKs) to the first beacon probe from the cross-host NICs; and determining, in response to the first beacon probe, connectivity statuses of the first NIC and the second NIC by the CHBP software based on the ACKs and on whether the second NIC receives the first beacon probe.

Cross host beacon probing in a virtualized computing system

Some embodiments provide a method for performing data traffic monitoring. For each packet processing stage of a set of packet processing stages in a packet processing pipeline, the method determines whether a packet received by the packet processing pipeline specifies a set of monitoring actions to be performed on the packet. When the packet specifies a set of monitoring action, the method determines whether the monitoring actions in the set are supported by the packet processing stage. The method executes the supported monitoring actions on the packet in addition to processing the packet according to configuration data for the stage.

Performance of traffic monitoring actions

Some embodiments provide a method of aggregating and providing packet metrics collected during a live packet monitoring session performed for packets matching a specified set of characteristics. The method receives, from one or more computing devices that process packets during the live packet monitoring session, multiple metrics associated with a set of packets matching the specified set of characteristics. Metrics associated with each packet in the set are accompanied by a packet identifier (ID) used to tag the packet by an initial computing device that processed the packet. The method uses the accompanying packet IDs to aggregate the received plurality of metrics. The method provides (i) an aggregated set of session metrics for the set of packets matching the specified set of characteristics during the live packet monitoring session and (ii) individual packet metrics using the packet IDs for at least one packet in the set of packets.

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Beijing, China

Dongrui Mo