Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Oracle America, Inc.

Google Inc.

Hsiao-Keng Jerry Chu

Sunay Tripathi

Nicolas G Droux

Cahya Adi Masputra

Bruce W Curtis

Darrin Paul Johnson

Erik Nordmark

Eric T Cheng

Gregory L Slaughter

Thomas E Saulpaugh

Bernard A Traversat

Michael J Duigou

Ross Koningstein

Thirumalai Srinivasan

Amit Agarwall

Zhongren Xu

Laurent Demailly

Methods and apparatus for processing a network connection in a computer system including a software network protocol stack and a network interface card including a hardware network protocol stack are disclosed. State information associated with the network connection is provided to or received by the driver associated with the network interface card. The driver provides the state information to the network interface card, thereby enabling the network interface card to process the network connection. In addition, any packet that is processed by the network interface card is also provided to the driver. Since the driver can maintain a copy of the state information and a copy of the data packet, the software network protocol stack can obtain the state information and the data packet from the driver in the event of a failure of the network interface card.

Methods and apparatus for recovering from a failed network interface card

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for routing packets in a network. A router may receive a packet at an input port which originated from a source system and which is destined to a destination system. The packet may include a traffic-management field which enables the source system to influence how the packet is routed through the network without requiring the source system to explicitly specify nodes that the packet should traverse. The router can use the traffic-management field to select an output port from a set of output ports of the router that are associated with different paths to the destination system. Since the traffic-management field's value is set by the source system, it enables the source system to influence how the router selects the output port, thereby enabling the source system to influence how the packet is routed through the network.

Method and apparatus for enabling a host to influence how a packet is routed through a network

A method for debugging network connections that involves receiving a packet for a first destination by a network interface card (NIC), classifying the packet, sending the packet to a first receive ring associated with the NIC, and sending the packet from the first receive ring to a first virtual NIC, where the first virtual NIC is associated with a second destination, and where the second destination is used to debug the first destination.

Low impact network debugging

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for communicating data using a socket interface with multiple transport layer implementations. During operation the system creates a socket which can be used with a set of transport layer implementations. Next, the system binds the socket to a local port without specifying a particular transport layer implementation. The system then receives a request to connect to a target port that is associated with a target address. Next, the system selects a protocol implementation from the set of transport layer implementations using the target port and the target address. The system then sends a connection request to the target port using the selected protocol implementation. Note that the present invention does not require changing a networking application because the transport layer implementation is selected automatically by the system, instead of requiring the application to possess the knowledge to select the appropriate transport layer implementation.

Method and apparatus for supporting multiple transport layer implementations under a socket interface

A method for receiving network communication at a host is provided. The host has a network interface card (NIC) for receiving the network communication from a network. Data is requested through an application. A set of buffers (e.g., A, B, C, . . . ) is posted to system memory. Information regarding the set of buffers is passed to an adaptation layer. The adaptation layer is interposed between a socket layer and a transport layer of the protocol stack. The set of buffers identified in the adaptation layer is assigned expected sequence numbers (e.g., SN, SNSN. . . ) for a sequence of incoming data (e.g., S, S, S, . . . ). The adaptation layer reshuffles data of the sequence of incoming data to the set of buffers according to the expected sequence numbers. The expected sequence numbers are consecutively ordered to ensure that the sequence of incoming data in the ordered sequence is placed to the set of buffers according to the expected sequence numbers.

Adapting network communication to asynchronous interfaces and methods

A system for socket-level packet scheduling over connectionless network protocols includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory contains program instructions executable by the processor to implement an operating system including a packet scheduler for scheduling data transmissions via a connectionless network protocol. In response to a request from an application specifying one or more desired performance metrics for a data transfer via the connectionless network protocol, the packet scheduler is configured to schedule the data transfer in accordance with the one or more desired performance metrics.

Socket level packet scheduling for connectionless protocols

Techniques, systems, and apparatus for offloading data connections from a kernel onto an associated TNIC are disclosed. Generally, embodiments of the invention are configured to send message packets of a connection to an endpoint at substantially the same time as an associated offload set-up process is performed. A method provides a data connection enabling data exchange between two TCP endpoints. After a determination is made that the connection is suitable for offloading, the kernel sends connection state information and a request that the connection be offloaded to a TNIC. Prior to completion of offload set up, an initial transmission of connection data is sent to an associated TCP endpoint. These principles can be implemented as software operating on a computer system, as a computer system module, as a computer program product and as a series of related devices and products.

System and method for conducting fast offloading of a connection onto a network interface card

A method for offloading a secure protocol handshake. The method includes establishing a connection between a host system and a remote peer, and determining whether the secure protocol handshake is offloaded to a network interface card (NIC). When the secure protocol handshake is offloaded to the NIC, an offload request is sent to offload the secure protocol handshake, where the offload request includes a value of at least one cryptographic key. The method further includes performing cryptographic operations associated with the secure protocol handshake using the value of at least one cryptographic key to obtain at least one secret key, and returning a status of the secure protocol handshake to the host system.

Secure protocol handshake offload using TNICs

Incoming/outgoing data packets to/from a network are processed by associated receive/send rings of a network interface. A plurality of counters, disposed in hardware, are each associated with particular receive/send rings. Each of the plurality of counters maintains a count of a number of data packets processed by an associated receive/send ring.

Hardware-based network interface per-ring resource accounting

Encrypted data packets are received by a network interface card. The network interface card, upon determining that the received data packets are encrypted, directs the encrypted data packets to decryption hardware in the network interface card. The decryption hardware decrypts the encrypted data packets and forwards the decrypted data packets to a hardware classifier that classifies the decrypted data packets and directs the classified decrypted data packets to the appropriate receive resource(s) of the network interface card.

Network interface decryption and classification technique

A multidata framework is provided to allow multiple payload buffers to be associated with a single multidata message. In the multidata framework of the present invention, a number of payload buffers are associated with the multidata following allocation of the multidata header buffer. The number of payload buffers can reside at disjoint virtual address locations in memory. Each payload buffer is assigned an index for identification purposes. A number of packets are defined to represent the multidata message. Each packet includes a header portion and a payload portion. The payload portion is defined as a set of payload spans. Each payload span is mapped to the payload portion of the appropriate packet by an appropriate payload buffer index and address range in the appropriate payload buffer. Thus, a packet's payload portion can include payload spans that are located at disjoint virtual address location in memory.

Method and system for associating multiple payload buffers with multidata message

Techniques, systems, and apparatus for conducting direct data placement of network message data to a final destination in a user buffer are disclosed. Generally, the invention is configured to conduct direct data copying from a NIC memory to a final destination user buffer location without any intermediate copying to a kernel buffer. The invention includes a method that involves receiving network delivered messages by a NIC of a local computer. The message is stored in the memory of the NIC. The headers are stripped from the message and processed. A ULP handler of the local computer is invoked to process the ULP header of the network message. Using information obtained from the processed ULP header, suitable memory locations in a user buffer are identified and designated for saving associated message data. The message data is then directly placed from the NIC memory to the designated memory location in the user buffer without intermediate copy steps like DMA.

System and method for conducting direct data placement (DDP) using a TOE (TCP offload engine) capable network interface card

A host memory location pointer is posted from a host device to a network interface card (NIC) attached to the host device prior to receipt at the NIC of data to be placed in the host memory location corresponding to the pointer. Posting the host memory location pointer serves to surrender ownership of the host memory location from the host device to the NIC. Data received at the NIC is placed in the host memory location corresponding to the pointer. Furthermore, the NIC operates to prevent placement of the data in a portion of the host memory where data has been previously placed by the NIC. Also, the host device operates to re-assume ownership of the portion of the host memory having data placed therein by the NIC without actively reclaiming ownership of the portion of the host memory location from the NIC.

Method for receiving network communication and apparatus for performing the same

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that can test an interface between a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) Offload Engine (TOE) and an OS (Operating System) that has a TCP software stack. Note that the TOE is a specialized integrated circuit which allows TCP-related computations to be offloaded from the processor that executes the OS. During operation, the system receives a request from the OS to perform a TCP-related computation on the TOE, wherein the TCP-related computation is associated with a portion of the TCP software stack. The system then performs the TCP-related computation by executing the portion of the TCP software stack on a processor, which can either be the same as the one that is executing the OS, or it can be a different processor. Note that performing the TCP-related computation on a processor, instead of the TOE, allows the interface between the TOE and the OS to be tested without requiring an actual TOE chip.

Method and apparatus for testing an interface between a TCP offload engine and an operating system

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that buffers data inside of a byte-stream protocol at a transport layer on a client, which is receiving the data from an external source. The system operates by receiving a configuration parameter at the transport layer from an application executing on the client, wherein the configuration parameter specifies a condition upon which data buffered at the transport layer is to be sent to the application. The system then buffers data destined for the application at the transport layer on the client, and sends the buffered data to the application when the condition specified by the configuration parameter is met. Buffering data at the transport layer on the client facilitates more efficient processing of system calls.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Hsiao-Keng Jerry Chu