Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Luyuan Fang

Fabio Chiussi

Gary Randall Ratterree

Jeff Cox

Nasser Elaawar

Edet Nkposong

Darren Loher

David Delano Ward

James Neil Guichard

Deepak Bansal

Hendrikus G P Bosch

Paul M Quinn

Rex Emmanuel Fernando

Vijay Gill

Alessandro Duminuco

Dave Barach

Govind Prasad Sharma

Hendrikus GP Bosch

Various techniques for partitioning a computer network is disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, control plane functions (e.g., computation of network routes) and/or forwarding plane functions (e.g., routing, forwarding, switching) may be partitioned and performed individually on per domain basis based on (1) a network configuration of a particular domain (e.g., end points and/or lower-level domains in the particular domain); and (2) one or more higher-level domains connected to the particular domain in the hierarchy. Thus, a particular domain can manage various network operations of the domain without concerns regarding end points or network nodes in other domains of the hierarchy. Thus, network configuration and operation may be partitioned to reduce hardware costs and operational complexity even as the size of the overall computer networks increases.

Method for scalable computer network partitioning

Presented herein are techniques for use in a network environment that includes one or more service zones, each service zone including at least one instance of an in-line application service to be applied to network traffic and one or more routers to direct network traffic to the at least one service, and a route target being assigned to a unique service zone to serve as a community value for route import and export between routers of other service zones, destination networks or source networks via a control protocol. An edge router in each service zone or destination network advertises routes by its destination network prefix tagged with its route target. A service chain is created by importing and exporting of destination network prefixes by way of route targets at edge routers of the service zones or source networks.

Chaining service zones by way of route re-origination

Various techniques for migrating virtual entities via a label based underlay network is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving packets associated with migrating a virtual machine from an originating network node of the underlay network to a target network node of the underlay network. The received packets individually include a label associated with a network path from the originating network node to the target network node in the underlay network. In response to receiving the packets, the method includes examining the labels of the packets to determine the network paths associated the labels and forwarding the packets following the determined network paths in the underlay network.

Virtual machine migration using label based underlay network forwarding

Various techniques for virtual entity migration in a computer network is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving an indication to migrate a virtual machine in a virtual network from an originating network node of the underlay network to a target network node of the underlay network. The method also includes establishing a network tunnel in the underlay network from the originating network node to the target network node in response to receiving the indication to migrate the virtual machine. The method further includes migrating the virtual machine from the originating network node to the target network node following the established network tunnel in the underlay network while maintaining an address of the migrated virtual machine in the virtual network.

Method for virtual machine migration in computer networks

Various techniques for partitioning an overlay network is disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, an overlay network can be partitioned into overlay partitions with manageable sizes. Each overlay partition can independently manage and update reachability information only for end points that belong to a virtual network with at least one end point in the overlay partition. Thus, each overlay partition can operate independently from others to achieve fast reachability updating for relocated virtual machines or other end points.

Method for reachability management in computer networks

Method for end point identification in computer networks

A plurality of network nodes are deployed in a network, each network node configured to apply a service function to traffic that passes through the respective network nodes. A controller generates information for a service chain that involves application to traffic of one or more service functions at corresponding ones of the plurality of network nodes along a forward path through the one or more network nodes. The controller identifies one or more of the service functions within the service chain that is stateful. When one or more of the service functions of the service chain is stateful, the controller generates information for a reverse path through the one or more service nodes for the one or more stateful service functions. The controller binds a forward chain identifier for the forward path with a reverse chain identifier for the reverse path for the service chain.

Symmetric service chain binding

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Holmdel, NJ, United States of America

Luyuan Fang