Nicira, Inc.

Vmware, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Nicria, Inc.

Ronghua Zhang

Teemu Koponen

Pankaj Thakkar

Martin Casado

Yong Wang

Xinhua Hong

Amar Padmanabhan

Sreeram Kumar Ravinoothala

Srinivas Neginhal

Ansis Atteka

Ganesan Chandrashekhar

Jia Yu

Kai-Wei Fan

David J Leroy

Benjamin C Basler

Anupam Chanda

Igor Ganichev

Daniel J Wendlandt

Serge Maskalik

Mani Kancherla

Jesse Ernest Gross, Iv

Rajiv Ramanathan

Ariel Tubaltsev

W Andrew Lambeth

Ankur Dubey

Jayant Jain

Amre Shakimov

Michael M Hu

Hua Wang

Donghai Han

Jianjun Shen

Uday Suresh Masurekar

Caixia Jiang

Da Wan

Minjal Agarwal

Xuan Zhang

Alan Shieh

Frank Pan

Vicky Liu

Sami Boutros

Mallik Mahalingam

Boon Seong Ang

Bruce Davie

Natasha Gude

Jeremy Stribling

Jerome Catrouillet

Alexander Yip

Gleb Dubovik

Mukesh Hira

Justin Pettit

Maheswaran Surendra

Keith Eric Amidon

Yixin Diao

Sujay Sunil Parekh

Mehak Mahajan

Andrew W Lambeth

Liwen Wu

Saleem Abdulrasool

Joseph A Garcia

Some embodiments provide a managed network for implementing a logical network for a tenant. The managed network includes a first set of host machines and a second set of host machines. The first set of host machines is for hosting virtual machines (VMs) for the logical network. Each of the first set of host machines operates a managed forwarding element that implements a first logical router for the tenant logical network and a second logical router to which the first logical router connects. The implementation of the second logical router is for processing packets entering and exiting the tenant logical network. The second set of host machines is for hosting L3 gateways for the second logical router. The L3 gateways connect the tenant logical network to at least one external network.

Multiple levels of logical routers

A novel design of a gateway that handles traffic in and out of a network by using a datapath pipeline is provided. The datapath pipeline includes multiple stages for performing various data-plane packet-processing operations at the edge of the network. The processing stages include centralized routing stages and distributed routing stages. The processing stages can include service-providing stages such as NAT and firewall. The gateway caches the result previous packet operations and reapplies the result to subsequent packets that meet certain criteria. For packets that do not have applicable or valid result from previous packet processing operations, the gateway datapath daemon executes the pipelined packet processing stages and records a set of data from each stage of the pipeline and synthesizes those data into a cache entry for subsequent packets.

Datapath for multiple tenants

Some embodiments provide a system for implementing a logical network that includes a set of end machines, a first logical middlebox, and a second logical middlebox connected by a set of logical forwarding elements. The system includes a set of nodes. Each of several nodes includes (i) a virtual machine for implementing an end machine of the logical network, (ii) a managed switching element for implementing the set of logical forwarding elements of the logical network, and (iii) a middlebox element for implementing the first logical middlebox of the logical network. The system includes a physical middlebox appliance for implementing the second logical middlebox.

Architecture of networks with middleboxes

Some embodiments provide a method for configuring a logical middlebox in a hosting system that includes a set of nodes. The logical middlebox is part of a logical network that includes a set of logical forwarding elements that connect a set of end machines. The method receives a set of configuration data for the logical middlebox. The method uses a stored set of tables describing physical locations of the end machines to identify a set of nodes at which to implement the logical middlebox. The method provides the logical middlebox configuration for distribution to the identified nodes.

Network control system for configuring middleboxes

Some embodiments provide a method for configuring a logical router that interfaces with an external network. The method receives a configuration for a logical network that includes a logical router with several interfaces that connect to at least one physical router external to the logical network. The method selects a separate host machine to host a centralized routing component for each of the interfaces. The method selects a particular one of the host machines for operating a dynamic routing protocol control plane that receives routing protocol data from each of the centralized routing components and updates routing tables of each of the centralized routing components.

Route server mode for dynamic routing between logical and physical networks

Some embodiments provide a network system. The network system includes a first set of host machines for hosting virtual machines that connect to each other through a logical network. The first set of host machines includes managed forwarding elements for forwarding data between the host machines. The network system includes a second set of host machines for hosting virtualized containers that operate as gateways for forwarding data between the virtual machines and an external network. At least one of the virtualized containers peers with at least one physical router in the external network in order to advertise addresses of the virtual machines to the physical router.

Route advertisement by managed gateways

A novel design of a gateway that handles traffic in and out of a network by using a datapath daemon is provided. The datapath daemon is a run-to-completion process that performs various data-plane packet-processing operations at the edge of the network. The datapath daemon dispatches packets to other processes or processing threads outside of the daemon by utilizing a user space network stack.

Edge datapath using user space network stack

Some embodiments provide a method for providing dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) services to different data compute nodes (e.g., virtual machines) that belong to different logical networks (e.g., for different tenants in a datacenter). In some embodiments, the method inserts a logical network identifier (LNI) value to each DHCP packet and forwards the packet to a DHCP server module for processing the DHCP request. Based on the LNI value, the DHCP server of some embodiments identifies the logical network from which the DHCP packet is received. The DHCP server then provides the requested DHCP service (e.g., assigning an IP address to a data compute node that has originated the DHCP packet, assigning a domain name, etc.) according to a DHCP service configuration for the identified logical network.

Implementing logical DHCP servers in logical networks

A network system that includes a first set of network hosts in a first domain and a second set of network hosts in a second domain. Within each of the domains, the system includes several edge switching elements (SEs) that each couple to the network hosts and forward network data to and from the set of network hosts. Within the first domain, the system includes (i) an interior SE that couples to a particular edge SE in order to receive network data for forwarding from the edge SE when the edge SE does not recognize a destination location of the network data and (ii) an interconnection SE that couples to the interior SE, the edge SE, and the second domain through an external network. When the edge SE receives network data with a destination address in the second domain, it forwards the network data directly to the interconnection SE.

Flow generation from second level controller to first level controller to managed switching element

Some embodiments provide a method for handling failure at one of several peer centralized components of a logical router. At a first one of the peer centralized components of the logical router, the method detects that a second one of the peer centralized components has failed. In response to the detection, the method automatically identifies a network layer address of the failed second peer. The method assumes responsibility for data traffic to the failed peer by broadcasting a message on a logical switch that connects all of the peer centralized components and a distributed component of the logical router. The message instructs recipients to associate the identified network layer address with a data link layer address of the first peer centralized component.

Logical router with multiple routing components

For a managed network including multiple host machines implementing multiple logical networks, some embodiments provide a method that reduces the memory and traffic load required to implement the multiple logical networks. The method generates configuration data for each of multiple host machines including (i) data to configure a host machine to implement a set of logical forwarding elements that belong to a set of routing domains and (ii) identifiers for each routing domain in the set of routing domains. The method then receives data regarding tunnels endpoints operating on each of the host machines and an association with the routing identifiers sent to the host machines. The method then generates a routing domain tunnel endpoint list for each routing domain based on the data received from each of the host machines including a list of the tunnel endpoints associated with the routing domain which the host machines can use to facilitate packet processing.

Defining routing domain for distributed packet processing

For a network controller for managing hosts in a network, a method for configuring a host to resolve network addresses is described. The method configures an address resolution module in a host to resolve a network address. The method configures a managed forwarding element in the host to (1) avoid sending a request to resolve the network address to another host by using the address resolution module to resolve the network address and (2) forward packets using the resolved network address.

Logical L3 daemon

Some embodiments provide a method for a network controller that manages several logical networks. The method receives a specification of a logical network that includes at least one logical forwarding element attached to a logical service (e.g., DHCP). The method selects at least one host machine to host the specified logical service from several host machines designated for hosting logical services. The method generates logical service configuration information for distribution to the selected host machine. In some embodiments, the method selects a master host machine and a backup host machine for hosting logical service. In some embodiments, a particular one of the designated host machines hosts at least two DHCP services for two different logical networks as separate processes operating on the particular host machine.

Providing services for logical networks

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Ronghua Zhang