Juniper Networks, Inc.

Alcatel Lucent

Suresh Boddapati

Joseph LaSalle White

Amit Shukla

Simon Jonathan Gordon

Ravi Shekhar

Jeevan Madhu Kamisetty

Jayant Kotalwar

Florin S Balus

Dimitrios Stiliadis

Venugopal Hemige

Sunil S Khandekar

Venugopal V Hemige

In one embodiment, an apparatus can include a switch fabric. The apparatus can also include a first edge device operatively coupled to an edge of the switch fabric and having a plurality of ports. The apparatus can also include a second edge device operatively coupled to the edge of the switch fabric and having a plurality of ports, the switch fabric defining a plurality of single-hop paths between the first edge device and the second edge device. The first edge device configured to send to a peripheral processing device operatively coupled to the first edge device a representation of a mapping of a portion of the plurality of ports of the first edge device and a portion of the plurality of ports of the second edge device to a plurality of ports included in a non-edge device represented within a virtual multi-hop network topology.

Methods and apparatus related to a virtual multi-hop network topology emulated within a data center

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes an initialization module configured to receive a Fiber Channel over Ethernet Initialization Protocol (FIP) login request from a network device. The initialization module is configured to select an outbound port based at least in part on a load-balancing calculation. The initialization module is configured to define a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address. The initialization module is configured to associate the destination MAC address with the outbound port. The initialization module is configured to send, to the network device, a signal including the destination MAC address in response to the FIP login request.

Methods and apparatus to reduce forwarding state on an FCoE-to-FC gateway using port-specific MAC addresses

In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a management module configured to assign a unique set of identifiers to each network control entity from a set of network control entities. As a result, a network control entity from the set of network control entities can assign an identifier from its unique set of identifiers to a port in response to that network control entity receiving a login request from the port. The set of network control entities is associated with a distributed multi-stage switch. The management module is also configured to store a zone set database associated with the distributed multi-stage switch. The management module is configured to send an instance of an active zone set stored within the zone set database to each network control entity from the set of network control entities such that each network control entity can enforce the active zone set.

Methods and apparatus for a distributed Fibre Channel control plane

In some embodiments, a system includes a set of network control entities associated with a distributed multi-stage switch. Each network control entity from the set of network control entities is configured to manage at least one edge device having a set of ports and coupled to the distributed multi-stage switch. Each network control entity from the set of network control entities is associated with a unique set of identifiers. A network control entity from the set of network control entities is configured to assign a unique identifier from its unique set of identifiers to a port from the set of ports of the at least one edge device in response to the network control entity receiving a login request associated with the port.

Methods and apparatus for a distributed fibre channel control plane

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a switching policy module configured to define a switching policy associating a Fiber Channel port with a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address. The switching module can be configured to receive a Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) frame from a network device and send a Fiber Channel frame encapsulated in the FCoE frame to the Fiber Channel port based at least in part on the switching policy and a destination MAC address of the FCoE frame.

Methods and apparatus to route fibre channel frames using reduced forwarding state on an FCoE-to-FC gateway

Systems, methods, architectures and/or apparatus for providing a distributed Virtual Routing and Switching (dVRS) solution at a data center (DC) by logically representing the networking resources of the data center as a plurality virtual nodes, each virtual node comprising an IP infrastructure based on a physical network node and a plurality of virtual switches, each virtual switch including a VRS instance linked to one or more VRS instances at other virtual switches via a VLAN to provide thereby a virtual service, wherein the physical network node performs control plane processing and provides to each virtual switch the specific routing information associated with the local services of that virtual switch. Thus, from a data plane perspective the virtual switches route and/or switch traffic directly to tunnels pointing to remote VRS instances without involving the Controller in the forwarding of the packets.

System and method providing distributed virtual routing and switching (DVRS)

Methods and apparatus to route fibre channel frames using reduced forwarding state on an FCOE-to-FC gateway

In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a gateway device configured to be operatively coupled to a Fiber Channel switch by a first data port and a second data port. The gateway device is configured to designate the first data port as a primary data port and the second data port as a secondary data port. The gateway device is configured to associate a set of virtual ports with the first data port and not the second data port when in the first configuration. The gateway device is configured to associate the set of virtual ports with the second data port when in the second configuration. The gateway device moves from the first configuration to the second configuration when an error associated with the first data port is detected.

Methods and apparatus for redundancy associated with a fibre channel over ethernet network

A multicast stream is received. At a non-designated router, a multicast stream is received with respect to which the non-designated router is not a designated router responsible for sending the multicast stream to a host. The received multicast stream is discarded.

Growing community of inventors

Union City, CA, United States of America

Suresh Boddapati