Selective network traffic throttling

Abstract

Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems a management server receiving, from a switch, an indication of network congestion at the switch. The indication includes one or more contributors to the network congestion. In response to the indication of network congestion, the management server identifies one or more hosts running the identified contributor(s) and transmits an instruction to the host(s) to restrict network traffic originated by the contributor(s). For example, the restriction may include a reduction in the contributor's I/O queue depth. If the reduction in traffic does not remedy the congestion, the management server may receive a further indication of congestion and further instruct the host(s) to restrict identified contributor network traffic. For example, the contributors may have their I/O queue depth reduced exponentially until congestion is relieved. Upon receiving an indication that the congestion is relieved, the management server instructs the host(s) to remove the restriction on network traffic.