REMOTE MANAGEMENT OF A SWITCH STACK

Abstract

A network manager with a processing circuit and a memory containing commands which, when executed by the processing circuit, cause the network manager to: to receive an active configuration from a leading switch of a switch stack; to determine switch model types for a variety of switches in the switch stack based on the active configuration; to determine, based on the switch model types and the active configuration, the number of ports of the multiple switches in the switch stack and the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack; and to update a device configuration element of a network management user interface to display the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack, such that the switch stack is a single logical switch, with the network management user interface delivered to a client device that is remote from the network management, and If the line switch experiences a failure, the device configuration element is to be retained and the line switch is to be replaced by a backup line switch of the switch stack, whereby replacing the line switch with the backup line switch includes migrating the active configuration to the backup line switch.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] High-capacity network switches are often quite expensive. For network architects with limited resources, high-capacity network switches may not be feasible within their budget, which can impact network design, scale, and functionality. An alternative technique is to combine several lower-capacity network switches into a switch stack. The switch stack is configured as a single logical switch, even though multiple physical switches are part of the stack. Often, the combined cost of the lower-capacity switches in the switch stack is still lower than the cost of purchasing a comparable high-capacity network switch.

[0002] US 2009 / 0 245 137 A1 discloses a virtual high-availability switching architecture that enables subconvergence times in the event of a switch or switch link failure. US 2008 / 0 275 975 A1 describes a rack switch comprising a rack and multiple blade server chassis within the rack. Each blade server chassis has multiple server blades that communicate with at least one switch. Each switch includes multiple external ports. US 2016 / 0 277 214 A1 concerns a processing circuit, one or more ports, a persistent storage module, and a management module. The persistent storage module stores multiple persistent storage instances associated with multiple switch groups. Each persistent storage instance stores configuration information associated with a switch group in a data structure.US 11,632,360 B1 discloses an access control system that controls access to a computer system such as a data storage system, comprising a cloud storage platform, that authorizes a user to access the cloud storage platform. After access to the cloud storage platform has been authorized, the cloud storage platform receives a request from the user to access an application running on a remote storage device through the cloud storage platform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] For a more comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure, examples in accordance with the various features described herein may be more easily understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same structural elements and in which: Fig. Figure 1 shows an example network with a network manager; Fig. 2 shows an example of a network manager; Fig. Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure for managing a network; Fig. Figure 4 is a flowchart of another example of a procedure for managing a network. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0004] While switch stacks offer a more cost-effective alternative to high-capacity switches, network administrators often face significant manual configuration effort to enable a switch stack to replace a high-capacity switch. This manual effort contradicts the general industry trend toward greater network automation and remote management. However, automation and remote management are hampered by limited access to the physical switches within the switch stack. Not all physical switches in the stack need to have a functional uplink to the wide area network (e.g., the internet), making it difficult to retrieve configuration data from these switches using a remote network management system (also known as a network manager or network orchestrator).

[0005] Remote network management systems, such as cloud-based network managers, typically lack administrative access to the physical switches in the switch stack to determine the configuration of each individual switch. For example, the network manager cannot query each physical switch in the stack to determine how many ports each switch has. Consequently, accurately representing the switch stack in the remote network management system requires significant manual intervention. Switch stacks are configured using a leading switch, which informs the network manager of the following:

[0006] In an example consistent with this revelation, a network administrator configures a switch stack using a network management user interface. The network management user interface provides the network administrator with device configuration elements, such as web forms, for configuring features of the network devices, including the switch stack. The configurable features can be configured per switch or per port. Before displaying a web form for configuring switch stack features, the network management user interface receives information about the switch stack from a backend service running on the network manager. The backend service transmits configuration information to the network management user interface by sending structured data, such as...by sending JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data to a REST API of the network management user interface. The backend service generates the structured data based on an active configuration received from the leading switch of the switch stack. The active configuration includes, among other information, model types for the physical switches of the switch stack and port configurations (such as speed, VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) mode, VLAN number, etc.) of the ports of the switch stack.

[0007] In this example, the backend service uses the model type for each physical switch (from the active configuration) to create the structured data for the switch stack, including the number of ports in the switch stack and the configurations for each port. The backend service selects an appropriate switch configuration file for each physical switch in the switch stack from a switch library based on the switch's model type. From these switch configuration files, the backend service creates the structured data for the switch stack, which is used as a template by the network management user interface. When the network administrator accesses one of the web forms for configuring the switch stack, they receive the current configuration information for each physical switch in the switch stack as a single logical switch.Furthermore, the network administrator is forced by the user interface to only make configuration changes that are physically possible with the respective combination of physical switches present in the switch stack.

[0008] In some examples, if the lead switch of the switch stack fails, the switch stack is switched to a lead backup switch. The network manager receives an active configuration from the backup conductor switch and migrates the configuration information for the switch stack to the backup conductor switch, instead of generating new configuration files and structured data.

[0009] Fig. Figure 1 shows an example of a network 100 with a network manager 102. The network 100 includes a network manager 102 with a network management user interface 104. The network manager 102 is connected to the switch stack 106 via the WAN 108. The network 100 can be an enterprise network, a university network, a campus network, a multi-site network, or any other centrally managed network. The network 100 can include a variety of wired and wireless technologies, encompass multiple management domains, and be configured in various ways. As can be seen by a person with normal technical knowledge, the specifics of the network 100 do not affect the teachings of this disclosure.

[0010] The Network Manager 102 provides a single configuration point for Network 100. For example, Network 100 might comprise multiple local area networks (LANs) (not shown), and the Network Manager 102 allows a network administrator to monitor, troubleshoot, and configure devices across all LANs of Network 100 from a single interface. This is sometimes referred to as "single pane of glass," "cloud-based network management," or "remote network management." The Network Manager 102 can be a hardware device with memory and processing circuitry deployed at a site of Network 100, a cloud-based device deployed in a public or private cloud, or a collection of physical devices deployed in an as-a-service or subscription configuration.The specific configuration and deployment model of Network Manager 102 do not affect the teachings of this revelation. Network Manager 102 provides a network management user interface 104. The network management user interface 104 can take many forms depending on the specifics of Network Manager 102, but a common form is a cloud-hosted website accessible to the network administrator. The network management user interface 104 provides status information about the network devices of Network 100, including the switch stack 106. The network management user interface 104 also provides device configuration items for the network devices of Network 100, including the switch stack 106.The network management user interface 104 can provide any number of device configuration items, depending on the number of configurable elements of the network devices, the enabled features of the network 100, and the configuration permissions granted to the respective network administrator. A device configuration item can take many forms, including a web form, a web input element, a graphical user interface input element, a console command, etc. The specific form of the device configuration item does not affect the teachings of this revelation.

[0011] Switch Stack 106 is a logically connected set of physical switches 106an of network 100. Switch Stack 106 can be viewed by other network devices of network 100 as a single logical switch. For example, not all physical switches 106a-n can have active uplink connections to WAN 108. Furthermore, Switch Stack 106 is managed by the network manager 102 via a connection between a leading switch 106a of Switch Stack 106, rather than individual connections between the network manager 102 and each physical switch 106a-n of Switch Stack 106. Switch Stack 106 is initially configured both physically and logically on each physical switch 106a-n, so that each physical switch knows it is part of Switch Stack 106. A leading switch 106a is also selected during this initial configuration.In some examples, the network administrator configures the physical switches 106a-n directly to form the switch stack 106 and deploys the switch stack 106 separately in the network manager 102 as a single logical switch. However, deploying the switch stack 106 cannot be done in the same way as deploying a single physical switch. As mentioned earlier, the network manager 102 may not have active uplink connections to every physical switch 106a-n in the switch stack 106. Even in situations where active uplink connections exist, the physical switches 106a-n are configured to act as a single logical switch and may not provide the network manager 102 with the necessary information.

[0012] Since the network manager 102 and the switch stack 106 are separated by the WAN 108, communication between them may be limited by bandwidth and security restrictions, among other things. The WAN 108 may contain private connections (e.g., MPLS), but also public internet connections that are not owned, controlled, or managed by the owner of network 100. This is especially likely if the network manager 102 is cloud-based or provided as a service.

[0013] The Conductor Switch 106a transmits the active configuration 110 to the Network Manager 102 via the WAN 108. In situations where a single physical switch (not a switch stack) is deployed with the Network Manager 102, the single physical switch can also transmit an active configuration to the Network Manager 102. The active configuration includes, among other information, the switch model type. The Network Manager 102 can then reference static configuration files stored in a switch library. The switch library can contain a static configuration file for each model type that the Network Manager 102 can manage. The static configuration file associated with the individual physical switch contains information such as the number of ports, default port configurations, and default switch configurations for that switch model.

[0014] When the leading switch 106a of the switch stack 106 sends the active configuration 110 to the network manager 102, the active configuration 110 contains model information for the physical switches 106a-n. Based on the active configuration 110, the network manager 102 determines the switch model types for each of the physical switches 106a-n. The network manager 102 then references static configuration files for each of the physical switches 106a-n, based on their respective switch model types, to gather information about the switch stack 106. For example, the network manager 102 can determine the number of ports in the switch stack based on the number of ports on each physical switch in the switch stack.Network Manager 102 can also determine default configurations for each port of switch stack 106 based on default port configurations from the static configuration files assigned to switches 106a-n. Network Manager 102 can then create a dynamic configuration file for switch stack 106 based on the static configuration files assigned to switches 106an. Network Manager 102 can then compare the default port configurations from the dynamic configuration file with the current port configurations transmitted by the leading switch 106a in active configuration 110 to determine the current configuration and identify any changes to the configurations in switch stack 106.In some examples, the current configuration is cached to compare it with a future active configuration received by the leading switch 106a when additional configuration changes are made. The network manager 102 also generates structured data 112 describing the current configuration and characteristics of the switch stack 106 and transmits this structured data 112 to the network management user interface 104. This structured data 112 can be transmitted to the network management user interface 104, for example, via a REST API. The structured data 112 can be formatted as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data. In some examples, the structured data 112 displayed to the network management user interface 104 represents a single logical switch (corresponding to the switch stack 106).In some examples, the structured data 112 represents a template or schema that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack 106 and restricts and validates the inputs to the network management user interface 104 to allow configurability only to the extent that the device is capable of it. Although in . Fig. Since the Network Manager 102 is presented separately from the Network Management User Interface 104, this configuration is not necessary. As a person with normal technical knowledge can see, a Network Management User Interface can be implemented in many ways, including as a component of the Network Manager 102, as instructions executed on the same physical device as the Network Manager 102, as a web form delivered by a web server to a network administrator's client device, as a graphical user interface (GUI) on a device, and others. The particular implementation of the Network Management User Interface 104 does not affect the teachings of this revelation, as long as the Network Manager 102 transmits structured data 112 to the Network Management User Interface 104.

[0015] The network administrator can configure the switch stack 106 via the network management user interface 104, and the configuration changes can be propagated from the network manager 102 to the switch stack 106. The network manager 102 can retain the configuration changes in the cached current configuration and then propagate them to the switch stack 106. The network management user interface 104 can provide the network administrator with a device configuration item containing the correct number and configuration of the ports present on the switch stack 106.

[0016] If the wired switch 106a fails (including the connection between wired switch 106a and network manager 102, and the connections between wired switch 106a and switches 106b-n), network manager 102 loses its only means of communication with switch stack 106. However, switch stack 106 can fail over to a backup wired switch 106b. In some examples, the backup conductor switch 106b has an uplink to WAN 108, which is kept in standby mode until the failover occurs. In some other examples, the backup conductor switch 106b has an uplink to the WAN 108, which is active even when the conductor switch 106a is in operation, but the backup conductor switch 106b is not connected to the network manager 102.In other examples, the backup line switch 106b has an uplink to the WAN 108, which is active even when the line switch 106a is in operation, and the backup line switch 106b is connected to the network manager 102, but the connection is inactive while the line switch 106a is in operation.

[0017] During a failover, no new dynamic configuration file is created and no new logical switch is set up for the switch stack, because a new active configuration 110 is received from another leading switch 106b. The network manager 102 detects that the switch stack 106 has failed and that the parameters of the switch stack 106 remain valid, except for the transition of the leading switch 106a to the backup lead switch 106b and any port configuration and status changes resulting from the failure of the leading switch 106a. After detecting the failure, the network manager 102 retains the configuration information of the switch stack 106 and migrates it to the backup lead switch 106b.The network manager 102 can detect the failover, for example, by comparing the identifier of the backup switch 106b with the identifier of the backup switch contained in the active configuration 110 that was sent by the switch 106a before the failure.

[0018] Fig. Figure 2 shows an example of a NetworkManager 200. The NetworkManager 200 provides a single configuration point for a network. The network might, for example, comprise multiple local area networks (LANs), and the NetworkManager 200 allows a network administrator to monitor, troubleshoot, and configure devices in all LANs of the network from a single interface. This is sometimes referred to as a "single pane of glass," "cloud-based network management," or "remote network management." The NetworkManager 200 is available in Fig. 2. The Network Manager 200 is depicted as a hardware device with memory and processing circuitry, deployed at a network location or as a cloud-based device in a public or private cloud. However, the Network Manager 200 can also reside on a collection of physical devices or be deployed in an as-a-service or subscription configuration. The specific configuration and deployment model of the Network Manager 200 does not affect the teachings of this revelation. The Network Manager 200 provides a user interface for network management. The network management user interface can take many forms, depending on the specifics of the Network Manager 200, but a common form is a cloud-hosted website accessible to the network administrator. The network management user interface provides status information about network devices, including a switch stack.The network administration user interface also provides device configuration items for network devices, including the switch stack. The network administration user interface can provide any number of device configuration items, depending on the number of configurable elements on the network devices, the enabled features of the network, and the configuration permissions granted to the respective network administrator. A device configuration item can take many forms, including a web form, a web input element, a graphical user interface input element, a console command, and so on. The specific form of the device configuration item does not affect the teachings of this revelation.

[0019] The network manager 200 comprises a processing circuit 202 and a memory 204. The processing circuit 202 receives instructions 206 from the memory 204 and executes them to cause the network manager 200 to perform certain actions. The memory 204 stores the instructions 206 and data (not shown) and forwards them to the processing circuit 202. The memory 204 is a non-transferable, computer-readable medium. Each of the instructions 206a-d can represent any number of instructions stored in the memory 204. Additional instructions (represented by the ellipses between instructions 206c and 206d) can be stored in the memory 204, enabling the execution of additional features of this disclosure.

[0020] In instructions 206a, Network Manager 200 receives an active configuration from a leading switch of a switch stack. The switch stack is a single logical switch consisting of multiple physical switches interconnected and configured to operate as a single unit. In some examples, the active configuration is sent to Network Manager 200 after Network Manager 200 sends a request to the leading switch of the switch stack. In other examples, the active configuration is sent to Network Manager 200 whenever a configuration change occurs in the switch stack. In some examples, the active configuration is sent to Network Manager 200 at regular intervals. The active configuration contains information about the switch stack, such as model names for each physical switch in the switch stack and port configurations for the ports of the switch stack.

[0021] In instructions 206b, Network Manager 200 determines the switch model types for each physical switch in the switch stack based on the received active configuration. In some examples, Network Manager 200 references a lookup table (such as a hash table) to determine the switch model types based on the model names received in the active configuration. Network Manager 200 then retrieves the corresponding static configuration files from a switch library. The switch library may be a repository of static configuration files for all model types supported by Network Manager 200. In some other examples, Network Manager 200 determines the switch model types directly from the model names and retrieves the corresponding static configuration files based on the model names received in the active configuration.

[0022] In instructions 206c, NetworkManager 200 determines the number of ports for each switch in the switch stack and the current configuration of each port on each switch in the switch stack, based on the switch model types and the active configuration. In some examples, NetworkManager 200 reads information from retrieved static configuration files and determines the number of ports for each switch in the switch stack, as well as default port configurations for each port. The default port configurations may not match the port configurations submitted in the active configuration, so NetworkManager 200 can generate and cache a current configuration, along with generating and saving a dynamic configuration file.The dynamic configuration file is the switch stack equivalent of the static configuration files in the switch library (and can also be stored in the switch library), but it changes dynamically when physical switches are added to or removed from the switch stack. Like the static configuration files, the dynamic configuration file contains default configuration information about the switch stack.

[0023] In instructions 206d, Network Manager 200 updates a device configuration item in the network management user interface to display the current configuration of each port on each switch in the switch stack. Network Manager 200 updates the device configuration item in a way that indicates the switch stack is a single logical switch. In some examples, Network Manager 200 updates the device configuration item by passing structured data to the network management user interface via a REST API. In certain examples, the structured data is formatted using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).In some examples, the structured data represents a template or schema that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface to allow configurability only to the extent that the device is capable of it.

[0024] Additional instructions, which are included in Fig. Since options 2 are not shown, Network Manager 200 can retain the device configuration element if the wired switch fails and replace the wired switch with a wired backup switch in the switch stack. Instead of creating a new dynamic configuration file and setting up a new logical switch for the switch stack, Network Manager 200 detects during failover that the switch stack has transitioned to the backup conductor switch and that the switch stack parameters remain valid, except for the change of the conductor switch to the backup conductor switch and any port configuration and status changes resulting from the conductor switch failure. Upon detecting the failure, Network Manager 200 preserves the switch stack configuration information and migrates it to the backup conductor switch.The Network Manager 200 can detect the failover, for example, by comparing the identifier of the backup conductor switch with the identifier of the backup conductor switch that is contained in an active configuration sent by the conductor switch before the failure.

[0025] Fig. Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example procedure 300 for managing a network. Procedure 300 can be stored as instructions on a non-transient, computer-readable medium and executed on a processing circuit of a device, such as a network manager.

[0026] Block 302 describes the receipt of a configuration from a network management user interface for an additional switch in a switch stack. In some examples, a network administrator can add a switch to the switch stack via the network management user interface by selecting a model type from a list of available model types. Simply selecting a model type in the network management user interface does not add another physical switch to the switch stack, but it can speed up the configuration of the additional physical switch once it has been provisioned. In some examples, a network manager can update a dynamic configuration file associated with the switch stack and a cached current configuration of the switch stack.

[0027] Block 304 receives an active configuration from a leading switch in the switch stack. When the leading switch transmits the active configuration, it contains model information for the physical switches in the stack, including model information for the additional switch configured in Block 302. In some examples, information such as port configurations and switch configurations is included in the active configuration.

[0028] Block 306 determines the switch model types for the switches in the switch stack based on the active configuration. In some examples, the network manager references a lookup table (such as a hash table) to determine the switch model types from the model names received in the active configuration. The network manager then retrieves the corresponding static configuration files from a switch library. The switch library might be a repository of static configuration files for all model types supported by the network manager. In other examples, the network manager determines the switch model types directly from the model names and retrieves the corresponding static configuration files based on the model names received in the active configuration.

[0029] Block 308 determines the number of ports for each switch in the switch stack and the current configuration of each port on every switch in the stack. The port count includes the number of ports on any additional switch. In some examples, the network manager reads information from retrieved static configuration files and determines the number of ports for each switch in the stack, as well as default port configurations for each port. The default port configurations may not match the port configurations submitted in the active configuration, allowing the network manager to cache a current configuration while simultaneously maintaining a dynamic configuration file. This dynamic configuration file changes whenever physical switches are added to or removed from the switch stack, including any additional switch.Like the static configuration files, the dynamic configuration file also contains standard configuration information about the switch stack.

[0030] Block 310 updates a device configuration element in the network management user interface. This element displays the current configuration of each port on every switch in the switch stack, indicating that the switch stack is a single logical switch. In some examples, the network manager also generates structured data describing the current configuration and characteristics of the switch stack and transmits this structured data to the network management user interface. This structured data can be transmitted to the network management user interface via a REST API, for example. The structured data can be formatted as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). In some examples, the structured data displayed in the network management user interface represents a single logical switch (corresponding to the switch stack).In some examples, the structured data represents a template or schema that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface to allow configurability only to the extent that the device is capable. The network administrator can configure the switch stack through the network management user interface, and the configuration changes can be propagated back to the switch stack by the network manager. The network manager can retain the configuration changes in the cached current configuration and then propagate them to the switch stack. The network management user interface can provide the network manager with a device configuration item that contains the correct number and configuration of the ports present in the switch stack.

[0031] Fig.Figure 4 is a flowchart of an example of a Procedure 400 for managing a network. The Procedure 400 can be stored as instructions on a non-transient, computer-readable medium and executed on a processing circuit of a device, such as a network manager.

[0032] Block 402 describes the receipt of a configuration from a network management user interface for an additional switch in a switch stack. In some examples, a network administrator can add a switch to the switch stack via the network management user interface by selecting a model type from a list of available model types. Simply selecting a model type in the network management user interface does not add another physical switch to the switch stack, but it can speed up the configuration of the additional physical switch once it has been provisioned. In some examples, a network manager can update a dynamic configuration file associated with the switch stack and a current configuration of the switch stack stored in the cache.

[0033] Block 404 receives an active configuration from a leading switch in the switch stack. When the leading switch transmits the active configuration, it contains model information for the physical switches in the stack, including model information for the additional switch configured in Block 402. In some examples, information such as port configurations and switch configurations is included in the active configuration.

[0034] Block 406 determines the switch model types for the switches in the switch stack based on the active configuration. In some examples, the network manager references a lookup table (such as a hash table) to determine the switch model types based on the model names received in the active configuration.

[0035] In block 408, a switch configuration file is selected from a switch library for each switch in the switch stack. The network manager retrieves static configuration files corresponding to the switch model types from a switch library. The switch library can be a repository containing static configuration files for all model types supported by the network manager. In some other examples, the network manager determines the switch model types directly from the model names and retrieves the corresponding static configuration files based on the model names received in the active configuration.

[0036] Block 410 determines the number of ports on each switch in the switch stack. This number includes the number of ports on any additional switch. In some examples, the network manager reads information from retrieved static configuration files and determines the number of ports for each switch in the stack, as well as default port configurations for each port on the switch.

[0037] Block 412 specifies the number of ports in the switch stack, including the number of ports on the additional switch, and the current configuration of each port in the switch stack. The default port configurations from the static configuration files may not match the port configurations submitted in the active configuration, so the network manager caches a current configuration along with a dynamic configuration file. The dynamic configuration file changes whenever physical switches are added to or removed from the switch stack, including the additional switch. Like the static configuration files, the dynamic configuration file also contains default configuration information about the switch stack.

[0038] Block 414 updates a device configuration element in the network management user interface. This element displays the current configuration of each port on every switch in the switch stack, indicating that the switch stack is a single logical switch. In some examples, the network manager also generates structured data describing the current configuration and characteristics of the switch stack and transmits this structured data to the network management user interface. This structured data can be transmitted to the network management user interface via a REST API, for example. The structured data can be formatted as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). In some examples, the structured data displayed in the network management user interface represents a single logical switch (corresponding to the switch stack).In some examples, the structured data represents a template or schema that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface to allow configurability only to the extent that the device is capable. The network administrator can configure the switch stack through the network management user interface, and the configuration changes can be propagated back to the switch stack by the network manager. The network manager can retain the configuration changes in the cached current configuration and then propagate them to the switch stack. The network management user interface can provide the network administrator with a device configuration item that contains the correct number and configuration of the ports present in the switch stack.A network administrator is a person, a network service, or a combination thereof that has administrative access to network devices and configures devices to conform to a network topology.

[0039] A client device is a computer device operated or accessed by a network user or administrator. Client devices include laptops / desktop computers, tablets / phones / PDAs, servers, Internet of Things devices, sensors, etc.

[0040] A network device is a device that receives network traffic and forwards it to a destination. Network devices can include controllers, access points, switches, routers, bridges, and gateways, among others. Certain network devices can be SDN-enabled, meaning they can receive network commands from a controller, network manager, or orchestrator and adjust their operations based on those commands. Some network devices perform packet services such as application classification and deep packet inspection on certain network traffic entering the device. Some network devices monitor load parameters for various physical and logical resources and report load information to a controller, network manager, or orchestrator.

[0041] Processing circuits are circuits that receive instructions and data and execute those instructions. Processing circuits can include application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microcontrollers (microcontrollers), central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), microprocessors, or other suitable circuits capable of receiving instructions and data and executing those instructions. Processing circuits can include one or more processors. They may contain caches. Processing circuits can be connected to other components of a device, including memory, network interfaces, peripherals, supporting circuitry, data buses, or other suitable components.The processors of a processing circuit can communicate with each other via a shared cache, interprocessor communication, or another suitable technology.

[0042] Memory is one or more non-volatile, computer-readable media capable of storing instructions and data. Memory may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a processor cache, removable media (e.g., CD-ROM, USB flash drive), storage drive (e.g., hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD)), network storage (e.g., network-attached storage (NAS)), and / or cloud storage. Unless otherwise specified, in this disclosure all references to memory and to instructions and data stored in memory may refer to instructions and data stored on any non-transient, computer-readable medium capable of storing instructions and data, or any combination of such non-transient, computer-readable media.

[0043] The features of this disclosure can be implemented with a variety of specific devices incorporating a variety of different technologies and features. For example, features containing instructions to be executed by a processing circuit may store the instructions in a cache of the processing circuit, in random access memory (RAM), on a hard disk, on a removable drive (e.g., CD-ROM), in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), in read-only memory (ROM), or on any other non-transient, computer-readable medium, as is appropriate for the specific device and the specific example implementation. As is obvious to a person with normal technical knowledge, the features of this disclosure are not altered by the technology, whether known or yet unknown, and the properties of the specific devices on which the features are implemented.Any modifications or changes that would be necessary to implement the features of the present disclosure on a particular device or in a particular example would be obvious to a person with normal knowledge in the relevant field.

[0044] Although the present revelation has been described in detail, various changes, substitutions, and modifications may be made without altering the spirit and scope of the revelation. Any use of the words "may" or "can" in relation to features of the revelation means that certain examples contain the feature and certain other examples do not, as the context requires. The use of the words "or" and "and" in relation to features of the revelation means that the examples may contain any combination of the listed features, as the context requires.

[0045] Sentences and parentheses beginning with "e.g." or "e.g." are used only to clarify examples. The revelation is not intended to be limited by the examples given in these sentences and parentheses. The scope and understanding of this revelation may include certain examples not given in these sentences and parentheses.

Claims

[1] A network manager with a processing circuit and a memory containing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuit, cause the network manager to: to receive an active configuration from a leading switch of a switch stack; to determine switch model types for a variety of switches in the switch stack based on the active configuration; to determine, based on the switch model types and the active configuration, the number of ports of the multiple switches in the switch stack and the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack; and to update a device configuration element of a network management user interface to display the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack, such that the switch stack is a single logical switch, with the network management user interface delivered to a client device that is remote from the network management, and If the line switch experiences a failure, the device configuration element is to be retained and the line switch is to be replaced by a backup line switch of the switch stack, whereby replacing the line switch with the backup line switch includes migrating the active configuration to the backup line switch. [2] The network manager according to claim 1, wherein determining a number of ports for each switch of the plurality of switches comprises selecting a respective switch configuration file from a switch library and identifying a number of ports for each switch from the respective switch configuration file. [3] The network manager according to claim 2, wherein each switch configuration file corresponds to a switch model type of the switch model types. [4] The network manager according to claim 1, wherein updating the device configuration element comprises transferring structured data to the network management user interface using a REST API. [5] The network manager according to claim 4, wherein the structured data is Javascript Object Notation (JSON) formatted data that indicates a single logical switch corresponding to the switch stack. [6] The network manager according to claim 4, wherein the structured data represents a scheme that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface. [7] A system that includes the following: a plurality of switches configured as a switch stack, wherein a first switch of the plurality of switches is a line switch of the switch stack; and a network manager configured to: receives an active configuration from the line switch of the switch stack; Based on the active configuration, switch model types are determined for the multiple switches of the switch stack; Based on the switch model types and the active configuration, a number of ports of the multiple switches in the switch stack and a current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack are determined; and A device configuration element of a network management user interface is updated to display the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack, such that the switch stack is a single logical switch, with the network management user interface delivered to a client device that is remote from network management, and If the line switch experiences a failure, the device configuration element is retained and the line switch is replaced by a backup line switch of the switch stack, with the replacement of the line switch by the backup line switch including migrating the active configuration to the backup line switch. [8] The system according to claim 7, wherein determining a number of ports for each switch of the plurality of switches comprises selecting a respective switch configuration file from a switch library and identifying a number of ports for each switch from the respective switch configuration file. [9] The system according to claim 8, wherein each switch configuration file corresponds to a switch model type of the switch model types. [10] The system according to claim 7, wherein updating the device configuration element includes transferring structured data to the network management user interface using a REST API. [11] The system according to claim 10, wherein the structured data is Javascript Object Notation (JSON) formatted data that indicates a single logical switch corresponding to the switch stack. [12] The system according to claim 10, wherein the structured data represents a schema that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface. [13] A procedure comprising the following: through a network management system, receiving a configuration for an additional switch of a switch stack from a network management user interface, with the network management user interface being delivered to a client device that is remote from the network management system; The network management system receives an active configuration from a leading switch in the switch stack; through network management, determine switch model types for a variety of switches in the switch stack based on the active configuration, including a switch model type of the additional switch; through network management, based on the switch model types and the active configuration, determine a number of ports of the multiple switches in the switch stack, including a number of ports of the additional switch, and a current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack; and through network management, update a device configuration element of a network management user interface to display the current configuration of each port of each switch in the switch stack, such that the switch stack is a single logical switch; and If the line switch experiences a failure, retain the device configuration element and replace the line switch with a backup line switch of the switch stack, whereby replacing the line switch with the backup line switch includes migrating the active configuration to the backup line switch. [14] The method according to claim 13, wherein determining a number of ports for each switch of the plurality of switches comprises selecting a respective switch configuration file from a switch library and identifying a number of ports for each switch from the respective switch configuration file. [15] The method according to claim 13, wherein each switch configuration file corresponds to a switch model type of the switch model types. [16] The method according to claim 15, wherein updating the device configuration element comprises transferring structured data to the network management user interface using a REST API. [17] The method according to claim 15, wherein the structured data is formatted in Javascript Object Notation (JSON) and represents a single logical switch corresponding to the switch stack. [18] The method according to claim 15, wherein the structured data represents a scheme that provides configurable parameters for the switch stack and restricts and validates inputs to the network management user interface.

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