Database Protocol for Hardware Switch Forwarding State
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current network management in large enterprises faces challenges with scalability, mobility, and multi-tenancy, often requiring complex configurations and introducing performance hinders like extra hops and lower throughput due to the use of extender devices for bridging physical and virtual networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a set of network controllers that communicate with various devices to define virtual networks through software switches and appliances, using a database server on dedicated hardware to manage and control hardware switching elements via a database protocol, ensuring reliable transactions, conflict handling, and asynchronous notifications for efficient network state management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If extender devices are used to bridge physical and virtual networks, then network connectivity is achieved, but throughput decreases and latency increases due to extra hops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the bridging function from separate extender devices and integrates it directly into the hardware switching element. This eliminates the need for external extender devices that introduced extra hops, thereby maintaining high throughput while reducing network architecture complexity through direct integration of virtual network bridging capabilities within the switch fabric.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of hardware switching and virtual network bridging into a single integrated system. By combining these previously separate functions, the patent eliminates the need for additional extender devices, reducing both the number of network hops and the overall system complexity while maintaining connectivity between physical and virtual networks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional network management approaches are used, then individual component control is achieved, but scalability and multi-tenancy support are hampered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a centralized controller that provides universal management capabilities across multiple hardware switching elements and virtual networks. This single controller can manage diverse workloads, multiple tenants, and various network configurations through unified interfaces, enabling scalable multi-tenancy support while simplifying network management operations through centralized control rather than individual component configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized controller as an intermediary between network administrators and the underlying hardware switching elements. This mediator abstracts the complex low-level configurations from users, providing high-level management interfaces that simplify operations while maintaining full control over scalability and multi-tenancy requirements through the intermediary control layer.
3Productivity
If hardware switching elements are shared across multiple users, then resource utilization improves, but network configuration difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of network resources through virtual network instances that run on shared hardware switching elements. Each tenant receives a virtualized copy of the network environment through software-defined networking, allowing multiple users to simultaneously utilize the same physical hardware while maintaining isolated, independently configurable virtual networks. This copying approach enables high resource utilization while keeping configuration simple through virtualization abstractions.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments provide a set of one or more network controllers that communicates with a wide range of devices, ranging from switches to appliances such as firewalls, load balancers, etc. The set of network controllers communicates with such devices to connect them to its managed virtual networks. The set of network controllers can define each virtual network through software switches and/or software appliances. To extend the control beyond software network elements, some embodiments implement a database server on each dedicated hardware. The set of network controllers accesses the database server to send management data. The hardware then translates the management data to connect to a managed virtual network.