Distributed Server Routing for Data Center VM Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cross-service-zone communication in data centers faces traffic congestion and low system forwarding performance due to reliance on gateways, which also pose security risks as all traffic passes through them.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allow a server to directly forward packets between virtual machines in different service zones by receiving and storing routing tables from a gateway, eliminating the need for packets to pass through the gateway, thereby reducing congestion and improving performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If all cross-service-zone traffic passes through the gateway, then centralized routing control is achieved, but traffic congestion and low forwarding performance occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized gateway routing function into distributed routing capabilities at each server level. Each server obtains routing tables from the gateway and independently performs packet forwarding, dividing the monolithic gateway forwarding task into multiple smaller parallel tasks across different servers, thereby improving overall forwarding performance while maintaining centralized routing table distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of operation by enabling servers to perform packet forwarding directly at the network packet level without requiring centralized gateway processing for each packet. This transforms the system from a single-point processing model to a multi-point parallel processing model, significantly enhancing forwarding capacity.
2Device complexity
If the gateway handles all cross-service-zone forwarding, then routing management is simplified, but the gateway becomes a communication bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the packet forwarding function from the gateway and relocates it to individual servers. The gateway retains only the routing table distribution and management functions, while servers independently handle packet forwarding using locally stored routing tables, thereby removing the communication bottleneck without complicating routing management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces routing tables as an intermediary mechanism that enables distributed forwarding. Instead of the gateway directly processing every packet, routing tables serve as pre-computed instructions that allow servers to autonomously forward packets, eliminating the need for real-time gateway intervention in each forwarding decision.
3Reliability
If all traffic passes through the gateway, then centralized security monitoring is possible, but security risks increase due to gateway vulnerability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized security model into a distributed security architecture where each server independently handles packet forwarding. This eliminates the single point of failure at the gateway, distributing security risks across multiple servers and reducing the impact of potential gateway vulnerabilities while maintaining security through routing table-based control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of gateway vulnerability into a benefit by removing the gateway from the packet forwarding path. While centralized security monitoring becomes more challenging, the system gains resilience by eliminating the gateway as a target for attacks, and security is maintained through distributed routing table validation and server-level access control.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus for cross-service-zone communication, and a data center network. When a first virtual machine in a server sends a packet to a second virtual machine, the server determines, through searching, whether a routing table of a tenant to which the first virtual machine belongs exists on the server; when the routing table of the tenant to which the first virtual machine belongs does not exist on the server, send the packet to a gateway; receive the routing table of the tenant to which the first virtual machine belongs sent by the gateway through a service zone manager; and forward a subsequent packet of the first virtual machine according to the routing table; where the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine are located in different service zones.