Floating Gateway Address for VLAN-Independent Overlay Redirection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current implementations of overlay networks, such as NVO3, face inefficiencies in communication between hosts/servers and external networks, particularly in provisioning gateways, which limits their effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
The proposed information handling system employs gateway devices with a floating address that is shared and configured to export a host route into an underlay routing table, allowing for redirection of network traffic between gateway devices in case of a network event, utilizing an overlay network controller to manage traffic flow and ensure high availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional gateway provisioning methods are used in overlay networks, then gateway functionality can be provided, but communication efficiency and redundancy are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway functionality is segmented into multiple independent gateway devices (first gateway device, second gateway device) rather than relying on a single gateway. Each gateway device can independently handle overlay network traffic, providing redundancy while maintaining communication efficiency through parallel processing capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the addressing parameter by introducing a shared IP address that can be dynamically associated with different gateway devices. This allows the overlay network to communicate with any gateway device using the same address, improving both reliability through failover capability and efficiency through direct routing
2Reliability
If VLAN-based gateway redirection is implemented, then gateway failover can be achieved, but the system becomes dependent on Layer 2 networks which limits scalability
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a shared IP address as an intermediary between the overlay network and physical gateway devices. This intermediary layer enables gateway redirection at the network layer (Layer 3) rather than relying on Data Link layer (Layer 2) VLAN mechanisms, providing independence from Layer 2 network constraints while maintaining failover capability
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from Layer 2 (VLAN-based) to Layer 3 (IP-based) gateway redirection. This dimensional change in the network stack allows gateway failover to occur at a higher layer, providing greater adaptability and independence from underlying Layer 2 network configurations
3Reliability
If multiple gateway devices are deployed for redundancy, then reliability improves, but traffic redirection between gateways becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple gateway devices are merged at the address space level by assigning them a shared IP address. This consolidation simplifies the redirection mechanism because the overlay network only needs to maintain a single routing entry for the shared address, regardless of how many physical gateway devices exist. The complexity of managing multiple addresses is eliminated while redundancy is preserved
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system is provided. The information handling system includes a first hypervisor running on a first server and a second hypervisor running on a second server. The first hypervisor manages a first virtual switch and has an overlay forwarding table in memory supporting at least one virtual machine, while the second hypervisor manages a second virtual switch and also has the overlay forwarding table in memory and supports at least one other VM. The information handling system further includes a plurality of gateway devices coupled to the hypervisors. The gateway devices share a floating address and are configured to export a host route, associated with the address, into a corresponding entry in an underlay routing table to redirect network traffic from a first gateway device to a second gateway device.