Multicast Routing via L2-over-L3 Encapsulation in Edge Gateways
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In software-defined networking (SDN) environments, multicast traffic experiences high latency due to resource-intensive packet replication and bandwidth consumption across multi-tier edge services gateways (ESGs) when transmitting to a large number of tenants, leading to scalability issues.
Innovation Solution
The method involves detecting multicast traffic bound for workloads of multiple tenants and encapsulating it using an L2-over-L3 encapsulation protocol, inserting identifiers of corresponding backplane networks into the traffic headers, allowing a single copy to be replicated and forwarded to appropriate hosts, which then distribute it to the correct virtual machines (VMs) based on the header information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ESG transmits multiple copies of multicast traffic to each tenant, then all tenants receive the traffic, but the downlink bandwidth of the ESG and uplink bandwidth of host computing devices are consumed, leading to high latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single copy of multicast traffic that is transmitted to a host computing device, which then performs replication to create copies for multiple tenants. This approach reduces the bandwidth consumption and latency at the ESG while still ensuring all tenants receive the traffic through the host's replication capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The host computing device acts as an intermediary between the ESG and multiple tenants. Instead of the ESG directly managing multiple copies for each tenant, the host receives a single copy and performs the replication function, mediating the traffic distribution and reducing the burden on the ESG's bandwidth resources.
2Reliability
If the ESG transmits multiple copies of multicast traffic to each tenant, then all tenants receive the traffic, but packet replication is resource intensive and consumes limited bandwidth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a single copy transmission model where only one copy of multicast traffic is sent from the ESG to the host computing device. The host then performs replication to create additional copies for different tenants, significantly reducing the bandwidth consumption at the ESG while maintaining reliable delivery to all tenants.
Solution Approach 2:
The host computing device serves as an intermediary that handles the resource-intensive replication operation. By offloading the copying function from the ESG to the host, the patent reduces bandwidth consumption at the ESG and distributes the processing load to hosts that have the capability to perform replication.
3Reliability
If the ESG transmits multiple copies of multicast traffic to each tenant, then all tenants receive the traffic, but the number of copies increases with the number of tenants, leading to high latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a single copy transmission approach where the ESG sends only one copy of multicast traffic to the host computing device, regardless of the number of tenants. The host then replicates this single copy for distribution to multiple tenants, maintaining high throughput at the ESG while ensuring reliable delivery to all tenants through the host's replication capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The host computing device acts as an intermediary that handles the replication function, allowing the ESG to maintain high throughput by transmitting only a single copy. The host's replication process occurs after the ESG has already achieved high-speed transmission, thus preserving the ESG's productivity while still delivering traffic to all tenants.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of transmitting multicast traffic to workloads of tenants communicating over overlay networks provisioned on top of a physical network includes the steps of: detecting the multicast traffic; determining that the multicast traffic is bound for workloads of a first tenant and workloads of a second tenant; encapsulating one instance of the multicast traffic using a Layer 2 (L2) over Layer 3 (L3) encapsulation protocol to generate encapsulated traffic, wherein the encapsulated traffic includes an identifier of a first backplane network corresponding to the first tenant and an identifier of a second backplane network corresponding to the second tenant in a header portion of each packet of the encapsulated traffic; and transmitting, to a first host computing device, the encapsulated traffic with the identifiers of the first and second overlay networks.