OpenFlow Virtual Switch Load Balancing for Service Gateway Bottlenecks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The enterprise service gateway in data center networks becomes a bottleneck when data volume exceeds its processing capacity, leading to idle computing resources on back-end servers, necessitating a method to resolve this bottleneck and improve system performance.
Innovation Solution
An OpenFlow communication method and system that dynamically selects a virtual switch based on network topology and load thresholds, delivering flow tables to the service gateway and virtual switch to execute actions such as encryption, decryption, and deep packet inspection, thereby distributing data processing load across network elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the enterprise service gateway performs all data processing operations (encryption, decryption, DPI, compression), then data processing functionality is complete, but the gateway becomes a bottleneck when data volume exceeds its processing capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data processing function from the service gateway and relocates it to virtual switches running on back-end servers. The service gateway retains only control functions (flow table management), while actual data processing operations are distributed to multiple virtual switch instances on different servers, thereby increasing overall system throughput without overloading a single gateway device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces flow tables as an intermediary mechanism between the service gateway and back-end servers. The gateway generates and manages flow tables that contain processing rules, which are then executed by virtual switches on servers. This intermediary approach allows the gateway to offload processing tasks while maintaining control over data processing policies.
2Productivity
If the service gateway processes all incoming data, then data processing is centralized, but computing resources on back-end servers remain idle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the service gateway's control functions with the back-end servers' computing resources by deploying virtual switches on the servers. This combination allows servers to actively participate in data processing, utilizing their idle computing resources while the gateway maintains centralized control through flow table management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes back-end servers multi-functional by enabling them to perform both their original application processing functions and additional data processing functions through virtual switches. This allows servers to dynamically handle data processing tasks based on load conditions, improving overall system resource utilization.
3Reliability
If the service gateway handles all data processing actions, then processing control is centralized, but the gateway becomes a single point of failure and performance bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data processing workload from the single service gateway and distributes it across multiple virtual switch instances on different servers. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure, as processing can continue on other servers if one gateway or server fails, thereby improving system reliability while maintaining throughput.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The present invention discloses an OpenFlow communication method, a controller, a virtual switch, and a service gateway. An action that needs to be transferred and is sent by the service gateway is received; one appropriate virtual switch is selected according to the action that needs to be transferred and a network topology structure; a flow table is delivered to the service gateway and the virtual switch, and a first data channel is established between the service gateway and the virtual switch to forward a packet; a flow table including an extended action is delivered to the virtual switch so as to execute a related extended action on the packet; the packet obtained after the virtual switch executes the related extended action is sent to a destination server. According to the foregoing disclosed content, in the present invention, when a processing capability of a service gateway is insufficient, some of data processing services are transferred from the service gateway to a virtual server for execution, which can implement load balance among network elements in a system, improve utilization and a throughput of the system, and further enhance performance of the entire system.