Protocol-Blind Network Path Indication for Data Center Address Scaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mega data centers face challenges in scaling addresses in communication networks while maintaining high bandwidth and reducing forwarding table size, especially when migrating virtual machines and requiring short session setup times, without altering existing network protocols or server awareness.
Innovation Solution
A network device and switch architecture that uses a protocol-blind network path indication unit to generate network protocol-blind packets, leveraging an overlay network with path identifiers to manage data paths, reducing the need for extensive forwarding table storage and enabling high bandwidth utilization with existing protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional data center architectures store address information for a large number of virtual machines in forwarding databases, then the network can support mega data centers with hundreds of thousands of virtual machines, but the forwarding table size increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the address space by introducing a first address space for virtual machines and a second address space for physical network nodes. The forwarding database is segmented to store only physical node addresses rather than all virtual machine addresses, reducing the quantity of address information stored while maintaining support for large numbers of virtual machines through virtual to physical address translation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a gateway or translation mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the virtual address space and physical address space. This intermediary translates virtual machine addresses to physical network node addresses, allowing the forwarding database to maintain a compact size while supporting a large number of virtual machines through address translation rather than direct storage of all virtual addresses.
2Productivity
If the network architecture becomes more complex to support address scaling and high bandwidth, then the performance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing network protocols and hardware universal by designing the overlay network to be compatible with standard IP protocols. The gateway handles protocol translation between virtual and physical address spaces, allowing commodity network devices to function in the enhanced architecture without requiring specialized hardware, thus reducing device complexity while maintaining high bandwidth capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway serves as an intermediary that encapsulates and decapsulates packets, translating between virtual and physical address spaces. This intermediary approach allows the core network to use simple, existing protocols while the gateway handles the complexity of address translation, reducing overall device complexity while enabling high bandwidth utilization through efficient packet forwarding.
3Adaptability or versatility
If virtual machines are periodically migrated within the data center, then the system maintains flexibility and resource optimization, but the session setup time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing mapping relationships between virtual machine addresses and physical network node addresses in the forwarding database. When virtual machines are migrated, the system can quickly update these pre-established mappings rather than creating new paths from scratch, significantly reducing session setup time while maintaining VM mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where the gateway continuously monitors and updates the forwarding database with current virtual to physical address mappings. This feedback loop ensures that when virtual machines are migrated, the network automatically adapts by updating the database entries, maintaining fast session setup times through real-time synchronization rather than static configurations.
4Ease of manufacture
If existing network protocols are used to simplify deployment, then the ease of manufacture improves, but the ability to scale addresses is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nested doll principle by embedding the overlay network within the existing IP network infrastructure. The virtual address space is nested inside the physical network, with the gateway providing translation between the two. This nesting allows existing network protocols to be used for the physical layer while the virtual layer provides extended address scaling capability, achieving both ease of deployment and advanced functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway acts as an intermediary that translates between virtual and physical address spaces, allowing existing network protocols to be used for physical communication while enabling virtual address scaling. This intermediary approach permits the network to leverage simple, well-understood protocols for the bulk of traffic while adding virtualization capabilities through the translation layer, maintaining ease of deployment without sacrificing address scaling capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A device in a server having a processor and a storage. The device has a protocol blind network path indication unit configured to obtain an indicator corresponding to a predetermined path to a data communication unit in the network using a destination address of a received data packet, an upstream communication unit configured to transmit a network protocol blind packet including the data packet and the indicator corresponding to the predetermined data path to the data communication unit in the network, a combiner configured to bind the indicator to the data packet received by the downstream communication unit, and a protocol blind correlation storage unit configured to provide information related to target addresses and indicators corresponding to a plurality of predetermined data paths in the network. The protocol blind network path indication unit obtains the indicator corresponding to a predetermined path by accessing the protocol blind correlation structure.