Switch-Managed Virtualized Packet Processing for Server Racks
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing burden on server processors due to high bit-rate network traffic and complex packet processing activities in data centers, particularly for east-west traffic, leads to inefficient utilization of CPU resources, which could be used for more revenue-generating tasks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a switch with infrastructure offload capabilities, including CPUs and accelerators, to perform packet processing and network termination, thereby freeing server CPUs for other tasks, and managing memory I/O requests and virtualized execution environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If server processors handle packet processing activities, then network traffic can be processed, but server CPU resources are consumed that could be used for revenue-generating tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts packet processing functions from server processors and relocates them to network switches. The switch is equipped with dedicated packet processing capabilities including parsing, de-encapsulation, decryption, and flow balancing, thereby removing the burden from server CPUs and freeing them for revenue-generating applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The network switch acts as an intermediary between network traffic and server processors. It performs packet processing activities as an intermediate step before forwarding packets to the appropriate servers, preventing servers from directly handling packet processing overhead.
2Reliability
If servers perform packet processing, then network traffic handling is achieved, but the complexity and burden on server infrastructure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network processing functions into two distinct parts: packet processing (parsing, de-encapsulation, decryption, flow balancing) is assigned to network switches, while application processing is assigned to servers. This segmentation reduces server infrastructure complexity by removing packet processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The network switch serves as an intermediary that handles packet processing complexity, allowing servers to focus on application processing. The switch manages the complex tasks of packet parsing, protocol handling, and flow management, thereby reducing overall server infrastructure complexity.
3Productivity
If CPUs are used for packet processing, then network packets can be handled, but fewer CPU resources remain for billable services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts packet processing responsibilities from server CPUs and transfers them to network switches. This extraction ensures that CPU resources are dedicated to billable services without being consumed by packet processing overhead, optimizing resource allocation for revenue-generating activities.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein relate to a switch device for a rack of two or more physical servers, wherein the switch device is coupled to the two or more physical servers and the switch device performs packet protocol processing termination for received packets and provides payload data from the received packets without a received packet header to a destination buffer of a destination physical server in the rack. In some examples, the switch device comprises at least one central processing unit, the at least one central processing unit is to execute packet processing operations on the received packets. In some examples, a physical server executes at least one virtualized execution environments (VEE) and the at least one central processing unit executes a VEE for packet processing of packets with data to be accessed by the physical server that executes the VEE.