TOR Switch MAC Table Synchronization for Packet Flooding Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-fabric virtual networks, existing Load-Based Teaming (LBT) policies lead to network flooding and duplicate packet delivery due to the inability of TOR switches to distinguish between active and passive links, resulting in inefficient packet forwarding and increased vulnerability to denial-of-service attacks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing synchronized MAC address tables between TOR switches, which include TOR switch descriptors to identify active links, allowing selective packet forwarding along active paths and reducing unnecessary packet transmission on passive links, thereby eliminating network flooding and duplicate packet delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If Load-Based Teaming (LBT) policies are implemented without synchronized MAC address tables, then link aggregation and load balancing are achieved, but network flooding and duplicate packet delivery occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements MAC address table synchronization between TOR switches, where each switch maintains and shares MAC address-to-link mappings with other switches in the team. This feedback mechanism allows switches to know which links are active for each MAC address, enabling them to forward packets only on active links rather than flooding all links, thus eliminating duplicate packet delivery while maintaining load balancing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces synchronized MAC address tables as an intermediary information structure between the LBT policy mechanism and the packet forwarding decision process. These tables act as a mediator that translates the abstract LBT active/passive link states into concrete forwarding rules, allowing switches to make intelligent forwarding decisions without directly implementing complex LBT logic in their packet processing paths
2Reliability
If TOR switches forward packets on all links to ensure delivery, then packet delivery reliability is improved, but network congestion and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making each TOR switch's packet forwarding behavior adaptive to the specific destination MAC address. Instead of using a uniform forwarding rule for all packets (forward on all links), each switch consults its synchronized MAC address table to determine the appropriate active links for each destination, enabling selective forwarding that maintains reliability while reducing unnecessary traffic on passive links
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamics by making the packet forwarding paths dynamic and adaptive based on current LBT link states and destination MAC addresses. The synchronized MAC address tables are continuously updated to reflect changing active/passive link states, allowing the network to dynamically adjust packet flows in real-time without manual reconfiguration, thereby maintaining reliability while optimizing resource usage
3Manufacturing precision
If MAC address tables are synchronized between TOR switches, then packet forwarding precision is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the MAC address table functionality across multiple TOR switches by implementing synchronization between them. Instead of each switch maintaining independent, redundant MAC address tables, the switches share and coordinate their MAC address-to-link mappings, combining their collective knowledge into a unified forwarding view that improves precision without requiring each individual switch to become more complex
Data Source
AI summary
A synchronizer is to synchronize a first MAC address from a first MAC address table of a first TOR switch to a second MAC address table of a second TOR switch, the first MAC address corresponding to a host, the first NIC to form a first active link between the first host and the first TOR switch, and store a first switch descriptor in association with the first MAC address in the second MAC address table, the first switch descriptor indicative of the first TOR switch. A packet transmitter is to, for a first packet to be delivered to the first host, send the first packet from the second TOR switch to the first TOR switch, without sending the first packet from the second TOR switch to the first host, based on the first switch descriptor stored in association with the first MAC address in the second MAC address table.