Virtual Forwarding Unit for Host Route Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In data centers, the increasing number of Virtual Machines (VMs) leads to a surge in ARP entries and host routes stored in physical forwarding chips, exceeding their capacity, resulting in unsatisfied forwarding application requirements due to limited entry resources.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual forwarding chip using machine-readable instructions executed by a processor to manage subnet and host routes, sharing the burden with the physical forwarding chip, thereby avoiding occupancy of physical entry resources and allowing for software processing of data packets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the physical forwarding chip stores ARP entries and host routes for increasing numbers of VMs, then the network device can support more virtual machines, but the entry resources of the physical forwarding chip are exhausted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the forwarding function into two segments: a physical forwarding chip that handles subnet routing with limited entry resources, and a virtual forwarding chip that handles host routing with abundant entry resources. This segmentation allows the system to support more VMs by distributing forwarding tasks across two specialized components, each optimized for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual forwarding chip acts as an intermediary between the physical forwarding chip and the destination VMs. It receives packets from the physical forwarding chip and performs final host route-based forwarding to the specific VM. This intermediary approach allows the physical forwarding chip to maintain a small number of subnet routes while the virtual forwarding chip manages the large number of host routes needed for numerous VMs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the physical forwarding chip maintains a large number of host routes, then more VMs can be reached, but forwarding performance decreases due to resource occupation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the forwarding chip functionality in software form. The virtual forwarding chip replicates the packet forwarding capability of the physical forwarding chip but operates in the software domain where entry resources are not limited. This copying approach enables the system to maintain large numbers of host routes without occupying physical forwarding chip resources, thus preserving high forwarding performance.
3Device complexity
If the physical forwarding chip is used for both subnet routing and host routing, then a single chip handles all forwarding, but entry resources are occupied by host routes reducing capacity for other functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension physical forwarding chip to a two-dimension forwarding architecture by adding a virtual forwarding chip that operates in the software dimension. The physical forwarding chip handles subnet-level routing in hardware, while the virtual forwarding chip handles host-level routing in software. This dimensional expansion allows the system to satisfy diverse forwarding application requirements without being constrained by the limited entry resources of a single physical chip.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for forwarding a packet, a physical forwarding unit receives a data packet, may find a first subnet route based on a destination IP address of the data packet, and forwards the data packet to a virtual forwarding unit via an output interface of the first subnet route. The virtual forwarding unit receives the data packet may find a first host route based on the destination IP address of the data packet, and forwards the data packet based on the first host route.