Virtual RNIC Packet Encapsulation for RDMA Routing in Virtualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtualization scenarios, RDMA data transmission using RoCE technology faces challenges as network devices cannot identify virtual network interface card addresses, leading to incorrect packet routing.
Innovation Solution
A communication method and network interface card that encapsulate data packets with identity indication information of destination virtual RNICs, omitting source and destination IP and MAC addresses, allowing packet forwarding without additional encapsulation, and utilizing tunnel tables for accurate destination identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If packet encapsulation is performed with virtual network interface card addresses, then RDMA data transmission can be implemented in virtualization scenarios, but network devices cannot identify the addresses leading to incorrect packet routing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tunnel endpoint (TEP) as an intermediary entity that bridges virtual and physical networks. The TEP translates virtual network interface card addresses into physical network addresses, allowing network devices to correctly route packets while maintaining RDMA transmission in virtualization scenarios. The encapsulation structure includes both outer physical addresses for routing and inner virtual addresses for identification.
2Adaptability or versatility
If double encapsulation is performed for RDMA packets in virtualization, then virtual network addressing is achieved, but network throughput decreases due to additional processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the virtual network addressing function with the existing RDMA packet structure by integrating identity indication information directly into the RDMA packet header. This eliminates the need for separate virtual addressing encapsulation layers, reducing processing overhead while maintaining virtualization support. The identity field in the RDMA header directly carries virtual network interface card identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential virtual network addressing function from complex multi-layer encapsulation and represents it through a simplified identity indication mechanism. By taking out only the necessary identification information and embedding it in the RDMA packet header, the solution achieves virtual addressing with minimal overhead.
3Measurement precision
If complete address information is included in packets, then accurate destination identification is achieved, but packet size increases and processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential identity information needed for destination identification from complete address information. The identity indication field contains minimal necessary data (such as virtual network ID and virtual function ID) rather than full IP and MAC addresses, achieving accurate routing with reduced packet overhead and improved processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of including complete address information in the traditional position, the patent inverts the approach by placing condensed identity indication information directly in the RDMA packet header. This reversal allows network devices to perform accurate identification using compact fields rather than extensive address data.
Data Source
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AI summary
This application provides a communication method and a network interface card. The method includes: obtaining, by a source RNIC, to-be-transmitted data sent by a source virtual RNIC; obtaining, by the source RNIC, identity indication information of a destination virtual RNIC and packet forwarding information; and encapsulating, by the source RNIC, the to-be-transmitted data to obtain a target packet, and sending the target packet to a destination RNIC, where the destination virtual RNIC is a virtual RNIC running on the destination RNIC. Based on the foregoing technical solution, packet encapsulation may be performed only once on the to-be-transmitted data. Therefore, overheads of tunnel encapsulation are relatively low. More space in a payload of the target packet may be spared for transmitting the to-be-transmitted data, so that an effective throughput in a network can be improved.