Virtual Switch Data Link Attribute Inheritance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network architectures lack efficient mechanisms to provide network connectivity and manage data link attributes for multiple execution environments within a host, such as virtual machines and containers, leading to suboptimal resource allocation and bandwidth management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual switch connected to a physical NIC, which creates virtual network interface cards (VNICs) associated with different execution environments, allowing data link attributes to be specified and inherited by these VNICs, enabling efficient resource allocation and bandwidth management across virtual networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a virtual switch is created to manage network connectivity for multiple execution environments, then network resource allocation and bandwidth management are improved, but device complexity increases due to the need to manage virtual switches, VNICs, and data link attributes
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual switch acts as an intermediary component between the physical network interface card and multiple virtual network interface cards associated with different execution environments. This mediator manages data link attributes centrally and automatically distributes them to VNICs, improving resource allocation efficiency while abstracting the complexity from users. The virtual switch encapsulates the complexity of managing multiple virtual network interfaces and their attributes, presenting a simplified interface for resource management.
2Ease of operation
If data link attributes are specified at the virtual switch level and inherited by VNICs, then ease of operation is improved through centralized management, but device complexity increases due to the inheritance mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the management of data link attributes at the virtual switch level, allowing centralized specification and automatic inheritance by all associated VNICs. This consolidation improves ease of operation by eliminating the need to configure attributes individually for each VNIC. The virtual switch maintains a unified set of data link attributes that are automatically applied to all connected VNICs, reducing operational complexity through consolidation rather than through inheritance mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for providing network connectivity to a host, involving creating a virtual switch on the host, specifying at least one data link attribute of the virtual switch, creating a plurality of virtual network interface cards (VNICs) on the host, associating each of the plurality of VNICs with the virtual switch, and assigning the at least one data link attribute of the virtual switch to each of the plurality of VNICs, where the virtual switch is connected to a physical network interface card (NIC) associated with the host, where each of the plurality of VNICs is associated with a different one of a plurality of execution environments, where the plurality of execution environments is located on the host, and where the plurality of VNICs is located on the host.