Per-Port VLAN Translation for Multi-Tenant VM Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data center networks face challenges in supporting multiple mobility domains with VLAN translation, as existing technologies restrict VLANs to per-device significance, preventing coexistence with per-port significant VLANs and limiting virtual machine mobility across different tenants and infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a communication system that configures multiple mobility domains on a port basis within leaf switches, enabling VLAN translation to segregate traffic according to respective mobility domains, allowing per-port significant VLANs to coexist with per-device significant VLANs, and facilitating VLAN translation across different ports and domains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If VLANs are restricted to per-device significance in existing data center networks, then device-level VLAN management is maintained, but per-port significant VLANs cannot coexist and virtual machine mobility across different tenants is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments VLAN significance from device-level to port-level by introducing mobility domains. Each port can be assigned to a specific mobility domain, allowing VLANs to have port-specific significance within defined boundaries. This segmentation enables virtual machines to maintain their VLAN associations when moving between ports within the same mobility domain, while preventing unauthorized cross-tenant mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension of mobility domain assignment to the traditional VLAN configuration model. Instead of only device-level VLAN significance, the system now operates with port-level significance within mobility domains. This dimensional addition allows VLANs to be translated and segregated based on port assignments, enabling multi-tenant support while maintaining manageable complexity through hierarchical organization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mobility domains with per-port significant VLANs are implemented, then virtual machine mobility and multi-tenant support are enhanced, but VLAN translation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring mobility domains and assigning ports to specific domains before virtual machine deployment. The system pre-establishes VLAN translation rules and mobility domain boundaries, allowing VLANs to be automatically translated and segregated based on pre-defined port assignments. This preliminary configuration reduces runtime complexity and enables automatic multi-tenant support without requiring complex real-time decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces mobility domains as an intermediary layer between physical ports and VLAN configurations. This intermediary abstraction simplifies VLAN translation by providing a structured framework that automatically handles the mapping between ports, mobility domains, and VLANs. The mobility domain acts as a mediator that translates port-level assignments into appropriate VLAN configurations, reducing the complexity of direct VLAN management across multiple tenants.
3Productivity
If VLAN translation is implemented across different ports and mobility domains, then network flexibility and resource utilization are improved, but configuration and management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing mobility domains to serve multiple functions simultaneously: they define boundaries for virtual machine mobility, enable VLAN translation, support multi-tenant isolation, and facilitate port-level VLAN significance. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate configuration mechanisms for each function, allowing a single mobility domain framework to handle resource allocation, security isolation, and network flexibility requirements across different tenants and ports.
Data Source
AI summary
An example method for facilitating multiple mobility domains with VLAN translation in a multi-tenant network environment is provided and includes detecting attachment of a first virtual machine on a first port and a second virtual machine on a second port of a network element, the first port and the second port being configured with a first mobility domain and a second mobility domain, respectively, and the first and second virtual machines being configured on a same original VLAN, determining whether the original VLAN falls within a pre-configured VLAN range, translating the original VLAN to a first VLAN on the first port corresponding to the first mobility domain and to a second VLAN on the second port corresponding to the second mobility domain, and segregating traffic on the original VLAN into the first VLAN and the second VLAN according to the respective mobility domains for per-port VLAN significance.