Methods and apparatus for automatically provisioning resources within a distributed control plane of a switch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10645028-B2
Application number	US-201614997194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2016
Priority date	Mar 23, 2010
Publication date	May 5, 2020
Grant date	May 5, 2020

Abstract

In some embodiments, a network management module is operatively coupled to a set of edge devices that are coupled to a set of peripheral processing devices. The network management module can receive a signal associated with a broadcast protocol from an edge device from the set of edge devices in response to that edge device being operatively coupled to a switch fabric. The network management module can provision that edge device in response to receiving the signal. The network management module can define multiple network control entities at the set of edge devices such that each network control entity from the multiple network control entities can provide forwarding-state information associated with at least one peripheral processing device from the set of peripheral processing devices to at least one remaining network control entity from the multiple network control entities using a selective protocol.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a management server operatively coupled to a plurality of edge devices, the management server configured to receive a signal from an edge device from the plurality of edge devices, in response to that edge device broadcasting the signal to the management server and to the plurality of edge devices, and such that the plurality of edge devices store information contained in the signal, the management server configured to provision that edge device in response to receiving the signal,
the management server configured to define a plurality of network control entities at the plurality of edge devices such that each network control entity from the plurality of network control entities provides forwarding-state information to at least one remaining network control entity from the plurality of network control entities.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the forwarding-state information is provided to the at least one remaining network control entity from the plurality of network control entities using a selective protocol substantially similar to the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each network control entity from the plurality of network control entities is associated with a virtual switch fabric system from a plurality of virtual switch fabric systems and is configured to provide forwarding-state information to at least one remaining network control entity from the plurality of network control entities, the forwarding-state information being associated with the at least one peripheral processing device from a plurality of peripheral processing devices operatively coupled to the plurality of edge devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the management server is further configured to assign a unique device identifier to the edge device from the plurality of edge devices in response to receiving the signal from the edge device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each edge device from the plurality of edge devices is operatively coupled to the remaining edge devices from the plurality of edge devices via the switch fabric, the switch fabric defines a single logical hop between edge device pairs from the plurality of edge devices.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first edge device from the plurality of edge devices is configured to send data to a peripheral processing device from a plurality of peripheral processing devices operatively coupled to a second edge device from the plurality of edge devices using forwarding-state information received at the first edge device from a network control entity from the plurality of network control entities and that is associated with the peripheral processing device.

7. A system, comprising:
an edge device to be operatively coupled to a switch fabric, the edge device to send a broadcast signal to a plurality of devices associated with the switch fabric, the plurality of devices including a plurality of edge devices to store information contained in the broadcast signal; and
a management server to be operatively coupled to the plurality of edge devices, the management server to automatically send a provisioning signal to the edge device and the plurality of edge devices in response to the management server receiving the broadcast signal,
the management server defining a first network control entity at the edge device and a second network control entity at an edge device from the plurality of edge devices, the first network control entity being associated with a first set of peripheral processing devices from a plurality of peripheral processing devices, the second network control entity being associated with a second set of peripheral processing devices from the plurality of peripheral processing devices, the first network control entity to send forwarding-state information associated with the first set of peripheral processing devices to the second network control entity.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the edge device to be operatively coupled to the switch fabric is a first edge device, the edge device from the plurality of edge devices that is associated with the second network control entity is a second edge device,
the first network control entity and the second network control entity are associated with a first virtual switch fabric system, the management server defining a third network control entity at a third edge device from the plurality of edge devices, the third network control entity being associated with a second virtual switch fabric system, the management server configured to restrict the first network control entity from sending forwarding-state information associated with the first set of peripheral processing devices to the third network control entity.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the edge device to be operatively coupled to the switch fabric is configured to send data to each edge device from the plurality of edge devices via the switch fabric, the switch fabric defines a single logical hop between edge device pairs from the plurality of edge devices.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the management server is to assign a unique device identifier to the edge device to be operatively coupled to the switch fabric, in response to receiving the signal from the edge device to be operatively coupled to the switch fabric.

11. An apparatus, comprising:
a first edge device of a switch fabric, the first edge device configured to receive an initiation signal from a second edge device broadcasting the initiation signal via a multicast address in response to the second edge device operatively coupling to the switch fabric, the initiation signal including provisioning information, the first edge device configured to store the provisioning information,
the first edge device configured to receive, via the multicast address, a provisioning signal that includes at least one identifier of a network control entity to be initiated at the second edge device, the first edge device configured to store the at least one identifier of the network control entity.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first edge device is operatively coupled to a plurality of peripheral processing devices, the first edge device is configured to send forwarding state information associated with at least one peripheral processing device from the plurality of peripheral processing devices to the network control entity using the at least one identifier of the network control entity.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first edge device is operatively coupled to a plurality of peripheral processing devices, the first edge device is configured to send forwarding state information associated with at least one peripheral processing device from the plurality of peripheral processing devices to the network control entity using a selective protocol substantially similar to the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

Assignees

• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Vohra Quaizar
• Shekhar Ravi
• Kondur Umesh
• Sarcar Arijit

Classifications

• H04L49/70

  Virtual switches · CPC title

• H04L61/20

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L49/25 Primary

  Routing or path finding in a switch fabric · CPC title

• H04L41/0806 Primary

  for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play · CPC title

• H04L29/12207

  Electricity · mapped topic