Networking systems with dynamically changing topologies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9319264-B1
Application number	US-201213547949-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jul 12, 2012
Priority date	Jul 12, 2012
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

Network performance may be improved by adjusting a logical network topology while avoiding attendant disruptions. By identifying an alternative logical topology, routing network traffic away from links that will be eliminated from the alternative logical topology, and updating a traffic routing plan upon the adoption of the alternative logical topology, a network may adopt a more efficient topology without misdirecting network traffic.

First claim

We claim:

1. A computer-implemented method to, in response to a network event, reconfigure a network topology of a network having a configurable patch panel and a software-configured packet switch, comprising:
identifying, by a solver, an alternative logical topology different from a current logical topology;
identifying, by the solver, a link in the current logical topology not present in the alternative logical topology, and generating a temporary traffic routing plan bypassing the identified link;
reconfiguring, by a patch panel manager, the configurable patch panel to implement the alternative logical topology; and
providing, by a network element manager, the temporary traffic routing plan to the software-configured packet switch for implementation prior to the reconfiguring, and an updated traffic routing plan based on the alternative logical topology to the software-configured packet switch for implementation after the reconfiguring.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configurable patch panel is an optical circuit switch.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network element manager is an OpenFlow controller.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network event represents a network administrator request.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network event represents a failure to meet a network performance target.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network event represents a change in network traffic.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network event represents a change in a connection status of a port, link, software-configured packet switch, or configurable patch panel.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining physical topology information by allowing the software-configured packet switch to transmit a discovery packet across at least a portion of the network.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining physical topology information by allowing the configurable patch panel to implement a predetermined logical topology.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alternative logical topology is a provisional logical topology intermediate between the current logical topology and a second alternative logical topology, the method further comprising identifying the provisional logical topology based on a network performance target.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alternative logical topology is a provisional logical topology intermediate between the current logical topology and a second alternative logical topology, the method further comprising identifying the provisional logical topology based on a duration of the provisional logical topology.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying the alternative topology based on a network performance target.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for responding to a network event by reconfiguring a network topology of a network having a configurable patch panel and a software-configured packet switch, the process comprising:
identifying an alternative logical topology based different from a current logical topology;
identifying a link in the current logical topology not present in the alternative logical topology, and generating a temporary traffic routing plan bypassing the identified link;
reconfiguring the configurable patch panel to implement the alternative logical topology; and
providing the temporary traffic routing plan to the software-configured packet switch for implementation prior to the reconfiguring, and an updated traffic routing plan based on the alternative logical topology to the software-configured packet switch for implementation after the reconfiguring.

14. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the configurable patch panel is an optical circuit switch.

15. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the program is implemented by an OpenFlow controller.

16. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the network event represents a network administrator request.

17. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the network event represents a failure to meet a network performance target.

18. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the network event represents a change in network traffic.

19. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the network event represents a change in a connection status of a port, link, software-configured packet switch, or configurable patch panel.

20. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the program is further configured for determining physical topology information by allowing the software-configured packet switch to transmit a discovery packet across at least a portion of the network.

21. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the program is further configured for determining physical topology information by allowing the configurable patch panel to implement a predetermined logical topology.

22. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the alternative logical topology is a provisional logical topology intermediate between the current logical topology and a second alternative logical topology, and the program is further configured for identifying the provisional logical topology based on a network performance target.

23. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the alternative logical topology is a provisional logical topology intermediate between the current logical topology and a second alternative logical topology, and the program is further configured for identifying the provisional logical topology based on a duration of the provisional logical topology.

24. The storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the program is further configured for identifying the alternative topology based on a network performance target.

25. A system to, in response to a network event, reconfigure a computer network having a configurable patch panel and a software-configured packet switch, comprising:
a patch panel manager configured to program the configurable patch panel to implement a logical topology for the computer network;
a network element manager configured to program the software-configured packet switch with a traffic routing plan, and for monitoring a status of the software-configured packet switch;
a wiring verification component configured to determine a connectivity of the configurable patch panel to other elements in the computer network;
a solver configured to identify, in response to a network event, an alternative logical topology based on the determined connectivity of the configurable patch panel, the status of the software-configured packet switch, and a network performance target, and further configured to generate one or more alterations to the logical topology and a modified traffic routing plan for implementing the alternative logical topology; and
a sequencer configured to coordinate the alterations and implement the alternative logical topology, wherein the network element manager provides a temporary traffic routing plan to the software-configured packet switch for implementation prior to a first alteration in the one or more alterations and an updated traffic routing plan to the software-configured packet switch for implementation after the first alteration.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the configurable patch panel is an optical circuit switch.

27. The system of claim 25 , wherein the network element manager is an OpenFlow controller.

28. The system of claim 25 , w

Assignees

• Poutievski Leon
• Vahdat Amin
• Naik Ashish
• Google Inc

Inventors

• Poutievski Leon
• Vahdat Amin
• Naik Ashish

Classifications

• H04L45/02

  Topology update or discovery · CPC title

• H04L67/1042

  using topology management mechanisms · CPC title

• H04L41/122 Primary

  of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV] · CPC title

• H04L29/08315 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L41/082

  the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality · CPC title