Abstract: In one embodiment, a period between periodic transmissions of protocol data units (PDUs) used to form or maintain a link aggregation group is initially set to a fixed value. When a stress condition is detected, the period between periodic transmissions of PDUs is increased from the initial value. When the stress condition is determined to have eased, the period between periodic transmissions of PDUs is reduced back toward the fixed value.

Abstract: Techniques are presented for distributing host route information of virtual machines to routing bridges (RBridges). A first RBridge receives a routing message that is associated with a virtual machine and is sent by a second RBridge. The routing message comprises of mobility attribute information associated with a mobility characteristic of the virtual machine obtained from an egress RBridge that distributes the routing message. The first RBridge adds a forwarding table attribute to the routing message that indicates whether or not the first RBridge has host route information associated with the virtual machine in a forwarding table of the first RBridge. The first RBridge also distributes the routing message including the mobility attribute information and the forwarding table attribute, to one or more RBridges in the network.

Abstract: An example method includes storing a portion of virtual PortChannel (vPC) information in a TRansparent Interconnect of Lots of Links network environment, deriving, from the portion of vPC information, a physical nickname of an edge switch to which a frame can be forwarded, and rewriting an egress nickname in a TRILL header of the frame with the physical nickname. In example embodiments, the vPC information can include respective vPC virtual nicknames, EtherChannel hash algorithms, hash values, and physical nicknames of edge switches associated with vPCs in the network environment. In some embodiments, the portion of vPC information can be derived from an Interested vPC Type Length Value (TLV) information of an Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) routing protocol data unit (PDU).

Abstract: A method is provided in one example and includes receiving, at a receiving node, a packet that comprises information indicative of an internet protocol address and a segmentation identification, selecting a virtual routing and forwarding table corresponding with the segmentation identification, identifying a destination node based, at least in part, on the internet protocol address and the virtual routing and forwarding table, and transmitting the packet to the destination node.

Abstract: An example method for implementation of virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN) in top-of-rack (ToR) switches in a network environment is provided and includes receiving a packet encapsulated with a VXLAN header having an unknown virtual tunnel endpoint (VTEP) Internet Protocol (IP) address in a network environment, and installing an entry at an index location of a forwarding table. The index location includes an encoding of the VTEP-IP address as a VTEP index (VTEP-IDX), and the entry maps a VXLAN interface to an IP address associated with a VXLAN network interface (VNI). In specific embodiments, the VTEP-IDX is logN bits, where N is a size of the forwarding table. The forwarding table indicates a destination VTEP IP address when encapsulating the packet, and the source VTEP IP address when decapsulating the packet.

Abstract: Techniques are presented for distributing host route information of virtual machines to routing bridges (RBridges). A first RBridge receives a routing message that is associated with a virtual machine and is sent by a second RBridge. The routing message comprises of mobility attribute information associated with a mobility characteristic of the virtual machine obtained from an egress RBridge that distributes the routing message. The first RBridge adds a forwarding table attribute to the routing message that indicates whether or not the first RBridge has host route information associated with the virtual machine in a forwarding table of the first RBridge. The first RBridge also distributes the routing message including the mobility attribute information and the forwarding table attribute, to one or more RBridges in the network.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a period between periodic transmissions of protocol data units (PDUs) used to form or maintain a link aggregation group is initially set to a fixed value. When a stress condition is detected, the period between periodic transmissions of PDUs is increased from the initial value. When the stress condition is determined to have eased, the period between periodic transmissions of PDUs is reduced back toward the fixed value.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes establishing a virtual trunk link between a first network element and a second network element. The first and second network elements are located at a first site and the first site and a second site comprise at least a portion of an overlay network. The method further includes receiving data traffic at the first network element, which data traffic is associated with a segment of the overlay network, and mapping a first network identifier allocated to the overlay network segment at the first network element to a virtual trunk link and a VLAN ID. The method additionally includes forwarding the data traffic from the first network element to the second network element via the virtual trunk link with the VLAN ID.

Abstract: A monitoring session associated with a virtual nickname may be established in a TRILL network. A monitoring station may be connected to an edge switch of the TRILL network specifying the virtual nickname for the monitoring session. The monitoring station is set as a destination for the monitoring session and the virtual nickname is flooded throughout the TRILL network. A source may then be configured to the monitoring session by specifying the virtual nickname of the monitoring session without knowing the destination tied to the monitoring session. Network traffic through the source may then be forwarded to the destination tied to the monitoring session.

Abstract: Techniques which provide scalable techniques for managing multicast traffic in interconnected IP fabric data centers. More specifically, embodiments presented herein disclose an aggregated source technique used to address scalability issues for interconnected IP fabric data centers as well as disclose a secondary rendezvous point technique used to address backbone network (S, G) multicast state scalability. Additionally, embodiments disclosed herein include an approach for border leaf load balancing based on group destination addresses used by VTEPs.

Abstract: An example method for calculating a constrained distribution tree in a TRILL network including a plurality of VL and FGL RBridges can include learning an FGL multi-destination frame filtering capability of at least one of the FGL RBridges in the TRILL network, constructing a sub-graph including the FGL RBridges and associated links and calculating at least one sub-tree based on the sub-graph. The method can also include constructing a graph including VL RBridges, the FGL RBridges and associated links by adding links between the VL RBridges and the FGL RBridges. The FGL RBridge to which the VL RBridge is linked can have sufficient FGL multi-destination frame filtering capability. Further, the method can include calculating a constrained distribution tree based on the graph by treating the sub-tree as a logical node.

Abstract: An example method for determining an optimal forwarding path across a network having VxLAN gateways configured to implement both FGL networking and VxLAN capabilities can include learning RBridge nicknames associated with the VxLAN gateways in the network. Additionally, the method can include determining a path cost over the FGL network between each of the VxLAN gateways and a source node and a path cost over the VxLAN between each of the VxLAN gateways and a destination node. Further, the method can include determining an encapsulation overhead metric associated with the VxLAN and selecting one of the VxLAN gateways as an optimal VxLAN gateway. The selection can be based on the computed path costs over the FGL network and the VxLAN and the encapsulation overhead metric.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a change in network topology and broadcasting a transient unconditional unpruning message to multiple nodes in the network. The message is configured to instruct each of the nodes receiving the message to start a phase timer in response to the broadcast message; unprune its operational ports; and, upon expiration of the phase timer, prune its ports in accordance with the results of a pruning protocol.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a protocol state associated with a port of a network device is determined to have expired. A port group of which the port is a member is determined, the port group including ports that share one or more common characteristics. A policy is applied to the ports of the port group to determine whether one or more other ports in the port group also have a corresponding protocol state protocol that has expired. In response to one or more other ports in the port group also having a corresponding protocol state that has expired, expiration of the protocol state is determined to be a false positive and no further action is taken based on expiration of the protocol state. When expiration of the protocol state is not determined to be a false positive, further action is taken based on expiration of the protocol state.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a layer-2 network that includes a cloud switch is partitioned into a plurality of segments, each segment including one or more cloud switch domains that are coupled via a logical port to a corresponding one of a plurality of internal logical shared media links. One of the internal logical shared media links is provisioned as a hub. One or more remaining internal logical shared media links are defaulted to be spokes. A spanning tree protocol (STP) is executed within each segment. The logical port of each cloud switch domain advertises a pseudo root bridge identifier (ID) to cause the internal logical shared media link to appear attached to a Root. The advertised pseudo root bridge ID of the hub is chosen to have a higher priority than the pseudo root bridge ID of the spokes to establish a hub and spoke relationship among the segments.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes determining whether a first network element with which a second network element is attempting to establish an adjacency is a client type element. If the first network element is determined to be a client type element, the method further includes determining whether the first and second network elements are in the same network area. If the first network element is a client type element and the first and second network elements are determined to be in the same network area, the adjacency is established. Subsequent to the establishing, a determination is made whether the first network element includes an inter-area forwarder (IAF).

Abstract: Techniques are provided for managing and distributing communications in a network. At a first switch device arranged in a first configuration in a network, a set of one or more network attributes are determined, which are associated with network communications that the first switch device is interested in receiving from other network devices. The first switch device sends to a controller device an attribute interest message that informs the controller device of the set of network attributes. The first switch device receives a mapping of the network attributes in to one or more identifiers. The identifiers are included in a header of subsequent frames sent in the network. An identifier interest message is then sent to a second switch device arranged in a second network configuration in the network to inform the second switch device of identifiers of the network attributes of which the first device has an interest.

Abstract: Some implementations provide a method that includes: (i) receiving a list of logic link aggregations (LAGs) within a computer network, the list identifying a single physical egress port associated with each LAG; (ii) receiving a data unit; (iii) identifying that the data unit is addressed to a remote LAG included in the list of logic link aggregations; (iv) establishing a connection with the remote LAG; (v) downloading a detailed data describing the remote LAG from a control plane, the detailed data including a list of multiple available physical egress ports associated with the remote LAG, and; (vi) upon downloading the detailed data, incorporating the detailed data into the list of LAGs in association with an entry identifying the remote LAG.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes establishing at least one fixed topology distribution tree in a network, where the fixed topology distribution tree comprises one root node and a plurality of leaf nodes connected to the root node; maintaining at the root node an indication of multicast group interests advertised by the leaf nodes; and pruning traffic at the root node based on the advertised multicast group interests of the leaf nodes. In one embodiment, the root node is a spine switch and each of the leaf nodes is a leaf switch and each of the leaf nodes is connected to the root node by a single hop.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes determining a route target (“RT”) membership for a network element; determining at least one attribute for the RT membership; and advertising the RT membership with the at least one attribute to other network elements. The at least one attribute may include an RT membership type attribute for indicating whether the RT membership is due to a local virtual network connection, transit support, or both. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one attribute may include a distribution tree binding attribute for indicating a distribution tree for the RT membership.