Abstract: Virtual machine environments are provided in the switches that form a network, with the virtual machines executing network services previously performed by dedicated appliances. The virtual machines can be executed on a single multi-core processor in combination with normal switch functions or on dedicated services processor boards. Packet processors analyze incoming packets and add a services tag containing services entries to any packets. Each switch reviews the services tag and performs any network services resident on that switch. This allows services to be deployed at the optimal locations in the network. The network services may be deployed by use of drag and drop operations. A topology view is presented, along with network services that may be deployed. Services may be selected and dragged to a single switch or multiple switches. The management tool deploys the network services software, with virtual machines being instantiated on the switches as needed.

Abstract: An application launcher and management framework (ALM framework) is provided for enabling and managing the execution of external applications (e.g., third party applications) on a network device. The ALM framework enables external applications to be executed and managed on a network device based upon configuration information specified for the external applications. In certain embodiments, the ALM framework enables an external application to be executed within the network device's network operating system (NOS) as if the application was provided as part of the NOS. By enabling the external application to be integrated with the network device's NOS, the ALM framework enables several services provided by the NOS to be made available to the external application.

Abstract: Packets or data units and their related credit returns each include an assigned phase value. When a credit test is desired, the phase value of outgoing data units is changed, for example from 0 to 1, and a new counter is set to a value of the outstanding credits having the original phase value. With each original phase credit received, the counter value is decremented. When a credit having the new phase value is received, the counter value indicates the amount of any credit error and appropriate corrections may be made.

Abstract: Systems, methods and software useful for overcoming network congestion problems including head-of-line blocking issues and other network congestion problems. In certain aspects, flow control mechanisms implemented in a switch device or other network device manage buffer and system level resources using a scheduler to control the amount of data requested from a local SAN fabric. Switches and other network devices configured according to the present invention monitor each individual SCSI task, and are configured to apply flow control measures to each active session when buffering resources become scarce, such as when buffering data for a slower-speed WAN link or TCP/IP based interconnects of any speed.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for seamless network management monitoring when a device or Virtual Machine migrates. As part of a network management monitoring system and method, a separate distinct identifier is designated to each port and each device or VM being monitored. When a device is located a specific port a correlation between the distinct identifier of that port and the distinct identifier of the device is stored in a correlation table and monitored. Once this correlation changes, the network management monitoring system recognizes a migration has occurred and updates the correlation table to correlate the new port's distinct identifier with the device's distinct identifier. Parameters that were set up to be monitored for the device can then continue to be monitored at the new location.

Abstract: Techniques for validating configuration changes in a mixed node topology are provided. In one embodiment, a device can identify a link to be removed from a topology comprising a plurality of nodes, where the plurality of nodes includes one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type. The device can then determine whether the removal of the link from the topology would require data traffic between two nodes of the first type to pass through a node of the second type.

Abstract: In a Fiber Channel SAN and its included routers, each router contains only the LSAN zones that contain devices attached to edge fabrics which are connected to the router. LSAN zone entries include the fabric ID (FID) of each device in addition to the WWN. When a router obtains a new zone database for a newly connected or changed fabric, the router scans the LSAN zone entries for fabric IDs matching a fabric connected to the router and stores those entries. All other LSAN zone entries are not stored. In this manner the size of the relevant tables are reduced, which allows for greater expansion of the SAN as a whole.

Abstract: Techniques for performing flow-specific failure detection in SDN networks are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system (e.g., an SDN controller) can determine a flow to be monitored in a network. The computer system can then transmit first and second messages to first and second network devices in the network respectively, where the first network device is an upstream device in the flow, where the second network device is a downstream device in the flow, and where the first and second messages instruct the first and second network devices to collect local data rate information for the flow.

Abstract: Techniques for reducing broadcast and multicast traffic in a stacking system are provided. In one embodiment, a master device in the stacking system can automatically determine a minimal set of VLAN associations for stacking links in the stacking system. The minimal set of VLAN associations can avoid unnecessary transmission of broadcast or multicast packets through the system's topology.

Abstract: A protocol identifies and configures rings in a network topology automatically in order to simplify and quicken the actions that need to be performed in response to addition, deletion and shuffle of network nodes in that topology. Such rings do not need to be identified and configured manually. The protocol involves two separate sequentially performed phases. In the first phase, the protocol can automatically identify all rings that are present within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) topology. In the second phase, the protocol can automatically configure each node of each such ring in conformity with the Ethernet Ring Protection (ERP) protocol. After this ERP configuration has been performed, the failure of a link within the network will not require every network node to re-learn paths through the network; instead, the nodes that are required to re-learn such paths can be limited to those within the particular ring that contained the failed link.

Abstract: Methods and devices to allow multiple operating system images to simultaneously access a Fiber Channel fabric through a common host bus adapter port are described. For each requesting operating system image, a fabric switch maintains a unique port identifier value and a unique fabric channel address so that each operating system image may be uniquely identified across the fabric.

Abstract: Long distance cloud migration (LDCM) to overcome the limitations faced by the cloud migration techniques over long distance, high speed WAN infrastructures. LDCM overcomes the negative effects of existing TCP/IP mechanisms on the efficient use of available bandwidth. LDCM also acts as an acceleration engine to optimize various hypervisor, storage and security applications.

Abstract: An intelligent system and a method in a packet network to utilize the radio network resource and the core network resource in an optimized way so that more high priority, critical devices are granted access to the network while throttling the low priority, non-critical devices with the same given resource. The system collects all the necessary information from the signaling exchange between the radio access network and the core network and takes the device subscription characteristics and statically or dynamically defined throttling behavior rules into consideration to choose the optimal behavior to handle the requests from devices at any given time including deciding to reject the requests for certain types of devices under certain network conditions while granting the requests for other types of devices.

Abstract: A system and an algorithm in a mobile core network to distribute the data load across multiple data processing entities. The system is seen as having one data plane entity to the external entities like routers; hence the system can scale without needing to update the external nodes. In general when a data plane processing entity is added or removed, a new distribution rule is provided to the remaining data plane processing entities. Only after some number of sessions have been migrated does the new distribution get provided to the data distribution entities. This delay allows sufficient sessions to be migrated to minimize the overall number of packets that have to be forwarded for processing. This benefit can be maximized by taking advantage of cellular network's idle mode behavior and by migrating the sessions while they are in idle mode.

Abstract: Techniques for performing intelligent load balancer selection in a multi-load balancer environment are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system can generate a user interface for deploying a virtual IP address (VIP) on a load balancer in a network environment, where the network environment includes a plurality of load balancers, and where the user interface presents a plurality of criteria for selecting one of the plurality of load balancers. The computer system can further receive, from a user, a selection of one or more of the plurality of criteria, and can collect, from each load balancer in the plurality of load balancers, statistics that are relevant to the one or more criteria. The computer system can then select a load balancer from among the plurality of load balancers based on the one or more criteria and the collected statistics.

Abstract: Handling of ELS REQ and RSP packets that contain addresses in the payload is shifted to the edge fabric switches connected to the node devices issuing and receiving the ELS REQ packet, the ingress and egress switches. This allows the ELS REQ and RSP packet payload address modification operations to be removed from the tasks handled by the router processor. As this removes a processing burden from the router processors, those router processors are free to handle other normal operations, thus allowing more processor bandwidth to be provided to those other operations, which allows further growth of the network as one limitation has been removed. The need to replicate or provide commands between switches or routers is avoided as there are no redundant paths at that point.

Abstract: In a network where there are two local area networks (LANs) connected over a wide area network (WAN) by paralleled LAN to WAN devices at each end of the WAN, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections may be requested by a first near end LAN to WAN device and received at a first far end LAN to WAN device but the acknowledgement may be returned to a second far end LAN to WAN device. The second far end LAN to WAN device contacts the first far end LAN to WAN device and the TCP connection is moved to the second far end LAN to WAN device, which provides the acknowledgement to the first near end LAN to WAN device to complete the TCP connection. Similar operations occur during active TCP connection operation but with certain queued data being flushed during the TCP connection transfer.

Abstract: Techniques for performing efficient topology failure detection in SDN networks are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system (e.g., an SDN controller) can transmit a first message to a first network device, where the first message instructs the first network device to begin sending probe packets to a second network device at a predetermined rate. The computer system can further transmit a second message to the second network device, where the second message instructs the second network device to monitor for the probe packets sent by the first network device and to notify the computer system when one or more of the probe packets are not received by the second network device. If the computer system receives such a notification from the second network device, the computer system can determine that a port, link, or node failure has occurred between the first and second network devices.

Abstract: A hypervisor preferably provides VM identification, priority and LUN/LBA range information to the HBA when a VM is created. Alternatively, the HBA can determine that a LUN/LBA range is new and request VM identity, priority and LUN/LBA range from the hypervisor. The HBA creates a table containing the VM identification, priority and LUN/LBA range. The HBA then detects operations directed to the LUN/LBA range and does a lookup to determine VM identification and priority. VM identification and priority are then mapped into a field in a frame using a unique identifier. The unique identifier can either be placed using reserved bits on the existing Fiber Channel (FC) header or can use bits in an additional header, such as a modified IFR header.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for allowing efficient allocation of data center resources in a virtualized data center. In one step, network information is obtained from a network using an application resource broker (ARB). In another step, data center information is obtained from a virtual center server using the ARB. In another step, a set of application traffic metrics and a set of virtualized infrastructure metrics are determined using the ARB based on the obtained network information and data center information respectively. The ARB is implemented on a computer system.