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: The SACK scoreboard is used in slow recovery and the SACK scoreboard and an application programmed timeout are used to determine the initial CWND in slow recovery. The CWND is calculated so that all packets will be recovered before the application times out. A new socket option is provided for an application to program an application timeout (say APP_TO). This value is used in conjunction with the RTT (round trip time) to determine the initial CWND value to insure completion before timeout. Along with the timeout, the application can also set the mode as “soft,” where the CWND value is set to “1” as conventional but when that packet is ACKed, the CWND value is increased immediately to a modified calculated value to allow timely recovery.

Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present invention provide techniques that enable messages to be sent to a processing entity within a computing device without knowing the network address of the processing entity. In certain embodiments, instead of using the network address of the processing entity, a message can be communicated to the processing entity using information indicative of a role or state or function performed by the processing entity.

Abstract: A diagnostic testing utility is used to perform single link diagnostics tests including an electrical loopback test, an optical loopback test, a link traffic test, and a link distance measurement test. To perform the diagnostic tests, two ports at each end of a link are identified and then statically configured by a user. The ports will be configured as D_Ports and as such will be isolated from the fabric with no data traffic flowing through them. This configuration can be static or can be on request or on errors. The ports will then be used to send test frames to perform the diagnostic tests. After completion of requested or on error testing the ports can return to normal operation.

Abstract: Techniques for dynamically cloning application infrastructures are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system can monitor one or more metrics pertaining to an infrastructure for an application at a first site. If the one or more metrics exceed or fall below one or more corresponding thresholds, the computer system can clone the infrastructure at a second site distinct from the first site, thereby enabling the application to be hosted at the second site.

Abstract: Techniques for facilitating port mirroring in virtual networks are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system can receive, from a user, port mirroring configuration information for enabling port mirroring within a virtual network, the port mirroring configuration information including an identity of a port to be mirrored and an address of a traffic receiver intended to receive traffic mirrored from the port. The computer system can further power-on a virtual machine (VM) within the virtual network in response to receiving the port mirroring configuration information, where the VM executes an instance of a virtual bridge. The computer system can then transmit one or more configuration commands to the virtual bridge, where the one or more configuration commands cause the virtual bridge to perform port mirroring in accordance with the port mirroring configuration information received from the user.

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: One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a gateway subgroup module, a tunnel management module, and a packet processor. The gateway subgroup module operates the switch in conjunction with a remote switch to form a gateway subgroup. The switch and the remote switch actively operate as tunnel gateways. The tunnel management module maintains a data structure indicating whether a tunnel source subnet is associated with the gateway subgroup. The packet processor decapsulates a tunnel-encapsulated packet in response to a tunnel source subnet of the tunnel-encapsulated packet being associated with the gateway subgroup.

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: 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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.