Abstract: A disclosed method may include (1) maintaining a set of fleeting contexts that represent a lockless data structure at different moments in time, (2) determining an oldest context within the set of fleeting contexts, (3) identifying, within a discard list of the oldest context, a reference to an object stored in shared memory, and then (4) reclaiming, in the shared memory, a memory location occupied by the object whose reference was identified within the discard list of the oldest context. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: A network device may receive network traffic associated with a network and determine that the network traffic is associated with a dynamic application. The network device may determine, based on the network traffic being associated with a dynamic application, an application feature associated with the network traffic. The network device may perform a lookup operation associated with the application feature to identify policy information associated with the application feature. The network device may selectively permit communication of the network traffic via the network based on the policy information associated with the application feature, wherein the network traffic is to be permitted to be communicated via the network or prevented from being communicated via the network based on an indication from the policy information.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for providing a Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller with real-time or near-real time visibility of the operation of data center fabrics to determine whether the DCI was properly configured. For example, an SDN controller receives high-level configuration data that describes a desired state of a network managed by the SDN controller at a high level of abstraction. The SDN controller applies a transformation function to the high-level configuration data to generate a low-level configuration data for network devices configured to implement the desired state of the network. SDN controller configures the SDN controller as a peer to the network devices to obtain one or more routes exchanged between the network devices. The SDN controller sends the low-level configuration data to the network devices to cause the network devices to implement the desired state of the network.

Abstract: Techniques are described for selectively pinging certain devices along a segment routing label switched path (LSP) to detect failures in the segment routing LSP. For example, an ingress device comprises one or more processors operably coupled to a memory that are configured to: in response to a request to verify connectivity of a segment routing LSP, configure a FEC stack specifying a stack of segment routing labels for the segment routing LSP; for each of the one or more devices identified from the FEC stack: generate a respective MPLS connectivity request packet for a respective device identified from an outermost FEC of the FEC stack; send the MPLS connectivity request packet to the respective device; receive an MPLS connectivity response packet that verifies connectivity of the respective device; and in response, update the FEC stack by removing the outermost FEC of the FEC stack that identifies the respective device.

Abstract: Techniques for split-horizon filtering for EVPN-VXLANs are described. For example, an egress provider edge (PE) device is configured to apply split-horizon filtering to a BUM packet received from an intermediate network if the BUM packet includes a split-horizon identifier advertised by the egress PE device. As one example, the PE device encapsulates the split-horizon identifier within a tagging packet frame, such as a tagging packet frame in accordance with the 802.1Q tag format comprising a Tag Protocol Identifier (TPID). An ingress PE device receives the split-horizon identifier advertised by the egress PE device and is configured to encapsulate the split-horizon identifier within a BUM packet received from the Ethernet segment, and send the encapsulated packet into the intermediate network towards the egress PE device. In this way, when egress PE device receives the encapsulated packet including the split-horizon identifier, the egress PE device performs split-horizon filtering on the packet.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a first communication interface configured to be communicatively coupled, via an optical line, to a network device that is disposed in an optical network using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). The apparatus also includes a second communication interface configured to be communicatively coupled to a router via an Ethernet connection. The apparatus also includes a signal generator operatively coupled to the first communication interface and the second communication interface. The signal generator is configured to generate an Ethernet signal representing at least one attribute of the optical line between the first communication interface and the network device. The second communication interface is configured to transmit the Ethernet signal to the router.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a first input port, a first switch, and a second switch. The first switch and the second input port are in optical communication with the first input port. The apparatus also includes a second input port, a third switch, and a fourth switch. The third switch and the fourth switch are in optical communication with the second input port. Each switch is switchable between a first state to pass optical signals and a second state to block optical signals. The apparatus also includes a first combiner in optical communication with the first input port via the first switch and the second input port via the third switch. The apparatus also includes a second combiner in optical communication with the first input port via the second switch and the second input port via the fourth switch.

Abstract: A disclosed method may include (1) identifying a set of field-replaceable units installed on a network device, (2) monitoring the set of FRUs for flapping that renders any of the FRUs temporarily inoperable, (3) detecting at least one flap in which an FRU within the set (A) experiences a fault that renders the FRU temporarily inoperable and (B) subsequently overcomes the fault to resume operability, (4) determining that the FRU is deficient based at least in part on at least one characteristic of the flap detected in connection with the FRU, and (5) performing at least one corrective action that addresses the deficiency of the FRU. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: This disclosure is related to devices, systems, and techniques for using an aggregation device to manage satellite devices that are coupled to host devices. For example, a system includes a set of satellite devices providing switching functionality and an aggregation device configured to communicate with an orchestrator of a wide area network (WAN), where the aggregation device serves as a master switch and is coupled to the set of satellite devices via a set of cascade ports. The aggregation device is configured to detect, using a port extension service virtual network function (VNF) executing on the aggregation device, each satellite device of the set of satellite devices coupled to the aggregation device and send, to the orchestrator, data indicating the satellite devices as respective sub-systems within a logical switch comprising the aggregation device and the set of satellite devices.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for an Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) Virtual Private Wire Service (VPWS) network with service interface-aware forwarding. In one example, a first network device signals to a second network device, using EVPN route advertisements, a multi-service service tunnel to transport network packets for a plurality of services. The services are identifiable by virtual local area network (VLAN) identifiers in the packets. The first network device is configured with a single transport interface for the service tunnel and the single transport interface is configured with respective service interfaces for the services. The first network device detects failure of a failed service interface of the service interfaces and outputs, in response to the failure, an EVPN route withdrawal message for the service tunnel that identifies the service corresponding to the failed service interface.

Abstract: A controller device manages a plurality of network devices. The controller device includes one or more processing units implemented in circuitry and configured to determine that one or more stateful intents used to manage the plurality of network devices and represented by a graph model are degraded due to assigned resources for the stateful intents having become degraded; in response to determining that the one or more stateful intents are degraded, determine resources for the stateful intents, the resources corresponding to vertices of the graph model; provision the stateful intents using the determined resources; determine whether the provisioning of the stateful intents was successful; compile at least one of the stateful intents that was successful into low-level configuration data for at least one network device of the plurality of network devices; and configure the at least one network device using the low-level configuration data.

Abstract: A microcontroller can interact with external ASICs using a multi-serial peripheral interface. The ASICs and the microcontroller can be included in an electrical device or an optical-electrical device. The microcontroller can implement the interface to access the registers of the different ASICs in bulk interactions, including a bulk status request, bulk configuration setting, and bulk data reads.

Abstract: A network device is described that includes one or more processors configured to select a prioritized sub-set of a plurality of routing protocol sessions based on peer priority information. The one or more processors are configured to establish one or more routing protocol sessions of the prioritized sub-set. The one or more processors are configured to, in response to determining that a threshold for establishing the prioritized sub-set of the plurality of routing protocol sessions is satisfied, establish one or more routing protocol sessions of the plurality of routing protocol sessions that are not included in the prioritized sub-set. The one or more processors are configured to forward network traffic using the established one or more routing protocol sessions of the prioritized sub-set and the established one or more routing protocol sessions of the plurality of routing protocol sessions that are not included in the prioritized sub-set.

Abstract: A system and method for routing network packets. A switch fabric connects a plurality of forwarding units, including an egress forwarding unit and two or more ingress forwarding units, each ingress forwarding unit forwarding network packets to the egress forwarding unit via the switch fabric. The egress forwarding unit includes a scheduler and an output queue. Each ingress forwarding unit includes a Virtual Output Queue (VOQ) connected to the output queue and a VOQ manager. The scheduler receives time of arrival information for packet groups stored in the VOQs, determines, based on the time of arrival information for each packet group, a device resident time for each packet group, and discards the packet groups when the determined device resident time for the packet group is greater than a maximum resident time.

Abstract: A device receives network data associated with a network that includes network devices interconnected by links, and receives constraints. The device determines potential network plans for the network based on the constraints and the network data, and identifies a potential network plan that minimizes costs associated with operating the network. The device aggregates the network data for the potential network plan to generate first aggregated data, and generates a first user interface based on the first aggregated data. The device provides the first user interface to a client device, and receives, from the client device, information indicating a first interaction with the first user interface. The device aggregates the first aggregated data, based on the first interaction, to generate second aggregated data, and generates a second user interface based on the second aggregated data. The device provides the second user interface to the client device.

Abstract: The techniques describe detecting connectivity failure of an aggregated interface. To monitor connectivity of the aggregated interface, a packet processor of a plurality of packet processors is set as a session master responsible for managing an active forwarding plane connectivity detection session with a peer session master node. The other local packet processors of the virtual network node are selected as session standby nodes that each have a passive forwarding plane connectivity detection session running to the peer session master node. If a session master node goes down (i.e., by link or node failure), one of the local session standby nodes may detect the failure and is set as a new session master node by activating its passive session having the same session parameters.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for using a forwarding microchip to implement a network functions virtualization (NFV) backplane within a network device. In one example, processing circuitry of a forwarding microchip establishes a respective logical connection between each of a plurality of virtual ports of the forwarding microchip and each of a plurality of virtual ports configured for respective software-implemented virtual network functions (VNFs) executing on the network device. The processing circuitry receives packets via one or more physical ports of the forwarding microchip and forwards, using the logical connections between each of the plurality of virtual ports of the forwarding microchip and each of the plurality of virtual ports configured for the respective software-implemented VNFs, the packets to a Network Interface Controller (NIC) for forwarding to the plurality of virtual ports configured for the respective software-implemented VNFs.

Abstract: A method includes maintaining, by a controller device that manages a plurality of network devices, a data structure and receiving, by the controller device, an indication of a stateful intent. The method further includes generating, by the controller device, a logical packet based on the stateful intent and determining, by the controller device, a dependent intent of the data structure based on the logical packet. The method further includes determining that the dependent intent conflicts with the stateful intent. The method further includes, in response to determining that the dependent intent conflicts with the stateful intent, determining, by the controller device, a resolution that resolves the conflict between the dependent intent and the stateful intent based on the dependent intent and the stateful intent and outputting, by the controller device, an indication of the resolution.

Abstract: In general, this disclosure describes techniques for seamlessly migrating containers among or within computing infrastructures so as to preserve the integrity of data, the configurations, and the availability of the attached storage volumes for the containers. For example, a controller having a distributed software architecture may orchestrate, according to container migration workflow, components of the container migration application to accomplish a set of container migration tasks for a container to be moved. The container migration tasks include copying the live container to a target node, recreating the network configuration for the container on the target node, and reattaching any storage volume to the container on the target node. The container is, in this way, seamlessly migrated from a node on which it is currently executing to a different target node, and the controller may issue a command to start executing the container on the target node.

Abstract: Techniques to display a graphic representation of a computer network topology are described. In one example, a network device is configured to generate an output comprising a graphic representation of a topology of a computer network, the computer network comprising compute nodes interconnected by a packet-based communications network provided by a set of network devices, wherein the policy controller is further configured to: identify, amongst the compute nodes or the network devices, a network element having state information indicating an operational state of interest; modify state information for one or more resources that are coupled to the identified network element; and based upon whether the network topology information indicates a visible graphic symbol for the identified network element, output a visual indicator corresponding to the visible graphic symbol or corresponding to a visible resource that is communicably coupled to the identified network element.