Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes a processor adapted for running a switch controller application, logic configured for detecting a switch in a network, logic configured for determining that the switch is capable of communicating via the switch controller application, and logic configured for overwriting a default rule for handling unknown unicast packets in the switch such that the switch sends any unknown unicast packet received by the switch to the system instead of flooding when an unknown unicast packet is received. In another embodiment, a method includes detecting a switch in a network, determining that the switch is capable of communicating via a switch controller application, and overwriting a default rule for handling unknown unicast packets in the switch such that the switch sends any unknown unicast packet received by the switch to the switch controller instead of flooding when an unknown unicast packet is received.

Abstract: A first cluster includes first switching devices that are compatible with a software-defined networking (SDN) protocol. A second cluster includes second switching devices within or partially overlapping the first cluster. Each second switching device is compatible with a protocol for an open systems interconnection (OSI) model layer. The first switching devices include one or more border switching devices located at a boundary between the first cluster and the second cluster. Each border switching device is also compatible with the protocol for the OSI model layer. The first switching devices effect first multipathing through the network except through the second cluster, and the second switching devices effect second multipathing just through the second cluster of the network. As such, the first switching devices and the second switching devices together effect end-to-end multipathing through both the first cluster and the second cluster of the network.

Abstract: Each of a network fabric controller device and a network fabric forwarder devices includes network connecting hardware and network managing logic. The network connecting hardware of the devices connects them to a singly contiguous network fabric including switching devices that route data between initiator nodes and target nodes and that have routing logic programmable by the controller device. The controller device does not directly route the data themselves. The network managing logic of the devices effects multipaths for transmission of the data through the singly contiguous network fabric from the initiator node to the target nodes via programming of the routing logic of the switching devices.

Abstract: A first cluster includes first switching devices that are compatible with a software-defined networking (SDN) protocol. A second cluster includes second switching devices within or partially overlapping the first cluster. Each second switching device is compatible with a protocol for an open systems interconnection (OSI) model layer. The first switching devices include one or more border switching devices located at a boundary between the first cluster and the second cluster. Each border switching device is also compatible with the protocol for the OSI model layer. The first switching devices effect first multipathing through the network except through the second cluster, and the second switching devices effect second multipathing just through the second cluster of the network. As such, the first switching devices and the second switching devices together effect end-to-end multipathing through both the first cluster and the second cluster of the network.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes logic adapted for receiving, at a first end point station, an information exchange packet from each end point station in a virtual network having a specified virtual network identifier (VNID) and logic adapted for processing each received information exchange packet to retrieve information about connections at each end point station in the virtual network having the specified VNID, wherein each end point station either terminates or originates a tunnel shared by the first end point station in an overlay network. In this way, the information may be used to respond to address resolution protocol (ARP) requests sent locally in lieu of flooding the ARP request. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are also presented regarding the overlay tunnel information exchange protocol, according to various embodiments.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for exchanging overlay tunnel information includes receiving an information exchange packet, at a first end point station, from each end point station in a virtual network having a specified virtual network identifier (VNID); and processing each received information exchange packet to retrieve information about connections at each end point station in the virtual network having the specified VNID, wherein each end point station either terminates or originates a tunnel shared by the first end point station in an overlay network. In this way, the information may be used to respond to address resolution protocol (ARP) requests sent locally in lieu of flooding the ARP request. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are also presented regarding the overlay tunnel information exchange protocol, according to various embodiments.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes a network having a plurality of switches and one or more devices connected to one or more of the plurality of switches, a software defined network (SDN) controller connected to one or more of the plurality of switches in the network, the SDN controller having logic integrated with and/or executable by a processor, the logic being adapted to determine SDN routes through the network between the one or more devices and each of the plurality of switches and send one or more SDN routes to each switch in the network capable of communicating with the SDN controller. In other embodiments, methods and computer program products are also described for providing SDN routes through a network.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a data center fabric network system includes a controller, a plurality of switches connected to the controller via a plurality of communication links, a source device connected to at least a first switch of the plurality of switches, a destination device connected to at least a second switch of the plurality of switches, and wherein the controller is adapted for: creating a topology of the data center fabric network system, determining paths between the plurality of switches, calculating one or more disjoint multi-paths from the source device to the destination device based on the topology, and writing the one or more disjoint multi-paths into a forwarding table of at least one of: the source device, the first switch, and a nearest shared switch to the source device.

Abstract: A method for determining disjoint multi-paths in a data center fabric network system, according to one embodiment, includes creating a topology of a data center fabric network system, wherein the system comprises a plurality of switches; determining paths between the plurality of switches; calculating one or more disjoint multi-paths from a source device to a destination device in the system; and writing the one or more disjoint multi-paths into a forwarding table of at least one of the source device and a nearest shared switch to the source device.