Abstract: Some embodiments provide a novel network control system for managing a set of switching elements in a network. The network control system includes a first set of network controllers for managing a first set of switching elements that enable communication between a first set of machines. The network control system includes a second set of network controllers for managing a second set of switching elements that enable communication between a second set of machines. The second set of switching elements is separate from the first set of switching elements and the second set of machines is separate from the first set of machines. The network control system includes a third set of network controllers for managing the first and second sets of network controllers in order to enable communication between machines in the first set of machines and machines in the second set of machines.

Abstract: A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program that configures managed forwarding elements to establish tunnels between the managed forwarding elements is described. From a particular managed forwarding element, the program receives information regarding coupling of a network element to the first managed forwarding element. Upon receiving the information, the program generates a set of universal flow entries for configuring another managed forwarding element to establish a tunnel to the particular managed forwarding element.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for a controller for mapping and sharing up to date configuration information for a logical network comprising managed forwarding elements having multiple tunnel endpoints. The method identifies a data compute node for operation on a host machine that includes a managed forwarding element (MFE) having multiple tunnel endpoints. The data compute node belongs to a particular logical network. The method identifies multiple other data compute nodes belonging to the particular logical network. The method distributes to the MFE (i) a mapping of each data compute node of the other data compute nodes to an identifier for a group of tunnel endpoints associated with the data compute node and (ii) a mapping of each of the identifiers to a list of tunnel endpoints. The MFE uses the mappings to encapsulate packets sent from the data compute node for transmission to other MFEs.

Abstract: A method for configuring a managed forwarding element (MFE) to perform logical routing operations in a logical network on behalf of a hardware switch is described. The method of some embodiments receives data that defines a logical router that logically connects several different end machines operating on several different host machines to different physical machines that are connected to the hardware switch. The method, based on the received data, defines a number of routing components for the logical router. In some embodiments, the method then configures the MFE to implement the routing components in order to enable the MFE to perform logical routing operations on behalf of the hardware switch.

Abstract: Certain embodiments described herein are generally directed to consistent processing of transport node network configuration data in a physical sharding architecture. For example, in some embodiments a first central control plane (CCP) node of a plurality of CCP nodes determines a sharding table, which is shared by the plurality of CCP nodes. In certain embodiments, the first CCP node determines a connection establishment between a first transport node and the first CCP node. In some embodiments, if the first CCP node determines, based on the sharding table, that it is a physical master of the first transport node, the first CCP node receives network configuration data from the first transport node, stores at least a portion of the network configuration data, and transmits a data update comprising at least a portion of the network configuration data to a shared data store accessible by the plurality of CCP nodes.

Abstract: Described herein are systems, methods, and software to enhance network traffic management. In one implementation, a first host identifies a packet to be transferred from a first virtual machine on the first host to a second virtual machine on a second host. In response to identifying the packet, the first host identifies a source logical port for the first virtual machine, and transferring a communication to the second host, wherein the communication encapsulates the data packet and the source logical port. Once the packet is received by the second host, the second host may use the source logical port to determine a forwarding action for the packet.

Abstract: For a network controller for managing hosts in a network, a method for configuring a host to resolve network addresses is described. The method configures an address resolution module in a host to resolve a network address. The method configures a managed forwarding element in the host to (1) avoid sending a request to resolve the network address to another host by using the address resolution module to resolve the network address and (2) forward packets using the resolved network address.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for a network controller in a network control system that manages a plurality of logical networks. The method receives a specification of a logical network that comprises a logical router with a logical port that connects to an external network. The method selects several host machines to host a L3 gateway that implements the connection to the external network for the logical router from a set of host machines designated for hosting logical routers. The method generates data tuples for provisioning a set of managed forwarding elements that implement the logical network to send data packets that require processing by the L3 gateway to the selected host machines. The data tuples specify for the managed forwarding elements to distribute the data packets across the selected host machines.

Abstract: A method for configuring a managed forwarding element (MFE) to perform logical routing operations in a logical network on behalf of a hardware switch is described. The method of some embodiments receives data that defines a logical router that logically connects several different end machines operating on several different host machines to different physical machines that are connected to the hardware switch. The method, based on the received data, defines a number of routing components for the logical router. In some embodiments, the method then configures the MFE to implement the routing components in order to enable the MFE to perform logical routing operations on behalf of the hardware switch.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for a network controller that manages several logical networks. The method receives a specification of a logical network that includes at least one logical forwarding element attached to a logical service (e.g., DHCP). The method selects at least one host machine to host the specified logical service from several host machines designated for hosting logical services. The method generates logical service configuration information for distribution to the selected host machine. In some embodiments, the method selects a master host machine and a backup host machine for hosting logical service. In some embodiments, a particular one of the designated host machines hosts at least two DHCP services for two different logical networks as separate processes operating on the particular host machine.

Abstract: Certain embodiments described herein are generally directed to a hypervisor-wide data structure that holds service rule address information for multiple VIFs in a compact way, which can later be processed per-VIF, in order to perform VIF-specific address group updates. For example, certain embodiments described herein provide a network controller that maintains a global hash table for multiple VIFs that maps network addresses to groups of one or more service rules. In certain embodiments, a network address to service rules table for each VIF may be derived based on the global hash table by using set intersections.

Abstract: A method for learning a MAC address of an end machine that is logically connected to a logical network is described. The method receives configuration data for implementing a distributed logical router having different logical ports each of which is associated with a logical port of a logical switch. The method receives a packet through a first logical port of the logical router that has a destination IP address associated with a particular logical switch that is associated with a second logical port of the logical router. In order to learn the MAC address of the end machine, the method sends a first broadcast packet with a first source MAC address to a first set of forwarding elements that implements the particular logical switch, and sends a second broadcast packet with a second source MAC address to a second set of forwarding elements that also implements the particular logical switch.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a network control system with techniques for handling failover of network controllers with minimal churn in the network state distributed to the forwarding elements of the network. Specifically, in some embodiments, the local controller designates a waiting period before computing output network state data entries based on the new version of the input network state data entries. Alternatively, or conjunctively, the local controller of some embodiments calculates the changes between the new version of input state data entries and its stored existing version of the input state data entries, and only generates new output network state data entries based on the calculated changes, in order to minimize unnecessary recalculations of the output network state data entries. The new output network state data entries may then be used by the local controller to provision its managed forwarding element.

Abstract: Certain embodiments described herein are generally directed to determining the spans of logical entities in a logical network using a graph theoretic method. For example, in some embodiments, a configuration of the logical network is represented as a directed graph with labeled edges. The span of any logical entity in the logical network may then be computed based on the directed graph of the logical network. For example, for a given entity represented by a given node, the set of nodes that can be reached from the given node via span-depends-on edges only may be computed and referred to as the span base of the given node. Further, the set of all managed forwarding elements reachable from each node of the span base of the given node via contains edges only is the span for the given entity.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for an application operating on a host machine. The method receives a configuration of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service for implementation within a virtualized container on the host machine. The configuration includes several database table entries. The method converts the several database table entries into a configuration file for use by a process that operates in the virtualized container. the method initializes the process in the virtualized container. The process in the virtualized container reads the configuration file in order to perform DHCP services for machines connected to at least one logical forwarding element of a logical network.

Abstract: A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program that configures managed forwarding elements to establish tunnels between the managed forwarding elements is described. From a particular managed forwarding element, the program receives information regarding coupling of a network element to the first managed forwarding element. Upon receiving the information, the program generates a set of universal flow entries for configuring another managed forwarding element to establish a tunnel to the particular managed forwarding element.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for a first network controller that manages a set of logical forwarding elements implemented in several managed forwarding elements. The method receives a request to trace a specified packet having a particular source on a logical forwarding element. The method generates the packet according to the packet specification. The generated packet includes an indicator that the packet is for a trace operation. The method sends the packet to a second network controller that manages a managed forwarding element associated with the particular source. The method receives a first set of messages regarding operations performed on the packet from a set of network controllers that receives a second set of messages regarding operations performed on the packet from a set of managed forwarding elements that process the packet.

Abstract: A particular network controller receives a first set of in-puts from the first controller and a second set of inputs from the second controller. The particular controller then starts to compute a set of out-puts using the first set of inputs. After a failure of the first controller, the particular controller receives a third set of inputs from the second controller. The third set of inputs and the first or second set of inputs makes up a group of inputs for being processed together and separately from another group of inputs. The particular controller then receives an indicator from the second controller, which indicates that all inputs of the group of inputs have arrived at the particular controller. After receiving the indicator and after computing the set of outputs completely, the particular controller sends the set of outputs to a fourth controller or to a managed forwarding element.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a network control system with techniques for handling failover of network controllers with minimal churn in the network state distributed to the forwarding elements of the network. Specifically, in some embodiments, the local controller designates a waiting period before computing output network state data entries based on the new version of the input network state data entries. Alternatively, or conjunctively, the local controller of some embodiments calculates the changes between the new version of input state data entries and its stored existing version of the input state data entries, and only generates new output network state data entries based on the calculated changes, in order to minimize unnecessary recalculations of the output network state data entries. The new output network state data entries may then be used by the local controller to provision its managed forwarding element.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for a first managed forwarding element (MFE). The method receives a packet from a data compute node that connects to the MFE. The packet has a destination address that corresponds to a data compute node in a remote network. The method determines (i) a group of MFEs that form a bridge cluster for sending packets to the remote network and (ii) multiple tunnel endpoints for the group of MFEs, wherein each MFE in the group has at least one of the plurality of tunnel endpoints. The method selects one of the plurality of tunnel endpoints as a destination tunnel endpoint for the packet. The method encapsulates the packet with a source tunnel endpoint associated with the first MFE and the selected destination tunnel endpoint.