One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a port that couples to a server hosting a number of virtual machines. The switch also includes a set of virtual port grouping information and a virtual port grouping mechanism. During operation, the virtual port grouping mechanism determines whether a frame is traveling from a virtual port group to the same virtual port group. If the frame is not traveling to the same virtual port group, the virtual port grouping mechanism prevents the frame from being forwarded.

Virtual port grouping for virtual cluster switching

One embodiment provides a system that forwards a packet with a hierarchically structured variable-length identifier (HSVLI) in a network. An HSVLI indicates a piece of content and indicates a hierarchical structure of contiguous components ordered from a most general level to a most specific level. The length of the HSVLI is not fixed. During operation, the system receives a packet which contains an interest for a piece of content with an HSVLI. Subsequently, the system determines forwarding information for the HSVLI based on one or more of: knowledge of content which matches the HSVLI, a forwarding policy, and contextual information about the network. Next, the system configures a forwarding engine with the forwarding information. The system then forwards the packet based on the forwarding information.

Adaptive multi-interface use for content networking

One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a tunnel management module, a packet processor, and a forwarding module. The tunnel management module operates the switch as a tunnel gateway capable of terminating an overlay tunnel. During operation, the packet processor, which is coupled to the tunnel management module, identifies in a data packet a virtual Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a virtual tunnel gateway. This virtual tunnel gateway is associated with the switch and the data packet is associated with the overlay tunnel. The forwarding module determines an output port for an inner packet in the data packet based on a destination address of the inner packet.

Overlay tunnel in a fabric switch

One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port profile which specifies a set of port configuration information. During operation, a control mechanism within the switch detects a source MAC address of an incoming frame and determines that the MAC address is associated with the port profile. The control mechanism then applies the port profile to a switch port on which the frame is received.

Port profile management for virtual cluster switching

A name-based content-forwarding system generates an ordered-element name for a content item, and can process an interest to identify and perform an action that satisfies the interest. To generate the ordered-element name, the system generates one or more fixed-length elements for a content item, such that each fixed-length element of the ordered-element name is mapped to the content item or to a context associated with the content item. The system then generates the ordered-element name to include the one or more fixed-length elements so that the name elements are ordered from a highest matching priority to a lowest matching priority. The system can also generate a packet that includes the ordered-element name for the content item, and sends the packet to a target location that corresponds to the ordered-element name.

Ordered-element naming for name-based packet forwarding

In general, techniques are described for scheduling traffic for delivery over an aggregated bundle of links. A network device comprising an interface and a data plane may implement the techniques. The interface receives packets associated with packet flows. The data plane associates each of the packet flows with a different link of an aggregated bundle of links. The data plane monitors transmission of the packets via the links to determine a representation of an amount of data sent per link. The data plane further determines that bandwidth utilization does not conform to a desired bandwidth utilization based on the determined representation of the amount of data sent per link. The data plane then re-associates the packet flows to different links of the aggregated bundle based on the determination that the bandwidth utilization does not conform to the desired bandwidth utilization.

Scheduling traffic over aggregated bundles of links

Techniques are described for maintaining a forwarding information base (FIB) within a packet-forwarding engine (PFE) of a router, and programming a packet-forwarding integrated circuit (IC) with a hardware version of the FIB. Entries of the hardware version identify primary forwarding next hops and backup forwarding next hops for the LSPs, wherein the packet-forwarding IC includes a control logic module and internal selector block configured to produce a value indicating a state of the first physical link. The selector block outputs one of the primary forwarding next hop and the backup forwarding next hop of the entries for forwarding the MPLS packets based on the value in response to the packet-processing engine addressing one of the entries of the FIB for the LSPs. Packets are forwarded with the PFE to the one of the primary forwarding next hop and the backup forwarding next hop output by the selector block.

Fast reroute for multiple label switched paths sharing a single interface

A network device receives a packet with a multicast nexthop identifier, and creates a mask that includes addresses of egress packet forwarding engines, of the network device, to which to provide the packet. The network device divides the mask into two portions, generates two copies of the packet, provides a first portion of the mask in a first copy of the packet, and provides a second portion of the mask in a second copy of the packet. The network device also forwards the first copy of the packet to an address of a first egress packet forwarding engine provided in the first portion of the mask, and forwards the second copy of the packet to an address of a second egress packet forwarding engine provided in the second portion of the mask.

Data structure-less distributed fabric multicast

In general, this disclosure describes a high-level forwarding path description language (FPDL) for describing internal forwarding paths within a network device. The FPDL enables developers to create a template that describes a section of an internal forwarding path within the forwarding plane of a network device. The FPDL provides syntactical elements for specifying the allocation of forwarding path structures as well as enabling the run-time construction of internal forwarding paths to interconnect the forwarding path structures in a manner specific to packet, packet flow, and/or interface properties, for example. In conjunction with late binding techniques, whereby the control plane of the network device provides arguments to template parameters that drive allocation by the packet forwarding engines of forwarding path structures specified by the FPDL, the techniques provide control plane processes a unified interface with which to manage the operation of the packet forwarding engines.

Packet forwarding path programming using a high-level description language

A method is provided for handling member link state changes in an aggregate interface. An aggregate interface may be established to include a number of member links. A mask may be associated with the aggregate interface, where the mask identifies a current state of each member link in the aggregate interface. The mask is retrieved and used to identify active links in the aggregate interface when packets are received for forwarding on the aggregate interface.

Nitin Kumar

Papers

Scheduling traffic over aggregated bundles of links

Fast reroute for multiple label switched paths sharing a single interface

Data structure-less distributed fabric multicast

Packet forwarding path programming using a high-level description language

Member link status change handling for aggregate interfaces