# US 10,374,896 B2 · System and method for automatically detecting and configuring server uplink network interface > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,374,896 B2 - Document ID: US10374896B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/796,020 - Filed: 2017-10-27 - Published: 2018-03-08 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2015-02-26 - Assignees: Cisco Technology, Inc. - Applicants: Cisco Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Milton Y. Xu; Padmanabhan Krishnan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374896B2 ## CPC - H04L 41/0886: {Fully automatic configuration} - H04L 41/0806: for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play - H04L 41/0809: {Plug-and-play configuration} - H04L 41/085: Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history - Y02D 30/00: Reducing energy consumption in communication networks - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE ## Abstract A system and a method for automatically detecting and configuring server uplink network interfaces in a network environment. An exemplary method includes receiving a discovery packet from a network element on a network interface of a server connected to the network element; evaluating the discovery packet to determine whether the network element possesses virtual bridging capabilities; and configuring the network interface of the server as an uplink interface for communicating with a network when the discovery packet indicates that the network element possesses virtual bridging capabilities. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method, comprising: receiving a link layer discovery protocol packet (LLDP) from a network element on a network interface of a server connected to the network element; indicating, by the server in response to the received LLDP including an Ethernet Virtual Bridging (EVB) Type-Length-Value (TLV), that the network element is an EVB Bridge; automatically configuring, in response to the indicating the network element is an EVB Bridge, the network interface as an uplink interface to run virtual station interface (VSI) Discovery and Configuration Protocol (VDP) for communicating with a network. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising forwarding network traffic from a virtual machine running on the server via the uplink interface to the network. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the network element is a switch, the method further comprising receiving the LLDP upon connecting the network interface of the server to the switch. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a physical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a logical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to detecting that the uplink interface for communicating with the network is broken, automatically detecting and reconfiguring the uplink interface for the server connected with the network element. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising automatically reconfiguring the uplink interface in response to the server reconnecting to the network element. ### Claim 8 A non-transitory computer readable media including instructions to cause a computer to execute operations comprising: receiving a link layer discovery protocol packet (LLDP) from a network element on a network interface of a server connected to the network element; indicating, by the server in response to the received LLDP including an Ethernet Virtual Bridging (EVB) Type-Length-Value (TLV), that the network element is an EVB Bridge; automatically configuring, in response to the indicating the network element is an EVB Bridge, the network interface as an uplink interface to run virtual station interface (VSI) Discovery and Configuration Protocol (VDP) for communicating with a network. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The media of claim 8, the operations further comprising forwarding network traffic from a virtual machine running on the server via the uplink interface to the network. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The media of claim 8, wherein the network element is a switch, the operations further comprising receiving the LLDP upon connecting the network interface of the server to the switch. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The media of claim 10, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a physical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The media of claim 10, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a logical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The media of claim 8, the operations further comprising, in response to detecting that the uplink interface for communicating with the network is broken, automatically detecting and reconfiguring the uplink interface for the server connected with the network element. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The media of claim 13, the operations further comprising automatically reconfiguring the uplink interface in response to the server reconnecting to the network element. ### Claim 15 A system, comprising: a memory; a processor configured to cooperate with the memory to perform operations comprising: receiving a link layer discovery protocol packet (LLDP) from a network element on a network interface of a server connected to the network element; indicating, by the server in response to the received LLDP including an Ethernet Virtual Bridging (EVB) Type-Length-Value (TLV), that the network element is an EVB Bridge; automatically configuring, in response to the indicating the network element is an EVB Bridge, the network interface as an uplink interface to run virtual station interface (VSI) Discovery and Configuration Protocol (VDP) for communicating with a network. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, the operations further comprising forwarding network traffic from a virtual machine running on the server via the uplink interface to the network. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the network element is a switch, the operations further comprising receiving the LLDP upon connecting the network interface of the server to the switch. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a physical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the uplink interface is associated with a logical port of the server attached to the switch. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, the operations further comprising, in response to detecting that the uplink interface for communicating with the network is broken, automatically detecting and reconfiguring the uplink interface for the server connected with the network element.