Execution of packet-specified actions at forwarding element
AssigneeBarefoot Networks, Inc.
InventorsChanghoon Kim, Jeongkeun Lee, Milad Sharif, Robert Soule
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some embodiments provide a method for a particular forwarding element (FE) in a network of FEs. The method receives a packet at the particular FE. The packet includes a packet header that includes, for each of multiple FEs along a path from a source of the packet to a destination of the packet, (i) an identifier for the FE and (ii) a set of one or more actions for the FE to perform on the packet. The method parses the packet header to identify the set of actions for the particular FE. The method performs the identified set of actions.
Claims21
For a particular forwarding element (FE) in a network of FEs, a method comprising:
- receiving a packet at the particular FE, the packet comprising a packet header that comprises, for one or more of a plurality of FEs along a path from a source of the packet to a destination of the packet:
- (i) identifiers of one or more of the FEs among the plurality of FEs along the path and (ii) a set of one or more actions for the one or more of the FEs along the path to perform on the packet, wherein the set of one or more actions comprise adding a queue state to the packet;
- parsing the packet header to identify a set of one or more actions for the particular FE to perform on the packet;
- and
- the particular FE performing the identified set of one or more actions.
A forwarding element (FE) in a network of forwarding elements (FEs), the FE comprising:
- a network interface to receive a packet comprising a packet header that comprises, for one or more of a plurality of FEs along a path from a source of the packet to a destination of the packet:
- (i) identifiers of the FEs along the path to the destination of the packet and (ii) a set of one or more actions for the FEs along the path to the destination of the packet to perform on the packet, wherein an action comprises inclusion of a queue state to the packet;
- a parser to parse the packet header to identify the set of one or more actions for the FE to perform;
- and
- an action execution engine to perform the identified set of one or more actions.
A forwarding element (FE) comprising:
- a network interface to receive a packet comprising a packet header that comprises, for one or more FEs along a path from a source of the packet to a destination of the packet:
- (i) an identifier of the receiver FE and (ii) a set of one or more actions for the FE to perform on the packet, wherein an action includes modification of the packet to include queue state information of an FE;
- a parser to parse the packet header to identify the set of one or more actions for the FE;
- and
- an action execution engine to perform the identified set of one or more actions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.