Method and system for host discovery and tracking in a network using associations between hosts and tunnel end points
AssigneeArista Networks, Inc.
InventorsAnuraag Mittal, Aparna Karanjkar, Prateek Nigam
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for host discovery and tracking in a network. Specifically, the disclosed system and method entail maintaining bindings pertinent to the mapping of any host in the network, by way of their host IP address, to a respective virtual tunnel end point (VTEP). More specifically, these bindings may include: (i) a host IP address to host MAC address binding or mapping; and (ii) a host MAC address to VTEP IP address binding or mapping. Further, these bindings may be especially significant towards directing network traffic to a host over virtual layer-3 (L3) protocols.
Claims20
A method for locating a host in a network, comprising:
- receiving, by a cloud service from a requesting entity, a query comprising a host Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the host, wherein the query comprises a request to perform an action related to the host after the host has migrated from being operatively connected to a first virtual tunnel end point (VTEP) to being operatively connected to a second VTEP;
- obtaining, by the cloud service and using the host IP address, a host media access control (MAC) address for the host;
- locating, by the cloud service, the host by identifying, using the host MAC address, the second VTEP operatively connected to the host;
- and
- initiating, by the cloud service, after and based on locating the host, performance of the action related to the host.
A system, comprising:
- a plurality of network elements, each comprising a processor, a memory, and persistent storage;
- and
- a cloud service operatively connected to the plurality of network elements, and configured to:
- receive, from a requesting entity, a query comprising a host Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a host, wherein the query comprises a request to perform an action related to the host after the host has migrated from being operatively connected to a first virtual tunnel end point (VTEP) to being operatively connected to a second VTEP;
- obtain, using the host IP address, a host media access control (MAC) address for the host;
- locate the host by identifying, using the host MAC address, the second VTEP operatively connected to the host;
- and
- initiate, after and based on the host being located, performance of the action related to the host.
A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) comprising computer readable program code, which when executed by a computer processor, enables the computer processor to:
- receive, by a cloud service from a requesting entity, a query comprising a host Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a host in a network, wherein the query comprises a request to perform an action related to the host after the host has migrated from being operatively connected to a first virtual tunnel end point (VTEP) to being operatively connected to a second VTEP;
- obtain, by the cloud service and using the host IP address, a host media access control (MAC) address for the host;
- locate, by the cloud service, the host by identifying, using the host MAC address, the second VTEP operatively connected to the host;
- and
- initiating, by the cloud service, after and based on locating the host, performance of the action related to the host.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.