Workload distribution in a data network
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsGal Sagie, Eran Gampel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for processing packets in a network is provided. The system includes a computing platform running a software framework configured for accessing packets flowing into a packet processing pipeline of a node in the network; and identifying at least one pattern in said packets. Based on this pattern, the systems routes a first portion of the packets into the packet processing pipeline and offloads a second portion of the packets to the computing platform to be processed by the software framework.
Claims17
A system for processing packets in a network, said system comprising a processor of a computer, said processor configured to execute software instructions to implement a method, said method comprising:
- accessing, by the processor, multiple packets flowing into a hardware (HW) packet processing pipeline of a node in the network, said hardware packet processing pipeline configured to process the flowing multiple packets by hardware in the hardware packet processing pipeline;
- identifying, by the processor, multiple patterns in the multiple packets;
- and
- based on the identified multiple patterns in the multiple packets, ascertaining for each packet of the multiple packets whether said each packet is to be processed by the hardware in the hardware packet processing pipeline or is to be executed via a software framework by software in a computing platform, wherein the computing platform is distinct from the hardware packet processing pipeline, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that first packets of the multiple packets are identified with a first pattern of the multiple patterns and second packets of the multiple packets are identified with a second pattern of the multiple patterns, wherein the multiple packets consist of the first packets and the second packets, wherein the first packets and the second packets are mutually exclusive, and wherein the first pattern and the second pattern are different patterns;
- based on said ascertaining, routing, by the processor, the first packets into the hardware packet processing pipeline in which the first packets are processed by the hardware in the hardware packet processing pipeline and offloading the second packets to the computing platform that processes second packets by the software that is executed via the software framework, and wherein said offloading is initiated while the second packets are in the hardware packet processing pipeline and before the second packets can be processed by the hardware in the hardware packet processing pipeline.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.