Systems And Methods For Native Network Interface Controller (NIC) Teaming Load Balancing
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorNitin K. Jain
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided that may be employed in a network environment to implement load balancing for multi-network interface controller (NIC) teaming applications using pause frame flow control communications received at an information handling system in situations where a given data path through a given NIC of the information handling system and a corresponding network switch is heavily loaded or otherwise congested relative to one or more other more lightly loaded data paths through other NICs of the information handling system and their corresponding network switches.
Claims20
An information handling system, comprising:
- at least two network interface controllers (NICs), each of the two NICs being configured to be coupled to a respective different network switch by a respective different data path such that each of the two NICs exchanges data traffic with only one of the respective different network switches and not with the other one of the respective different network switches;
- and
- at least one host processing device configured to execute a hypervisor and multiple virtual machines (VMs) to exchange VM data traffic with each of the respective different network switches, the host processing device being configured to selectively route VM data traffic between each of the multiple VMs and each given one of the multiple NICs;
- where the at least one host processing device is further configured to:
- monitor flow control information in the form of pause frames currently received at a given NIC from a respective one of the network switches across a respective data path corresponding to the given network switch,
- select one of the multiple NICs based on the monitored flow control information, and
- route VM data traffic from at least one of the multiple VMs to the selected one of the multiple NICs.
A method of load balancing data traffic among multiple network interface controllers (NICs) of an information handling system, the method comprising:
- executing a hypervisor and multiple virtual machines (VMs) on at least one host processing device of an information handling system that includes at least two NICs that are each coupled to a respective different network switch by a respective different data path such that each of the two NICs exchanges data traffic with only one of the respective different network switches and not with the other one of the respective different network switches;
- and
- using the host processing device to:
- selectively route VM data traffic between each of the multiple VMs and each given one of the multiple NICs,
- monitor flow control information in the form of pause frames currently received at a given NIC from a respective one of the network switches across a respective data path corresponding to the given network switch,
- select one of the multiple NICs based on the monitored flow control information, and
- route VM data traffic from at least one of the multiple VMs to the selected one of the multiple NICs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.