Layered third party application software redundancy in a non-homogenous virtual chassis
AssigneeAlcatel Lucent
InventorsSindhu K. Mohandas, Abhishek Sinha
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Abstract
Layered third-party (enhanced) application software redundancy is provided in a non-homogeneous virtual chassis including two or more switches coupled via a virtual fabric link. A virtual chassis management module within at least one of the switches discovers the other switches within the virtual chassis, determines a base master switch from all of the switches in the virtual chassis, detects an enhanced application installed on at least one enhanced switch and determines an enhanced master switch from the enhanced switches.
Claims20
A switch in a non-homogenous virtual chassis including at least two switches, the switch comprising:
- a plurality of virtual fabric link (VFL) ports coupled to a VFL, wherein the VFL interconnects each of the at least two switches within the virtual chassis;
- a plurality of base software applications;
- a virtual chassis management module for:
- discovering the at least two switches within the virtual chassis,
- determining a base master switch from the at least two switches to serve as a master for the plurality of base software applications,
- detecting an enhanced application installed on at least one enhanced switch of the at least two switches, the at least one enhanced switch including only a subset of the at least two switches, and
- determining an enhanced master switch from the at least one enhanced switch to server as a master for the enhanced application;
- and
- a processor for executing the base software applications and for executing the virtual chassis management module to communicate with the at least two switches via the VFL.
A non-homogenous virtual chassis, comprising:
- at least two switches, each of the at least two switches comprising:
- a plurality of virtual fabric link (VFL) ports coupled to a VFL, wherein the VFL interconnects each of the at least two switches within the virtual chassis;
- a plurality of base software applications;
- and
- a processor for executing the plurality of base software applications;
- wherein at least one of the at least two switches further includes a virtual chassis management module executable by processor to communicate with that least two switches via the VFL, the virtual chassis management module for:
- discovering the at least two switches within the virtual chassis;
- determining a base master switch from the at least two switches to serve as a master for the plurality of base software applications installed on each of the at least two switches;
- detecting an enhanced application running on at least one enhanced switch of the at least two switches, the at least one enhanced switch including only a subset of the at least two switches;
- and
- determining an enhanced master switch from the at least one enhanced switch to serve as a master for the enhanced application.
A method for providing application specific redundancy in a non-homogenous virtual chassis, comprising:
- interconnecting at least two switches within the virtual chassis via a virtual fabric link;
- at least one of the least two switches:
- discovering the at least two switches within the virtual chassis;
- determining a base master switch from the at least two switches to serve as a master for a plurality of base software applications installed on each of the at least two switches;
- detecting an enhanced application running on at least one enhanced switch of the at least two switches, the at least one enhanced switch including only a subset of the at least two switches;
- and
- determining an enhanced master switch from the at least one enhanced switch to serve as a master for the enhanced application.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.