Mesh mirroring with path tags
AssigneeHewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
InventorsBallard Claude Bare, Shaun Kazuo Wakumoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of mirroring select traffic in a switching mesh. A packet is received at an edge switch of the switching mesh, and a determination is made as to whether the packet is to be mirrored based on mirroring criteria. A path tag associated with a path through the switching mesh is selected. The path tag is associated with a mirror path if the packet is to be mirrored. The path tag is added to the packet, and the tagged packet is forwarded to a next switch along the path. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
Claims20
A method of mirroring select traffic in a switching mesh, the method comprising:
- identifying multiple paths within the switching mesh from a source switch to a destination switch;
- assigning path tags to specific paths through the switching mesh;
- receiving a packet at the source switch at an edge of the switching mesh;
- determining whether the packet is to be locally mirrored based on mirroring criteria;
- selecting a path tag associated with a path through the switching mesh, wherein the path tag is associated with a mirror path when the packet is to be locally mirrored and comprises at least three fields including an identifier for the source switch, an identifier for the destination switch, and a path identifier, the path identifier identifying a specific path among a plurality of paths between said source and destination switches, the specific path directing the packet through each switch from which the packet is to be locally mirrored along the path between the source and destination switches;
- the source switch adding the path tag to the packet;
- and
- forwarding the tagged packet to a next switch along the path.
A switching apparatus configured to be a member of a switching mesh, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of ports;
- and
- a switch control device coupled to the plurality of ports,
- wherein the switch control device is along a path between a source switch and a destination switch and is configured to:
- identify multiple paths within the switching mesh from the source switch to the destination switch;
- assign path tags to specific paths through the switching mesh, wherein particular subsets of packets are assigned to particular path tags;
- receive a packet at a non-mesh port,
- determine whether the packet is to be locally mirrored based on mirroring criteria,
- select a path tag associated with a mirror path through the switching mesh when the packet is to be locally mirrored,
- add the path tag to the packet,
- copy the tagged packet along the path,
- send a copied tagged packet to an output port of the switch control device, and
- forward the tagged packet to a next switch along the path,
- wherein the path tag comprises at least three fields including an identifier for the source switch, an identifier for the destination switch, and a path identifier, the path identifier indicating a specific path among a plurality of paths between said source and destination switches, the specific path directing the packet through each switch from which the packet is to be locally mirrored along the path between the source and destination switches.
A system for replicating select traffic in a switching mesh, the system comprising:
- means for identifying multiple paths within the switching mesh from a source switch to a destination switch;
- means for assigning path tags to specific paths through the switching mesh;
- means for finding whether the packet is to be replicated based on selection criteria;
- means for choosing a path tag associated with a path through the switching mesh, wherein:
- the path tag comprises a mirror path tag when the packet is to be locally mirrored,
- the mirror path is a path along which the packet is to be mirrored,
- the mirror path tag comprises at least three fields including an identifier for the source switch, an identifier for the destination switch, and a path identifier, the path identifier indicating a specific path among a plurality of paths between said source and destination switches, the specific path directing the packet through each switch from which the packet is to be locally mirrored along the path between the source and destination switches;
- means for pre-pending the path tag to the packet;
- and
- means for transmitting the tagged packet to a next switch along the path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.